Google's Veo 3.1 represents the cutting edge of AI video generation, offering three distinct pricing tiers that cater to different budgets and quality requirements. As of December 2025, Veo 3.1 Fast costs $0.15 per second, Veo 3.1 Standard runs $0.40 per second, and the premium Veo 3.0 Full tier charges $0.75 per second. Understanding these pricing structures helps you budget effectively and choose the optimal tier for your specific video generation needs.
This comprehensive guide breaks down every aspect of Veo 3.1 pricing, from per-second costs to monthly projections for high-volume production. Whether you're generating 10 videos for a social media campaign or scaling to 5,000 videos monthly for enterprise content, you'll find pre-calculated tables and decision frameworks to minimize costs while maintaining quality.
Quick Answer: Veo 3.1 Per-Second Pricing
The official Veo 3.1 pricing via Google's Gemini API follows a straightforward per-second model. Here's the December 2025 rate card that serves as your baseline for all cost calculations.
| Tier | Per-Second Cost | 8-Second Video | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Fast | $0.15 | $1.20 | Drafts, social media, iterations |
| Veo 3.1 Standard | $0.40 | $3.20 | Marketing, advertisements |
| Veo 3.0 Full | $0.75 | $6.00 | Professional productions, films |
Quick cost formula: Total Cost = Video Duration (seconds) × Per-Second Rate × Number of Videos
For a practical example, generating 100 eight-second videos at the Fast tier costs $120 monthly ($0.15 × 8 × 100). The same volume at the Full tier would cost $600, demonstrating why tier selection significantly impacts your budget.
The pricing structure reflects Google's tiered approach to AI video generation. The Fast tier prioritizes speed and cost-efficiency with 720p output, making it ideal for content that needs quick turnaround. Standard tier delivers 1080p resolution with enhanced audio synchronization for professional marketing materials. The Full tier unlocks cinema-grade quality with 4K resolution options, reserved for productions where visual fidelity matters most.
Google designed this pricing to encourage experimentation with the Fast tier while reserving premium features for final deliverables. This approach aligns with professional video production workflows where multiple iterations precede the final cut.
Complete Pricing Breakdown by Tier
Understanding the full pricing matrix requires examining each tier's capabilities alongside its costs. The December 2025 pricing includes significant updates from Google's September announcement that reduced costs across all tiers.
Veo 3.1 Fast Tier Details
The Fast tier operates at $0.15 per second with audio included, dropping to $0.10 per second when audio generation is disabled. This 33% savings on silent videos makes the Fast tier particularly attractive for content that will receive separate audio tracks in post-production.
Generation time averages 2-3 minutes for an 8-second video, significantly faster than higher tiers. Resolution caps at 720p HD, sufficient for most social media platforms that compress video anyway. The audio generation, while included, provides basic synchronization rather than the sophisticated dialogue-to-lip-sync capabilities of premium tiers.
Veo 3.1 Standard Tier Details
Standard tier pricing at $0.40 per second represents the middle ground between cost and quality. Disabling audio reduces this to approximately $0.30 per second, though the savings percentage is smaller than the Fast tier.
Output resolution increases to 1080p Full HD, meeting broadcast quality standards. Generation times extend to 4-6 minutes per 8-second video, reflecting the additional computational requirements for higher-quality output. The enhanced audio synchronization proves valuable for dialogue-heavy content and marketing videos where voice quality matters.
Veo 3.0 Full Tier Details
The premium tier at $0.75 per second delivers maximum quality with up to 4K Ultra HD resolution. Without audio, costs drop to $0.50 per second—a 33% savings that mirrors the Fast tier's audio discount structure.
Generation times range from 8-12 minutes for an 8-second video, reflecting the extensive computation required for cinema-grade output. This tier exclusively runs on Google's Vertex AI infrastructure rather than the consumer Gemini API, requiring enterprise credentials for access.
If you're exploring the broader Gemini API pricing structure for text and image generation alongside video, understanding the unified billing system helps manage total AI costs.
