Understanding Credits & Billing
A complete guide to how credits work, what operations cost, how to purchase more, and how to read your transaction history.
What Are Credits?
Credits are the in-app currency that powers all AI operations in VidFlow. Rather than charging per-operation with a credit card, you maintain a balance of credits and spend them as you work. This model gives you predictable costs and the freedom to experiment without surprise charges. Credits are shared across all projects on your account and never expire.
Credit Costs by Operation
The simplest way to think about credits: a rendered second of finished video runs about 2 credits, so a full project usually totals in the hundreds (a default 7-minute long-form run is estimated near 840 credits). Most individual operations are cheap — it is the voiceover take and the per-shot video clips that dominate the bill. A fresh run spends roughly 104 credits of fixed overhead before a single shot renders, and you always see the projected cost before confirming any step.
- ›Title ideas: 5 credits per batch (regenerating one title: 1 credit)
- ›Full script: about 3 credits all in (outline, chapters, and a hook)
- ›Shot image: about 4 credits each
- ›Per-shot video clip: roughly 28–90 credits each
- ›Voiceover take: 90 credits
- ›Final video render: free at the render step (you have already paid per shot)
Buying More Credits
Navigate to Settings → Credits to view available credit packs. Packs are sold in tiers — smaller bundles at a standard rate and larger bulk packs with a per-credit discount. Payment is processed through Stripe (all major cards accepted) or via cryptocurrency. Credits appear in your balance immediately after payment is confirmed, and a receipt is saved to Settings → Transactions.
Monitoring Your Balance
Your current credit balance is always visible in the top navigation bar. Before any AI operation, a preview shows exactly how many credits it will consume so you can make informed decisions. VidFlow also warns you when your balance drops below 5 credits; you can switch that low-balance notification on or off in Settings → Preferences.