How credits work

Credits are the unit StudioAI bills generation in. This page explains exactly how they move, because guessing at AI spend is not a good experience.

What a credit is worth

Credits map to real provider cost. When a scene is generated, we pay the model provider for it; the credit price is that cost converted at a fixed rate, plus a margin that covers processing, storage and delivery.

That means the price of a generation depends on what it actually consumes:

What changes	Effect on cost
Longer duration	Roughly linear — a 10s shot costs about twice a 5s shot
Higher resolution	Significant — 1080p can be two to three times 720p
Native audio	Often doubles the rate on models that support it
Premium model tier	The largest single factor, frequently 5–10× a fast model

A five-second 720p scene on a fast model lands around 40 credits. The same scene on a premium model with audio can be several hundred. The interface always shows the figure for your exact settings before the button becomes active.

Reserved, then settled

Credits are not deducted when you press Generate. They are reserved.

1. Estimate. The cost is calculated from the model’s real pricing and your settings.
2. Reserve. Slightly more than the estimate is held, so a marginally more expensive result still settles cleanly. Your available balance drops; your actual balance does not.
3. Generate. The job runs at the provider.
4. Settle. When it completes, the provider reports what it really cost. That figure is charged and the remainder of the hold is released.

You can see reserved credits separately from your balance on the billing page, and every movement appears in the ledger with a running balance.

Failures are not charged

If a generation fails — the provider errors, times out, rejects the request, or you cancel it — the reservation is released in full. You are not charged for a video you did not receive.

If something goes wrong badly enough that a reservation is left stranded, a reconciliation process sweeps it back automatically. Credits do not silently disappear.

What is free

Everything that is not a generation:

• Talking to the Director, however long the conversation runs
• Creating, rewriting and restructuring storyboards
• Uploading and analysing your references
• Registering characters, products and brand kits
• Editing scenes, connecting references, arranging the canvas and the timeline

You can take a project all the way to an approved shot list without spending a credit.

The Director cannot spend on its own

This is deliberate. The Director can plan a six-scene film, rewrite every prompt and wire up every reference for free — but anything that costs money is presented to you as a priced confirmation.

Asking it to “generate all the scenes” produces a costed proposal, not a charge. Even a single scene above a spend threshold is escalated to a confirmation rather than run.

Plans and top-ups

Plan credits are granted at the start of each billing period and are used first. Top-up credits you purchase separately do not expire while your account is active.

If you run out mid-project, nothing is lost: your storyboard, references and completed scenes are all still there when you top up.