Fast vs Standard vs Full: Which Tier to Choose
Selecting the right tier depends on your output requirements, budget constraints, and workflow preferences. This decision matrix simplifies the choice based on common use cases.
Choose Fast Tier ($0.15/s) When:
Content will be compressed for social media distribution. Platforms like Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts aggressively compress video regardless of input quality. Starting with 720p Fast tier output yields nearly identical end-user experience while reducing costs by 80% compared to Full tier.
You're in the iteration phase of creative development. Professional workflows generate multiple draft versions before finalizing. Using Fast tier for iterations and reserving Standard or Full for the final version optimizes budget allocation.
Audio will be replaced in post-production. Many content creators prefer custom soundtracks, voiceovers, or sound effects over AI-generated audio. Disabling audio at the Fast tier drops costs to $0.10/second—the most economical option available.
Choose Standard Tier ($0.40/s) When:
Marketing and advertising materials require broadcast-quality output. The 1080p resolution meets industry standards for commercial distribution without the premium of 4K.
Enhanced audio synchronization matters. Product demonstrations, tutorial videos, and dialogue-heavy content benefit from Standard tier's improved audio-visual alignment.
Budget allows for approximately 2.6x the Fast tier cost with meaningful quality improvement. Standard tier offers the best quality-to-cost ratio for professional content that doesn't require cinema-grade production values.
Choose Full Tier ($0.75/s) When:
Final deliverables require maximum resolution. Film production, high-end commercials, and content destined for large-screen display justify the premium.
Your production workflow already operates in 4K. Maintaining resolution consistency throughout the production pipeline eliminates quality loss from upscaling.
Enterprise budgets support premium pricing. Organizations with substantial content budgets often standardize on Full tier to simplify workflow decisions and ensure consistent quality.
The comprehensive AI video model comparison provides additional context for how Veo 3.1 tiers compare against competitors like Sora 2 and Runway Gen-3.
Cost Calculator: Pre-Calculated Tables
Rather than requiring you to calculate costs for each scenario, these pre-calculated tables cover common production volumes. Use them for quick budget estimation and planning.
8-Second Video Costs by Volume
| Monthly Videos | Fast ($0.15/s) | Standard ($0.40/s) | Full ($0.75/s) | Third-Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $12 | $32 | $60 | $4-36 |
| 50 | $60 | $160 | $300 | $20-180 |
| 100 | $120 | $320 | $600 | $40-360 |
| 250 | $300 | $800 | $1,500 | $100-900 |
| 500 | $600 | $1,600 | $3,000 | $200-1,800 |
| 1,000 | $1,200 | $3,200 | $6,000 | $400-3,600 |
| 2,500 | $3,000 | $8,000 | $15,000 | $1,000-9,000 |
| 5,000 | $6,000 | $16,000 | $30,000 | $2,000-18,000 |
30-Second Video Costs by Volume
| Monthly Videos | Fast ($0.15/s) | Standard ($0.40/s) | Full ($0.75/s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $45 | $120 | $225 |
| 50 | $225 | $600 | $1,125 |
| 100 | $450 | $1,200 | $2,250 |
| 250 | $1,125 | $3,000 | $5,625 |
| 500 | $2,250 | $6,000 | $11,250 |
| 1,000 | $4,500 | $12,000 | $22,500 |
60-Second Video Costs by Volume
| Monthly Videos | Fast ($0.15/s) | Standard ($0.40/s) | Full ($0.75/s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $90 | $240 | $450 |
| 50 | $450 | $1,200 | $2,250 |
| 100 | $900 | $2,400 | $4,500 |
| 250 | $2,250 | $6,000 | $11,250 |
| 500 | $4,500 | $12,000 | $22,500 |
| 1,000 | $9,000 | $24,000 | $45,000 |
These tables assume standard 8-second generation chunks. Videos longer than 8 seconds require multiple generations stitched together, potentially introducing continuity challenges that may require additional iterations.
