Paying for a year: when the credits arrive and lapse
Four channels here publish something about what a year of payment buys in credits. Two describe monthly cycles that reset, one describes annual credits accumulating to renewal, and one grants a year month by month into a balance where granted credits do not expire. As of 2026-10-13.
| Channel | How a year of credits arrives | What happens to unspent credits |
|---|---|---|
| HeyGen | Credits accumulate to the renewal date on annual plans | Not carried over after cancellation |
| Pika | Plan credits refresh each billing period | Plan credits do not roll over; top-ups last 365 days |
| Runway | Billed annually at 20 per cent off; monthly credits on Standard and Pro | Reset within 24 hours of the billing date; Max rolls one month |
| SceneMixer | One grant a month; the first-subscription bonus for the whole term on day one | Granted credits stay in the balance after the plan ends |
Inclusion rule. Channels whose plans or price page state how credits are granted on a yearly plan, or what happens to plan credits left unspent. A channel stating only a yearly price is not given a row. Order. Alphabetical by channel.
1One payment, twelve grants
Paying for a year rarely means receiving a year of credits on the first day. Monthly grants are the common shape, and the reasons are stated in one guide: a year's credits handed over on day one is either spent in a week or sits unused. What differs between channels is what happens to a grant that is not spent before the next one arrives.
2Reset, roll over or keep
Three answers are published. Monthly plan credits reset within a day of the billing date on two of one channel's plans and roll over one month on its top plan. Another refreshes plan credits each period with no rollover, while top-up credits last a year. A third keeps every granted credit in the same balance as purchased ones, and states that they do not expire when the plan ends.
For a production that works in bursts, around a season's shoot and then nothing for weeks, that difference can be worth more than the 20 per cent one channel prints for paying annually. A reset makes the quiet months a loss; a balance that keeps credits makes them savings.
3Bonuses follow the order, not the month
Where a first-subscription bonus exists, one guide states it is counted on the whole term and granted at once on payment day, even though the plan's own credits arrive monthly. A year bought with a bonus therefore front-loads more than one month of credit, and a full refund reclaims that bonus with the rest.
- Unused creditsMonthly subscribers keep unused credits for one more month; on annual plans credits accumulate to the renewal date and do not carry over after cancellationanswered by billing cycle
- What happens to unspent creditsPlan credits refresh each billing period and do not roll over; credits bought as top-ups carry over and expire 365 days after purchase
- Paying for a yearStandard, Pro and Max are offered billed annually at 20 per cent off the monthly price
- Unused creditsStandard and Pro monthly credits do not roll over and reset within 24 hours of the billing date; on Max up to one month of unused credits rolls over; separately purchased credits never expireanswered per plan
- When a yearly plan's credits arriveA yearly or quarterly plan is billed once and its credits are granted month by month, with the sign-up bonus for the whole term granted on payment day
- What happens to granted creditsCredits granted by a plan sit in the same balance as purchased credits and do not expire when the plan ends
4Sources
Each figure is read from the vendor page linked in the ledger, checked 2026-10-13. How a figure qualifies is on method; what a rate leaves out is on limits and unspent credits and parallel generations. Nearby: Price of sound, Price of a reference, Remaking a clip.