Veo 3 price in 2026: what Veo 3.1, Fast and Lite cost per second
Google's Veo 3.1 costs $0.40 a second, Veo 3.1 Fast $0.10 and Veo 3.1 Lite $0.05 at 720p. Every price by resolution, what a clip costs, whether Veo is free, and Google's October 2026 retirement date for the preview models.
Short answer: Google charges $0.40 a second for Veo 3.1, $0.10 for Veo 3.1 Fast and $0.05 for Veo 3.1 Lite, at 720p with sound. An 8-second clip costs $3.20, 80 cents or 40 cents. Veo 3.1 is the current generation of Veo 3; the original Veo 3 models have already been retired.
One thing to know before you plan around it: Google has scheduled the Veo 3.1 preview models on its Gemini API to shut down on October 22, 2026. More on that below.
Veo prices by model and resolution
From Google's Gemini API pricing page, October 2026. Prices are per second of video with sound.
| Model | 720p | 1080p | 4K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 | $0.40 | $0.40 | $0.60 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | $0.10 | $0.12 | $0.30 |
| Veo 3.1 Lite | $0.05 | $0.08 | Not offered |
Veo 3.1 costs the same at 720p and 1080p, so there's no saving in rendering it small. On Fast and Lite, 720p is the cheaper choice for tests.
What a Veo clip costs
Veo makes clips of 4, 6 or 8 seconds.
| Model | 4 seconds | 6 seconds | 8 seconds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 | $1.60 | $2.40 | $3.20 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast (720p) | $0.40 | $0.60 | $0.80 |
| Veo 3.1 Lite (720p) | $0.20 | $0.30 | $0.40 |
A 30-second ad built from four 8-second Veo 3.1 shots costs $12.80 a pass. The same ad on Veo 3.1 Fast is $3.20.
Veo 3.1 vs Fast vs Lite: is the cheap one good enough?
We ran the same 4-second ad shot on all three, one take each, 720p with sound.
All three kept Veo's warm, cinematic light, and all three were believable. The full Veo 3.1 had the richest picture. Fast gave most of that for a quarter of the price, and Lite, at a twentieth of the price per clip, was still usable for a test. One lesson applied to all three: 4 seconds wasn't enough for the whole action, and each one said the line before taking the sip. Give Veo 8 seconds when a shot has several beats. The same prompt on seven other models is in 10 AI video models, one prompt.
Is Veo 3 free?
Not on Google's developer API: Veo has no free tier there. Google includes limited Veo access in some of its paid Google AI plans, in the Gemini app and in Flow, with limits Google doesn't publish in detail, and plan prices vary by country. That's fine for trying Veo. For ad work, where you'll want many takes, per-second pricing is easier to plan around.
Google is retiring the Veo 3.1 preview models
Google's Gemini API deprecations page lists the preview versions of Veo 3.1, Veo 3.1 Fast and Veo 3.1 Lite for shutdown on October 22, 2026, and names Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash as the replacement. Google notes that a listed date is the earliest a model might be retired. The original Veo 3 and Veo 3 Fast models were already listed as shut down on June 30, 2026.
What that means in practice: apps that reach Veo through Google's Gemini API will move to Gemini Omni or to Google's enterprise platform. Gemini Omni 1.1 makes video with sound at about $0.10 a second at 720p, the same as Veo 3.1 Fast, in clips of up to 10 seconds. On Hermoso, Gemini Omni 1.1 is already in the catalog, and we keep Veo available for as long as Google offers it.
The cheapest way to use Veo
- Draft on Fast or Lite, finish on Veo 3.1. Find the hook at 20 to 40 cents a take, then pay $3.20 only for the version you'll run.
- Use 8 seconds for anything with several beats. A 4-second clip that cuts off mid-action is money spent on a retake.
- Pay the model price. Hermoso has no markup on models, so Veo costs exactly what Google charges, with the script, editing and publishing around it included.
For how Veo compares with ByteDance's and Kuaishou's models on ads, read Veo vs Seedance vs Kling, and for the other cheap options, the cheapest AI video generators. Budgets for whole campaigns are in what an AI video ad costs to make.
Questions people ask
How much does Veo 3 cost?
Google charges $0.40 per second for Veo 3.1, $0.10 for Veo 3.1 Fast and $0.05 for Veo 3.1 Lite at 720p with sound (October 2026). An 8-second clip is $3.20, $0.80 or $0.40.
How much does Veo 3 cost per video?
Veo makes 4, 6 or 8-second clips. On Veo 3.1 that is $1.60, $2.40 or $3.20 per clip. On Veo 3.1 Fast at 720p, $0.40, $0.60 or $0.80.
Is Veo 3 free to use?
Not on Google's Gemini API, which has no free tier for Veo. Some paid Google AI plans include limited Veo access in the Gemini app and Flow.
Is Veo 3.1 being discontinued?
Google lists the Veo 3.1, Veo 3.1 Fast and Veo 3.1 Lite preview models on the Gemini API for shutdown on October 22, 2026, as the earliest possible date, and names Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash as the replacement.
What is the cheapest version of Veo?
Veo 3.1 Lite, at $0.05 a second at 720p with sound, or 40 cents for an 8-second clip.