Annual Budget Projections
For organizations planning annual content budgets, multiply monthly costs by 12 with a 10% buffer for iterations and failed generations.
| Monthly Volume | Fast Annual | Standard Annual | Full Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 videos (8s) | $1,584 | $4,224 | $7,920 |
| 500 videos (8s) | $7,920 | $21,120 | $39,600 |
| 1,000 videos (8s) | $15,840 | $42,240 | $79,200 |
Hidden Costs Explained
Beyond the per-second rates, several additional costs impact your total expenditure. Understanding these hidden costs prevents budget surprises and enables accurate financial planning.
Audio Generation Premium
Audio generation increases per-second costs by 33-50% depending on the tier. The pricing structure incentivizes silent video generation when appropriate.
| Tier | With Audio | Without Audio | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fast | $0.15/s | $0.10/s | 33% |
| Standard | $0.40/s | $0.30/s | 25% |
| Full | $0.75/s | $0.50/s | 33% |
For an 8-second video at the Fast tier, enabling audio costs $1.20 while disabling it drops to $0.80—a $0.40 difference that compounds significantly at scale.
Resolution Multipliers
While base pricing assumes standard resolution for each tier, some API configurations allow resolution selection within tiers. Higher resolutions within a tier may incur multipliers.
| Resolution | Multiplier | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 720p | 1.0x | Fast tier default |
| 1080p | 1.0x | Standard tier default |
| 1440p | 1.4-1.6x | Premium option |
| 4K | 1.6-1.8x | Full tier feature |
Infrastructure Costs
Direct API usage incurs additional infrastructure costs beyond per-second generation fees.
Data egress fees apply when downloading generated videos from Google Cloud. Expect $0.08-0.12 per GB of video data downloaded, which adds approximately $0.02-0.05 per 8-second video.
Storage costs accumulate if you store generated videos in Google Cloud Storage before downloading. At $0.020-0.026 per GB per month, storage costs remain minimal for most use cases but add up for organizations maintaining large video libraries.
API overhead costs include authentication, request handling, and quota management. Google bundles these into overall Cloud Platform costs, typically adding 5-10% to direct generation costs for high-volume users.
Total Cost of Ownership Formula
TCO = (Per-Second Rate × Duration × Videos) + (Egress × File Size × Videos) + (Storage × Total GB × Months) + (Infrastructure × 0.05-0.10)
For 1,000 monthly 8-second Fast tier videos with audio:
- Generation: $1,200
- Egress (~10MB each): $0.80-1.20
- Storage (if retained): $0.20-0.26
- Infrastructure: $60-120
- Total TCO: $1,261-1,321
API vs Subscription: Break-Even Analysis
Google offers both pay-per-use API access and subscription-based access through Google AI Pro and Ultra tiers. Understanding the break-even points helps you choose the most economical option.
Subscription Options
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Credits | Approx. Fast Videos | Approx. Standard Videos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI Pro | $19.99 | 1,000 | 50-90 | 20-30 |
| AI Ultra | $249.99 | 12,500 | 625-1,100 | 250-400 |
Break-Even Calculation: API vs AI Pro
AI Pro at $19.99/month provides approximately 50-90 Fast tier videos (8 seconds each). Using the API directly at $0.15/second × 8 seconds = $1.20 per video:
- 17 videos: $20.40 (API more expensive)
- 50 videos: $60.00 (API costs 3x subscription)
- 90 videos: $108.00 (API costs 5.4x subscription)
Recommendation: If generating more than 17 Fast tier videos monthly, AI Pro subscription offers better value than direct API access.
Break-Even Calculation: API vs AI Ultra
AI Ultra at $249.99/month provides approximately 625-1,100 Fast tier videos:
- 200 videos: $240.00 (API slightly cheaper)
- 500 videos: $600.00 (subscription saves 58%)
- 1,000 videos: $1,200.00 (subscription saves 79%)
Recommendation: If generating more than 200 Fast tier videos monthly, AI Ultra subscription offers substantial savings over API access.
