The landscape of AI video creation is rapidly evolving, with new services offering text-to-video, avatar streaming, and automated editing. For developers, agencies, and businesses looking to integrate these tools into production pipelines, the real metric is often the cost per minute—especially when integrating via API or automation platforms like n8n.
Cheapest Video Creation Services
FFMPEG
- API: Yes
- Price: Free (open-source).
- Description: Full programmatic video editing API using a JSON format.
FFMPEG Alternatives:
- OpenShot
- JSON 2 Video: $49.95 per month, about $0.41 per minute (for up to 120 minutes of rendered videos.)
- Rendi: $58 a month, probably would just use CreatoMate
- Replit or Lovable – Build Your Own (Video)
Creatomate
- API: Yes
- Price: ~$0.14 / Minute (14 credits per minute at $0.01 per credit)
- Price Per Month: Varies by plan
- Description: Template-driven video automation platform for bulk rendering, personalization, and API/SDK integrations.
OpenArt
- API: No public dedicated video API
- Price: ~$0.18 / Minute (derived from included subscription credits)
- Price Per Month: $7–$56
- Description: Creative AI platform offering image and short video generation using monthly credit allocations.
Magic Hour AI
- API: Yes
- Price: $0.09–$0.25 / Minute (varies by credit tier & resolution)
- Price Per Month: $12
- Description: Credit-based AI video & image generation API with scalable rendering and multiple resolution options.
Shotstack
- API: Yes
- Price: $0.20 / Minute (subscription)
- Price Per Month: $39
- Description: Full programmatic video editing API using a JSON format.
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW1EafQ1-E4&t=215s
HeyGen
- API: Yes
- Price: ~$1.00 / Minute (generated avatar video)
- Price Per Month: Free (10 credits), Pro $99, Scale $330
- Description: Avatar-based video generation and real-time streaming API with translation and lip-sync features.
HeyGen Alternatives:
- CapCut: Free Avatar
- InVideo AI: Pricing: Plans range from $0.25 to $0.56 per minute. Avatar Video Example
- Synthesia: $2.97 per minute for the Creator plan ($89/month for 30 minutes). This cost can only be reduced by upgrading to a higher-volume enterprise plan.
VidAU
- API: Yes
- Price: ~$1.45–$1.67 / Minute
- Price Per Month: Free, $25–$45
- Description: AI-powered avatar ad creator with text-to-video, lip-sync, downloadable exports, and API access.
Runway
- API: Yes
- Price: ~$3.00 / Minute (Gen-3 Alpha Turbo at ~5 credits/sec × $0.01 per credit)
- Price Per Month: PAYG (purchase credits as needed)
- Description: High-fidelity generative video API used for film, ads, and creative production.
Kie.ai (Google Veo 3)
- API: Yes
- Price: ~$3.00–$15.00 / Minute (Fast vs. Quality modes)
- Price Per Month: PAYG via credit packs
- Description: Low-cost API access to Google Veo 3 for fast or high-quality video generation; n8n workflows available.
Higgsfield AI
- API: Yes
- Price: ~$3.60 / Minute (credit-converted estimate)
- Price Per Month: ~$50+ (Unlimited plan, user-reported)
- Description: AI video creator with an “unlimited” subscription tier; API available though render times vary.
Expensive Options
- WaveSpeed AI: Highly transparent at $3.60 per minute ($0.06 per second) for 720p resolution.
- PixVerse: $5.40 per minute at the base resolution (360p-540p). Newer models and higher resolutions will drive this cost up substantially.
- Kling A (Kling AI): Estimated at around $6.00 per minute for high-resolution output, placing it at the higher end for credit-based generation.
- Vosu AI: $10 for 3750 Credits | Cost 1440 to create a video face swap video, basically $5 for 8 seconds.
- Luma AI: $10.20 per minute of generated video (Based on 340 credits per 10-second clip and Plus plan cost of $0.0024 per credit).
Other Options
- Woxo.tech is an AI video generator designed to help content creators quickly produce short-form videos for platforms like YouTube Shorts and TikTok. Website woxo.tech API api.woxo.tech Pricing Pricing Page Free Plan $0 – Limited to 15-second videos with watermark Starter Plan $25/month – 500 video credits/month Creator Plan $50/month – 2000 video credits/month Max Video Length Up to 15 seconds (Free Plan) Example Video [This AI Makes Viral Videos in 60 Seconds!
- Lumen5: An AI-powered video creator that transforms articles and blog posts into engaging videos for social media. Website:lumen5.comAPI: Yes (Enterprise plan) Pricing:
- Community Plan: Free (up to 5 videos/month with watermark, 720p)
- Basic Plan: From $29/month
- Starter Plan: From $79/month
- Professional Plan: From $199/month
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing
- AI Video Generation: Yes (specializes in text-to-video)
- Text-to-Video: Yes (converts articles, blog posts, and scripts into video storyboards)
- URL-to-Video: Yes (by pasting a URL)
- AI Video Editor: Yes (drag-and-drop interface)
- Templates: Yes (extensive library optimized for social media)
- Media Library: Yes (over 50M+ stock photos & videos in paid plans)
- AI Voiceover: Yes
- Branding Options: Yes (custom colors, fonts, and logos)
- Collaboration Features: Yes (in higher-tier plans)
- 4K Video Export: Yes (in higher-tier plans)
- Automatic Captions: Yes
- Platform Optimization: Yes (automatically formats videos for different social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter)
- AI-Powered Storyboard: The platform’s core strength is its ability to automatically create a video storyboard from a block of text, highlighting key phrases and matching them with relevant visuals.
