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AI image and video generation prices in 2026: what one image or clip really costs
Image and video models are priced very differently from chat models. Most charge per image or per second of video, a few charge per token, and the price moves with resolution. Here is what things actually cost in late September 2026, from each provider’s own pricing page.
Images: the cheapest options
| Model | Price per image | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MiniMax image-01 | $0.0035 | |
| Recraft V4.1 Flash | $0.007 | Raster |
| FLUX.2 [klein] 9B | from $0.015 | |
| Imagen 4 Fast | $0.02 | Via Google Vertex AI |
| Runway Gen-4 Image Turbo | $0.02 | Any resolution |
| FLUX.2 [pro] | from $0.03 | Price for the first megapixel |
| Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image (Nano Banana 2 Lite) | $0.0336 | 1K |
Images: the premium options
| Model | Price per image | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini 3.1 Flash Image (Nano Banana 2) | $0.067 at 1K | $0.101 at 2K, $0.151 at 4K |
| FLUX.2 [max] | from $0.07 | Price rises with megapixels |
| Imagen 4 Ultra | $0.06 | |
| Recraft V4.1 Pro | $0.21 | $0.30 for vector output |
OpenAI’s image models are billed per token, not per image: GPT-Image-2 and the new GPT-Image-2.5 models cost $30 per million image output tokens. The cost of one picture depends on its size and quality setting, so use OpenAI’s calculator for an exact figure.
Midjourney has no public API. You can only use it through a subscription, from $10 a month for the Basic plan.
See the full, sortable list on the image prices page.
Video: price per second
| Model | Per second | A 10-second clip |
|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite | $0.05 (720p) | $0.50 |
| Runway Gen-4 Turbo | $0.05 | $0.50 |
| Pika 2.5 | $0.06 (1080p image-to-video; $0.09 for text-to-video) | $0.60 |
| MiniMax H3 | $0.08 (768p) | $0.80 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | $0.10 (720p) | $1.00 |
| Runway Gen-4.5 | $0.12 | $1.20 |
| Veo 3.1 | $0.40 (720p/1080p, with audio) | $4.00 |
Google’s Veo prices include generated audio. Pika’s API requires a $10 monthly membership on top of the per-second price. Luma prices its Ray3.2 model per clip rather than per second: $0.30 for 5 seconds at 720p.
See every model on the video prices page.
Sora’s API is gone
OpenAI shut down the Sora API on September 24, 2026; the Sora app had closed earlier, on April 26. If you had a Sora workflow, Google’s Veo 3.1 family and Runway’s Gen-4.5 are the closest paid API alternatives on price.
API or subscription?
- A few images a week: a subscription such as Midjourney Basic ($10) or Leonardo Essential ($12) is simpler.
- Hundreds or thousands of images in an app: the API is far cheaper per image. At $0.02 an image, 1,000 images cost $20.
- Video: subscriptions give a fixed number of credits. Runway Standard ($15 a month) covers about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 video; the same 52 seconds through the API cost about $6.24.
Compare image and video subscriptions on the plans page.