When API Makes Sense
Direct API access remains optimal for:
- Sporadic usage: Fewer than 17 videos monthly makes subscriptions wasteful
- Programmatic integration: Automated pipelines require API access regardless of cost
- Custom quality control: API allows fine-grained parameter control unavailable in consumer apps
- Enterprise compliance: Some organizations require direct API integration for audit trails
For budget-conscious projects exploring alternatives, free image-to-video AI tools provide starting points before committing to paid tiers.
Third-Party Providers Comparison
Several third-party providers offer Veo API access at reduced rates compared to Google's direct pricing. Understanding these alternatives helps optimize costs while maintaining access to Veo's capabilities.
| Provider | Fast Rate | Standard Rate | Reliability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Direct | $0.15/s | $0.40/s | 99.9% | Official, highest reliability |
| fal.ai | $0.10/s | $0.35/s | 98% | Developer-focused |
| Replicate | $0.12/s | $0.75/s | 97% | Easy integration |
| Kie.ai | $0.05/s | $0.25/s | 95% | Budget option |
| laozhang.ai | $0.08/s | $0.45/s | 97% | Unified API access |
Reliability Considerations
Third-party providers introduce additional latency and potential points of failure. Google's direct API offers 99.9% uptime SLA, while third-party providers typically guarantee 95-98% availability.
For production workloads, the cost savings from third-party providers must be weighed against:
- Increased failure rates requiring retry logic
- Higher latency affecting user experience
- Limited support compared to Google Cloud
- Potential terms of service concerns
Cost Savings Example
Generating 1,000 Fast tier videos monthly:
- Google Direct: $1,200
- fal.ai: $800 (33% savings)
- Kie.ai: $400 (67% savings)
- laozhang.ai: $640 (47% savings)
For developers seeking reliable API aggregation with competitive pricing, laozhang.ai provides unified access to multiple AI models including Veo through a single API endpoint. Documentation at docs.laozhang.ai covers integration details and pricing structures.
When to Use Third-Party Providers
Third-party providers make sense when:
- Budget constraints prioritize cost over maximum reliability
- Development and testing don't require production-grade uptime
- Volume justifies the integration effort
- Your application can handle occasional failures gracefully
Avoid third-party providers when:
- SLA requirements mandate 99%+ uptime
- Enterprise compliance requires direct vendor relationships
- Real-time generation with strict latency requirements
- Support escalation paths matter for your organization
The Kling AI video API guide provides additional perspective on alternative video generation APIs and their pricing models.
Enterprise and Volume Pricing
Organizations with substantial video generation needs can negotiate custom pricing with Google Cloud. Understanding the discount structure helps maximize savings at scale.
Volume Discount Tiers
| Monthly Spend | Typical Discount | Effective Fast Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000-4,999 | 5-10% | $0.135-0.1425/s |
| $5,000-9,999 | 10-15% | $0.1275-0.135/s |
| $10,000-24,999 | 15-20% | $0.12-0.1275/s |
| $25,000-49,999 | 20-25% | $0.1125-0.12/s |
| $50,000+ | 25-30% | $0.105-0.1125/s |
Negotiation Strategies
Successfully negotiating enterprise discounts requires preparation and leverage. These strategies have proven effective based on industry experience.
Commit to annual contracts rather than monthly agreements. Google offers additional 5-10% discounts for 12-month commitments with predictable usage patterns. A $10,000 monthly commitment becomes $120,000 annually, potentially qualifying for 20-25% discounts instead of 15-20%.
Bundle services across Google Cloud Platform. Organizations using other GCP services—Vertex AI for text, Cloud Storage, BigQuery—can negotiate portfolio discounts that exceed individual service discounts.
Provide usage forecasts with growth projections. Google's enterprise sales team responds favorably to customers demonstrating clear growth trajectories. A current $5,000 monthly spend with documented plans to reach $20,000 may qualify for higher-tier discounts upfront.
Leverage competitive quotes from alternative providers. Enterprise negotiations benefit from documented alternatives. Quotes from Azure, AWS Bedrock, or third-party providers demonstrate willingness to consider alternatives.
