RenderDrama

What a second of AI video costs, channel by channel

Which rate page says what a failed generation costs

Every rate in this register prices a second of delivered output, and almost none of the pages carrying those rates say what happens to the attempts that deliver nothing. One price page states it outright; four other vendors answer on a different document. As of 2026-10-25.

Three answers, and the one that reverses a rankingOne price page states that the charge applies only to a successful generation. Two vendors refund credits on failure, in a user guide or a refund guide. One states that moderated generations still cost credits on its developer API. Every other channel here leaves the question off every page carrying a rate.What happens when a generation delivers nothingNot chargedThe rate is the rateStated on one price pagehere, and reprinted byneither reseller carryingthat family.RefundedThe rate is the rate,laterStated in a user guide ora refund guide rather thanon the page carrying thefigure.Charged anywayMultiply by the retakeratioOne vendor states this formoderated generations.Everywhere else it isunasked.No vendor publishes a rejection rate, because none could
Fig. 1 At a rejection rate of two in three, a cheap rate that bills every attempt can cost more per usable second than a steep one that bills none.
What each channel puts on its pricing pageFilled where the channel publishes something in that column, hollow where its pricing page is silent.What each channel puts on its pricing pageWhat is statedWhere it appearsVeoVeo — What is stated: Charged only when the video is generated successfullyVeo — Where it appears: On the price page itselfKling AIKling AI — What is stated: Credits refunded when a generation failsKling AI — Where it appears: In the model user guidePixVersePixVerse — What is stated: Qualifying failed, moderated or timed-out tasks may be refunded, and the account ledger is the final recordPixVerse — Where it appears: In the FAQ and billing guide, with a refund note on the price pageRunwayRunway — What is stated: Moderated generations still cost credits on the developer APIRunway — Where it appears: On the API pricing documentationSceneMixerSceneMixer — What is stated: Held on submit, returned on failure; a confirmed moderation block is refunded tooSceneMixer — Where it appears: In a refund guide linked from supportEvery other channel hereEvery other channel here — What is stated: Not stated on any page carrying a rateEvery other channel here — Where it appears: Nowhere a buyer can read before committing
Fig. 2 Filled where the channel publishes something in that column, hollow where its pricing page is silent.
What each vendor that addresses failed or rejected generations states, and where it says it. Recorded 2026-10-25.
VendorWhat is statedWhere it appears
VeoCharged only when the video is generated successfullyOn the price page itself
Kling AICredits refunded when a generation failsIn the model user guide
PixVerseQualifying failed, moderated or timed-out tasks may be refunded, and the account ledger is the final recordIn the FAQ and billing guide, with a refund note on the price page
RunwayModerated generations still cost credits on the developer APIOn the API pricing documentation
SceneMixerHeld on submit, returned on failure; a confirmed moderation block is refunded tooIn a refund guide linked from support
Every other channel hereNot stated on any page carrying a rateNowhere a buyer can read before committing

Inclusion rule. Vendors whose public pages address what a failed, rejected or moderated generation costs. A vendor that never raises it is counted in the final row rather than given one. Order. The page carrying the rate first, then answers found on other documents.

1The retake ratio is the multiplier nobody publishes

A per-second rate prices the file a buyer keeps. It says nothing about the two or three that were discarded to get it, and no vendor here publishes a rejection rate because no vendor could. That makes the real cost of a usable second the published rate multiplied by a number the buyer has to measure.

A cost model that ignores that multiplier is wrong by a factor rather than a percentage. It is the single largest gap between every figure in this ledger and what a production actually spends.

2Not charging for failures changes the ranking, not just the bill

Take a steep rate that bills only successes and a cheap one that bills every attempt. At a rejection rate of two in three, the cheap channel is paying for three seconds per usable second and the steep one for one. The order a price comparison produces can reverse entirely on that single sentence.

Which is why the sentence is worth more than the resolution curve above it on the same page. It is also the only one of its kind here, and it is not reprinted by either reseller carrying that model family.

3Moderation is the failure mode most likely to be billed

One vendor states that moderated generations still cost credits on its developer API. That is the honest version of a common arrangement: the model ran, the output was withheld, and the meter counted. For drama with violence, injury or anything a filter reads as unsafe, that is a recurring cost.

A production working in that territory should price it in explicitly rather than assume the rate covers only delivered footage. The opposite answer also exists here: one vendor refunds a moderation block the provider confirms, with a cap of twelve such refunds an account in a day. Between them those two vendors let the cost be planned for. A third says qualifying moderated tasks may be refunded without saying which ones qualify, and everyone else leaves it to be discovered.

  • What a failed generation costs
    Charged only when the video is generated successfullystated on the price pageGoogle, Gemini API prices / recorded 2026-09-12
  • Unused units
    API packages carry 180-day validity with no rollover and no extensionon the developer packagesKling AI, developer prices / recorded 2026-09-16
  • What a failed generation costs
    Qualifying failed, moderated or timed-out tasks may be refunded, with the refund shown in the account ledgerstated in the FAQ and billing guide beside the price pagePixVerse, platform FAQ / recorded 2026-10-25
  • Unused credits
    Standard 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 planRunway, plans page / recorded 2026-09-16
  • What a failed generation costs
    Credits are held when a task is submitted, charged when it delivers and returned when it failsSceneMixer, refund guide / recorded 2026-10-13
  • What a moderated generation costs
    A moderation block on a video that the provider confirms is refunded automatically, up to 12 blocks per account in 24 hoursSceneMixer, refund guide / recorded 2026-10-13
  • Generations with no confirmed outcome
    Where a result cannot be confirmed either way, the credits wait as held until support checks, then become a refund or a chargeSceneMixer, refund guide / recorded 2026-10-13

4Sources

Each figure is read from the vendor page linked in the ledger, checked 2026-10-25. How a figure qualifies is on method; what a rate leaves out is on limits and unspent credits and parallel generations. Nearby: Priced by the clip, Both halves published, Strings attached.