AI Video Cost Calculator
Every pricing comparison lists the monthly fee. Almost none price in re-takes — and short-form is a re-take heavy format, because you generate several hooks to publish one. On a metered plan you pay for all of them.
This works the cost out per published video, which is the number that decides whether a channel is viable.
1x means every render ships. In practice 2–4x is normal when hunting for a hook that lands.
Midpoint of the published $0.40–1.00 per 1,000 qualified views. Actual RPM swings with niche, audience country and watch-through — tech and finance with a US/UK audience pay several times a global lifestyle audience.
What this does not tell you
- Cheapest is not best. Self-hosting has no photoreal avatar, no voice clone and no brand-safe presenter. If the format needs a face, it does not compete at any price.
- Stock footage is shared. Self-hosted pipelines draw from the same free libraries, so two channels in one niche surface the same clips.
- Rates move. HeyGen restructured to credits on 15 May 2026 and Synthesia repriced in the same window. Verify on each vendor's page before buying.
- The revenue figure is an estimate. It is a midpoint, not a forecast, and it ignores brand deals and affiliate income entirely.
Affiliate disclosure: some outbound links earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. The free self-hosted option pays us nothing and is included because at volume it is frequently the correct answer.