Enterprise Support Tiers
Beyond pricing discounts, enterprise agreements unlock support tiers unavailable to standard customers.
| Support Tier | Response Time | Features | Typical Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 4 hours | Email, documentation | Default |
| Enhanced | 1 hour | Phone, priority queue | $10K+ monthly |
| Premium | 15 minutes | Dedicated engineer | $50K+ monthly |
Premium support at scale often proves cost-effective when generation failures impact revenue. A dedicated support engineer can reduce incident resolution time from hours to minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a 60-second Veo 3.1 video cost?
A 60-second video costs $9 at Fast tier ($0.15 × 60), $24 at Standard tier ($0.40 × 60), or $45 at Full tier ($0.75 × 60). Note that 60-second videos require multiple 8-second generation chunks stitched together, potentially requiring additional prompt engineering to maintain continuity.
What's the cheapest way to use Veo 3.1?
The cheapest official option is Veo 3.1 Fast without audio at $0.10/second. For even lower costs, third-party providers like Kie.ai offer Fast tier access starting at $0.05/second, though with reduced reliability guarantees.
Does Veo 3.1 Fast include audio generation?
Yes, Veo 3.1 Fast includes basic audio generation at the $0.15/second rate. Disabling audio reduces the cost to $0.10/second. The audio quality is functional but less sophisticated than Standard and Full tiers.
How do credits work vs per-second billing?
Google AI Pro ($19.99/month) and Ultra ($249.99/month) subscriptions provide credit allocations. One credit approximately equals one second of Fast generation. Direct API access bills per-second without credit abstraction. Subscriptions offer better value above certain usage thresholds.
Can I get enterprise discounts without $10,000 monthly spend?
Volume discounts begin at approximately $1,000 monthly spend (5-10% discount). Meaningful discounts (15%+) typically require $10,000+ monthly commitments. Smaller organizations can achieve similar savings through third-party providers or annual prepayment.
How does Veo 3.1 pricing compare to Sora 2?
Sora 2 base tier starts at $0.10/second (720p), comparable to Veo 3.1 Fast without audio. Sora 2 Pro at $0.50/second offers 1080p output, positioning between Veo Standard and Full tiers. Feature sets differ significantly, making direct price comparison only one factor in selection.
What happens if generation fails? Do I get charged?
Failed generations due to Google infrastructure issues are not billed. Failures due to content policy violations, malformed prompts, or timeout (user-side issues) may incur partial charges. Enterprise support tiers provide faster resolution and credit adjustments for disputed charges.
Conclusion
Veo 3.1 pricing offers flexibility across three tiers designed for different use cases and budgets. The Fast tier at $0.15/second serves most social media and iterative workflows, while Standard at $0.40/second handles professional marketing needs, and Full at $0.75/second delivers cinema-grade quality for premium productions.
Key takeaways for cost optimization:
The most effective cost strategy combines tiers based on workflow stage. Use Fast tier for 80% of your generation work—drafts, iterations, and social content—while reserving Standard or Full tier for final deliverables. This hybrid approach typically reduces total costs by 60% or more compared to using premium tiers throughout.
Disable audio when not needed. The 25-33% savings from silent video generation compounds significantly at scale, especially for content that will receive custom audio in post-production.
Consider subscription vs API based on volume. Above 17 monthly videos, AI Pro subscription outperforms direct API pricing. Above 200 monthly videos, AI Ultra provides substantial savings.
Third-party providers offer legitimate savings for appropriate use cases. While Google direct access provides maximum reliability, providers like laozhang.ai offer competitive pricing with solid reliability for development and moderate-scale production.
For organizations scaling video generation, enterprise negotiations unlock 15-30% discounts that dramatically improve unit economics. Combined with workflow optimization, enterprise customers can achieve effective rates below $0.10/second for Fast tier content.
The AI video generation market continues evolving rapidly. Bookmark this guide and check back for pricing updates as Google and competitors adjust their offerings throughout 2025.