How VisionStory Credits Work

Credits are VisionStory's usage currency: almost every generation — a talking video, an AI image, a voice preview, a Kling or Seedance clip — spends credits. This guide covers four things: how each feature spends credits, what a credit is actually worth in US dollars, what a finished video really costs, and how the different credit types in your account are used.

How each feature spends credits

V-Character talking videos are billed per 4-second interval, with partial intervals rounded up. At 720p, each interval costs 1 credit: 1–4 seconds cost 1 credit, 5 seconds cost 2, and 16 seconds cost 4. Resolution and Green Screen add separate charges.

AI Presentation also uses 4-second intervals but has its own rate. Podcast and AI Video Agent (Avatar Story) are billed per second, each at its own rate; see Combined formats below. External models (Kling, Seedance, Wan), standalone Tools, Viral Music, video face swap, and OpenAPI also use separate pricing.

Talking video (AI Avatar / Talking Photo)

All talking-video generation uses the V-Character model. The number of intervals is calculated for the whole video, and each charge is then calculated separately:

intervals    = duration ÷ 4 seconds, rounded up
base credits = intervals × 1
video total  = base credits + rounded resolution add-on + rounded Green Screen add-on

Each add-on is rounded up separately to a whole credit, then added to the base credits. Both add-ons use the base credits; Green Screen is not calculated on a total that already includes HD. A 1-minute video (15 intervals) costs 15 credits at 720p, 23 at 1080p, or 53 at 2K. Green Screen adds 4 credits at any of those resolutions. Creating an avatar from your photo is free — credits are only spent when you generate a video.

Other native features

• AI image: billed per model and available on Pro or higher — 1 credit per image for Nano Banana, 2 for Nano Banana 2, and 3 for Nano Banana Pro.
• HD upgrade on a generated talking video: only the resolution add-on is charged, using the same 4-second intervals as talking-video generation. The charge is the number of intervals × 0.5 for 1080p or × 2.5 for 2K, rounded up to a whole credit. Upgrading a 1-minute video costs 8 credits to 1080p or 38 to 2K.
• Standalone Video Upscale tool: separate pricing of 10 credits per 15-second interval, with partial intervals rounded up — 40 credits for 1 minute.
• Background removal tools: 1 credit per image cutout; the standalone video background-removal tool costs 1 credit per 15-second interval, with partial intervals rounded up. This is separate from the Green Screen option during talking-video generation.
• Face swap (video): 4 credits per second at 720p or 6 at 1080p, counting each rounded-up second of the source video (up to 60 seconds). Requires an active subscription and can only use Subscription or Permanent credits.
• Viral Music: billed per second of the selected clip, rounded up to a whole second — 1 credit per second at 720p, 2 at 1080p, and 5 at 2K. Requires an active subscription; any credit type can pay, including Bonus.
• Voice preview: the first 50,000 characters every 24 hours are free; beyond that, 1 credit per 500 characters (rounded up).
• Voice cloning: free — limited only by the number of clones your plan allows.

External video models (billed per second)

These run on third-party providers, so they cost more than native features and are billed per second of output.

The rate depends only on the model, the resolution and the length — native audio and reference images, video or audio never add a surcharge. Examples: a 5-second Kling 3.0 clip at 1080p is 15 credits; a 5-second Wan 3.0 clip at 1080p is 25 credits; a 15-second Seedance 2.0 clip at 1080p is 120 credits. The API offers one extra tier these models do not expose in the app — a cheaper 480p option on Seedance and Wan.

Combined formats

Podcast, Presentation, Campaign, and Avatar Story have different billing rules. Campaign uses the V-Character rate above; Presentation has an independent rate per 4-second interval. Podcast and Avatar Story are billed per second of video, each at its own rate, and neither one charges extra for two-person shots.

