How credits work

What a credit is — and is not

A credit is a unit of generation. You buy them in one-time packs, and each video spends some. Credits are not a currency you can withdraw, transfer or convert back to cash, and they are not tied to a fixed dollar figure.

Because each model uses a different amount of compute, credits are priced per second of output rather than per video. That keeps the cost proportional: a short clip costs less than a long one, and a cheaper resolution costs less than an expensive one.

Per-second rates by model

Each model has a per-second rate for each of its resolutions. The total for a video is simply the rate multiplied by the length in seconds — there are no setup fees, no per-job charges and no hidden extras.

• MiniMax H3 — 40 credits per second at 768P, 70 at 2K.
• Seedance 2.5 — 150 credits per second at 720P, 260 at 1080P.

The two models have different resolution sets on purpose: H3 offers 768P and 2K, Seedance 2.5 offers 720P and 1080P. You only ever see the tiers that model actually renders.

Choosing a resolution

Resolution is the biggest lever on cost. MiniMax H3 at 768P is the entry point and handles most social feeds well; 2K is for clips that will be viewed full-screen or cropped. Seedance 2.5 starts at 720P and its 1080P tier costs about 1.7× as much per second, because higher resolutions take more compute to render.

A practical pattern is to preview at the cheapest tier that still tells you whether the photo and scene work together, then re-render the winner at the tier you actually want to publish.

Doing the math: worked examples

The formula is always the same — rate × length — so a few examples make the whole system intuitive.

• MiniMax H3, 768P, 4 seconds: 16 × 4 = 64 credits.
• MiniMax H3, 2K, 15 seconds: 25 × 15 = 375 credits.
• Seedance 2.5, 720P, 4 seconds: 125 × 4 = 500 credits.
• Seedance 2.5, 1080P, 15 seconds: 320 × 15 = 4,800 credits.

Notice how quickly a high tier at full length adds up. If you are experimenting, start lower and shorter, then spend the bigger numbers on the clips you already know will work.

Paying for one video instead of buying credits

If you only need a clip or two, you can skip credits entirely and pay once for a single video. The price is fixed at checkout and does not depend on your credit balance — a balance of zero is fine.

Two combinations are currently offered this way: MiniMax H3 at 768P for 4 seconds, and Seedance 2.5 at 720P for 4 seconds. Longer durations and higher resolutions are available with credits, and a pack works out cheaper per video once you need more than a few.

A single-video purchase is a separate order, not a credit grant. If that generation fails, the value of your payment is added to your balance as credits rather than being lost.

Holds, refunds and failed generations

When you generate with credits, they are held when the job starts, not captured immediately. They are only spent once the video is successfully delivered, so a job that is still processing has not yet charged you. This is why you never pay for a video you did not receive.

If a generation fails, the system retries once automatically. If that retry also fails, all held credits are released back into your balance in full. There is no partial charge and no support ticket required.

How long credits last

Pack credits are valid for 12 months from purchase — nothing renews behind your back. Subscription plans, if you hold one, grant credits on the billing date and keep rolling while active.

Credits never disappear silently: the account page shows the next expiry date alongside your balance, so you can plan around it.

What gets spent first

If you hold credits from more than one purchase, the batch that expires soonest is spent first. That way a newer pack never sits in front of an older one that is closer to lapsing.

Estimating a session before you start

It helps to know roughly what a batch of generations will cost before you begin. Work out the cost of one clip at your chosen settings, then multiply by the number of clips you expect to keep.

• MiniMax H3 at 768P, 4 seconds: 64 credits per video — about fifteen clips from a 1,200 pack.
• Five candidates at that setting: 5 × 64 = 320 credits.
• Seedance 2.5 at 720P, 4 seconds: 500 credits, so the same pack covers two of them.
• Dropping Seedance from 15 seconds to 4 seconds saves roughly 70% of the cost of a clip.

Add a little headroom for retries. Extras are returned if a generation fails, but it is easier to start with a buffer than to run dry mid-session.

What we never charge for

Some parts of the flow are deliberately free, so that cost only ever attaches to a finished video.

• Running the photo readiness check — free and instant.
• Changing model, resolution or duration before you generate — no extra cost.
• A failed generation after the automatic retry — fully refunded.
• Keeping finished videos in your library — no storage charge.

Getting more clips from the same credits

A few habits reliably lower the average cost of a good video without touching the price list.

• Test at 768P and the shortest length, then re-render only the winner at 2K or 1080P.
• Fix the photo before generating — a clean input usually means fewer retries.
• For AI Hug, test a new photo pair at 4 seconds, and save the 15-second renders for the keepers.
• Use a single-video purchase when you genuinely only need one clip — it saves buying a pack you will not finish.

Previewing cheaply and committing expensively is the single biggest lever on what a session costs.