How much does an AI video ad cost to make in 2026? Real budgets by model
Real model prices turned into real budgets: a 15-second product ad, a 30-second UGC-style ad, five hook variants, a static set and a voiceover, on Seedance, Kling, Veo and Nano Banana, with the retakes counted.
Short answer: the model part of a finished AI video ad usually costs somewhere between $1 and $20, depending on the model, the length, the resolution and how many takes you need. A 15-second product clip on Seedance 2.5 at 720p is about $3.50 a take. A 30-second UGC-style ad at 1080p is closer to $17 a take. Five 8-second hook variants on Veo 3.1 Fast are $4 for the lot.
Below is how those numbers are built, so you can price your own ads. For how AI compares with hiring a creator or an agency, see agency vs creator vs AI.
The formula
Cost = seconds × price per second × takes.
Video models charge per second of output, at a rate set by the model and the resolution. Takes is how many renders you make before you keep one; for ad work, plan on two or three per shot. Images are priced per image, and voice per 1,000 characters of script.
Model prices per second
Model makers' API prices as of October 2026, rounded. They change often, so check the model's page before you budget a big batch.
| Model | Price per second | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 | $0.40 | Sound, up to 8 seconds a clip, strong when someone speaks on camera |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | $0.10 at 720p | Sound, up to 8 seconds, good for hook tests |
| Seedance 2.5 | about $0.23 at 720p, about $0.57 at 1080p | Sound, up to 30 seconds in one unbroken take |
| Seedance 2.0 Fast | about $0.12 at 720p | Sound, up to 15 seconds |
| Kling 3.0 | about $0.14 | Sound, up to 15 seconds, several shots in one clip |
| Gemini Omni | about $0.10 | Sound, up to 10 seconds |
| Hailuo 2.3 | about $0.05 | Silent, 6 or 10 seconds |
For images, Nano Banana 2.1 is about 4 cents, GPT Image 2.5 about 5 cents and Nano Banana Pro about 13 cents. For voice, an ElevenLabs model is about 8 to 10 cents per 1,000 characters. We also tested the models side by side, so you can see what each price buys: video, images and voice.
Five real budgets
1. A 15-second product ad
One continuous shot of the product in use, on Seedance 2.5 at 720p: 15 × $0.23 is about $3.50 a take. Three takes to find the keeper come to about $10.50. Render the final version at 1080p for about $8.60 more, and the whole ad is about $19 of model time.
2. A 30-second UGC-style ad
A person talking to camera about the product. Seedance 2.5 holds 30 seconds in one take with synced sound, for about $7 at 720p or about $17 at 1080p. Two takes at 720p: about $14. The other route is four 8-second Veo 3.1 shots cut together, $12.80 a pass, or about $26 with two takes of each. If you'd rather not write the script yourself, the AI UGC ad generator plans it for you.
3. Five new hooks for a video that already works
The first seconds decide whether anyone watches the rest, so testing openings is the cheapest win in video ads. Five 8-second openings on Veo 3.1 Fast cost $4. On Veo 3.1, $16. We wrote up how to put new hooks on your best video while keeping the rest of it intact.
4. A static ad set
Twenty image ads on Nano Banana 2.1 at about 4 cents each come to about $0.85. Add five hero images on Nano Banana Pro for about $0.67. That's 25 image ads for under $2 of model time.
5. A voiceover
A 30-second script is about 75 words, or roughly 450 characters. At 8 to 10 cents per 1,000 characters that's about 4 cents. Ten different reads cost less than 50 cents.
| Ad | Model | Per take | Typical total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15-second product ad | Seedance 2.5, 720p tests, 1080p final | about $3.50 | about $19 |
| 30-second UGC-style ad | Seedance 2.5, 720p | about $7 | about $14 |
| Five hook variants | Veo 3.1 Fast | $0.80 each | $4 |
| 25 static ads | Nano Banana 2.1 and Pro | 4 to 13 cents each | under $2 |
| Voiceover | ElevenLabs | about 4 cents | under 50 cents for ten reads |
A month of creative testing
Say you test ten new video concepts a month, each a 15-second clip, with three takes each. That's 450 seconds of video:
- Seedance 2.0 Fast at 720p: about $55
- Kling 3.0: about $63
- Seedance 2.5 at 720p: about $105
- Veo 3.1, in 8-second shots: about $180
Add 100 static variations on Nano Banana 2.1 for about $4 and you have a serious testing program for roughly $60 to $190 of model time a month. A single video from a UGC creator is often a few hundred dollars on its own.
What these numbers leave out
- The markup. These are model prices, and most tools charge a multiple of them. Hermoso has no markup on models. For any other tool, work out the multiple with the method in AI video generator pricing, explained.
- Planning and editing. The script, the shot plan, captions, music and the cut. In Hermoso the AI agent does these, and they add a little on top of the model run.
- Your time. Writing prompts, judging takes and resizing for each placement add up.
- Ad spend. Making the ad is the cheap part. Running it is a separate budget.
How to spend less per finished ad
- Draft on a fast model, finish on a premium one. Find the idea on Veo 3.1 Fast or Seedance 2.0 Fast, then make the version you'll run on Veo 3.1 or Seedance 2.5.
- Test at 720p. Render 1080p only for the winner.
- Start from an ad that's already working. An idea borrowed from the longest-running ads in your market misses less often than one from a blank page.
- Give the model a real product photo. The product comes out right sooner, so you spend fewer takes fixing labels and shapes.
- New hooks before new videos. When a video works, five new openings cost a fraction of five new ads.
Make one
Hermoso is an AI marketing agent that researches what's winning in your market, makes finished, on-brand video ads and image ads, and publishes them, from the app or from Claude and ChatGPT. Every image, video and voice model runs at what the model maker charges, and the app shows the exact price before each render. Plans are on the pricing page.
Questions people ask
How much does an AI video ad cost to make?
The model part usually costs about $1 to $20 per finished ad. A 15-second clip on Seedance 2.5 at 720p is about $3.50 a take, a 30-second one at 1080p about $17, and an 8-second Veo 3.1 Fast clip $0.80. Plan on two or three takes per shot.
How much does a 30-second AI video cost?
On Seedance 2.5, which holds 30 seconds in one take, about $7 at 720p and about $17 at 1080p per take. Built from four 8-second Veo 3.1 shots, about $12.80 per pass.
What is the cheapest AI video model for ads?
Among models with sound, Veo 3.1 Lite at about $0.05 a second and Veo 3.1 Fast at $0.10 a second. Silent models such as Hailuo 2.3 are around $0.05 a second.
Is 1080p worth it for video ads?
For the version you run, often yes. For tests, 720p is usually enough on a phone screen and costs much less: Seedance 2.5 is about $0.23 a second at 720p and about $0.57 at 1080p.
How many takes should I budget per shot?
Two or three. The first render is rarely the one you keep, and budgeting for takes up front is what keeps the real cost close to the plan.