• Podcast: the base charge is 0.5 credits per second. 720p has no resolution add-on; 1080p adds 0.5 credits per second, and 2K adds 1.5 credits per second. One minute costs 30 credits at 720p, 60 credits at 1080p, or 120 credits at 2K. Two-host (dual) shots cost the same as single-host shots and are not charged double. All shot durations are added together and the total is rounded up to a whole second. The base and resolution charges are calculated on that duration, each is rounded up separately to a whole credit, and the two are added together. For example, 13 seconds at 1080p costs 7 base credits plus 7 resolution credits, for a total of 14; shots are not rounded individually. Generating a scene costs 2 credits per generation, which covers the full set of shot images plus the two-host cover image.
• Presentation (PPT video): the durations of the slides being rendered are added together, divided by 4 seconds, and rounded up to get the number of intervals. The base charge is the number of intervals × 1.5 credits; 2K adds the number of intervals × 2 credits. The base and 2K add-on are each rounded up separately, then added together. A 60-second presentation costs 23 credits at 1080p or 53 credits at 2K. Slides themselves do not carry an additional charge.
• Campaign (AI ads): billed per creative — each a fixed-1080p talking video — with a volume discount as you generate more in one batch.
• AI Video Agent (Avatar Story): only two things cost credits — storyboard images at 1 credit each, and the final render, billed per second of video: 720p costs 1 credit per second, 1080p costs 2 credits per second, and 2K costs 5 credits per second. Two-person shots are not charged double, and a shot you have already rendered is not charged again unless it has to be re-rendered — for example if you change the resolution or edit that shot. Chatting and planning with the agent are free; a paid plan is required.

What a credit is worth in US dollars

Credits come bundled with your plan, so the real cost of a credit depends on two things: your plan tier and whether you pay monthly or annually. Higher tiers and annual billing both lower the price per credit. Here are the two extremes.

In other words, a credit is worth roughly 4 to 8 US cents depending on your plan — and an Ultra annual credit is about 1.9× cheaper than a Pro monthly credit. To make it concrete, a 1-minute 720p talking video (15 credits) works out to about $1.25 on Pro monthly or $0.65 on Ultra annual.

These are standard list prices as of mid-2026 and exclude limited-time promotions. Your actual charge, current prices, and any active discount are always confirmed on the pricing page and the checkout screen.

What a 1-minute video actually costs

The question most people really have is simpler: what does a finished video cost? Here is a 1-minute clip at 720p, priced across VisionStory's own models and two popular alternatives. VisionStory figures use our lowest per-credit rate (Ultra, billed annually, about 4.3 cents per credit).

For a talking-avatar video, VisionStory's native V-Character is by far the most affordable — well under HeyGen and Synthesia. Kling and Seedance are cinematic video generators (a different job than talking avatars), billed per second, so a full minute costs much more. Competitor figures are each platform's lowest published per-minute rate; your exact VisionStory cost always appears on the generation screen before you submit.

The three kinds of credits — and the order they are used

Your balance can hold three kinds of credits. They come from different places and follow different rules.

In the app, your sign-up gift and activity rewards are shown together as Bonus credits. Subscription credits roll over while you are subscribed — at each renewal the carried-over balance is kept up to 2× the monthly allowance (annual plans: yearly allowance ÷ 12), any excess expires, and new credits are added on top.

Which credits can pay for what

Most generation accepts any credit type, but some higher-cost features are restricted to paid credits:

• Native avatars and talking videos, Viral Music, and images generated inside an agent conversation: any credit, including Bonus.
• External video models (Kling, Seedance, Wan), video face swap, and standalone image generation: Subscription or Permanent only — not Bonus.

External models and standalone images carry a real cost we pay to third-party providers, so they can only be paid with credits you actually bought.

The order credits are spent

For native generation, credits are spent Subscription → Permanent → Bonus. Subscription credits go first on purpose: they are reclaimed if your plan ends, so using them first means you get full value from what you already paid for, while your never-expiring Permanent and Bonus credits wait until last. For external models and standalone images, spending stops at Permanent — Bonus is never touched.

When you run low: credit packs and Auto Recharge

If you have an active subscription and need more credits, you can buy a one-time credit pack from the Billing page or an out-of-credits prompt. Purchased credits never expire. You can also enable Auto Recharge to automatically purchase your chosen number of credits whenever your paid balance — your Subscription and Permanent credits, not Bonus credits — falls below the threshold you set, or upgrade to a higher-tier plan for a larger included credit allowance.