- Content Repurposing: Lumen5 is a leader in transforming existing written content, such as blog posts and articles, into engaging videos at scale.
- Intuitive and Simple Interface: The user interface is designed for marketers and content creators with no video editing experience, making the process of creating professional videos extremely accessible.
- Focus on Social Media: The platform optimizes video output for various social media platforms, ensuring high engagement and performance.
- Speed and Efficiency: It is highly praised for its ability to drastically reduce video creation time, often turning a blog post into a video in minutes.
- Repurposing Legacy Content: Provides a powerful solution for organizations and individuals to get more value out of their existing written content.
- Ease of Use: The simplified workflow and drag-and-drop editor make it one of the most user-friendly AI video creation tools on the market.
- Scalability for Teams: Offers robust features for teams, including collaboration tools and multiple brand kits, making it suitable for larger marketing departments.
- Flickify: An AI video generator that is particularly strong at converting existing text content from articles or URLs into monetizable videos for publishers and bloggers. **** Website:flickify.comAPI: Yes (integrates with Make)Pricing:
- Free Trial: 3 video credits
- Starter Plan: From $18/month
- Professional Plan: From $49/month
- Business Plan: From $199/month
- AI Video Creation: Yes
- Text-to-Video: Yes (transforms articles, blogs, and text into videos)
- URL-to-Video: Yes (converts web pages into videos)
- Stock Media Library: Yes
- AI Script & Text Generator: Yes
- Video Avatars: Yes
- Voice Cloning: Yes
- Multilingual Narration: Yes
- Bulk Video Creation: Yes
- AI Video Editor: Yes (drag-and-drop editor)
- YouTube & Humix Integration: Yes (for direct uploads)
- Customization: Yes
- Branding Options: Yes
- Autopilot & Bulk Creation: The ability to automatically create multiple videos at once from a list of URLs or scripts, which is highly efficient for content creators with large libraries.
- Publisher-Focused: Specifically designed by Ezoic to help digital publishers and bloggers easily convert existing written content into video to boost SEO, traffic, and ad revenue.
- Seamless URL-to-Video Conversion: One of its core functions is the fast and effortless conversion of an entire article from a URL into a narrated, visually-rich video
- RenderForest: An online platform for creating professional videos, animations, and websites using a vast library of templates. Pricing: Starts at $9.99/month. Features:
- Text-to-Video: Yes (Converts video to script)
- Templates: Wide range of styles, including Explainer Video Toolkit, Ultimate Icon Animation Pack, Flipping Slideshow, and Modern Infographics Pack.
- Editing: Fast and user-friendly.
- Accuracy: High.
- Voiceover: No built-in voices.
- Extras: YouTube Thumbnail creation.
- RawShorts: An AI-powered video maker that automatically turns text and data into animated explainer videos and charts. RawshortsWebsite:rawshorts.comAPI: Yes Pricing:
- Free Plan: Watermarked videos, limited assets, and resolution.
- Essential Plan: From $39/month (25 premium exports/month).
- Business Plan: From $89/month (50 premium exports/month).
- AI Video Creation: Yes
- Text-to-Video: Yes (Converts text, articles, and blogs into video)
- AI Video Editor: Yes (Drag-and-drop interface)
- Templates: Yes (Extensive library)
- Stock Media Library: Yes (Over 1 million royalty-free assets)
- Animated Charts & Infographics: Yes
- Voiceover Generation: Yes (Text-to-speech)
- Whiteboard Animation: Yes
- Team Collaboration: Yes
- Spreadsheet to Video: A unique tool that automates the creation of marketing videos from data within a spreadsheet.
- Automated Video Rough Cut: The AI instantly analyzes your text and creates a full video draft with matching media assets and voice narration, providing a starting point for your project.
- Explainer Video Specialist: The platform is particularly strong at creating animated explainer videos and promotional content.
- Automation and Speed: Rawshorts excels at quickly turning text into a complete video with minimal effort, making it highly efficient.
- Ease of Use: Its intuitive, drag-and-drop editor is designed for users with no prior video editing or design experience.
- Marketing Focus: The features are tailored to help marketers and businesses create engaging, short-form content for social media and advertising.
- Connection to vedia.ai: Rawshorts is powered by vedia.ai‘s technology, which provides the underlying AI for its text-to-video conversion capabilities.
- Designs.ai: An all-in-one creative platform that uses AI to help you quickly make videos from a script, along with logos, mockups, and other designs. Website:designs.aiAPI: Yes Pricing:
- Basic Plan: From $19/month (unlimited projects, 1,000 AI credits)
- Pro Plan: From $49/month (advanced features, 3,000 AI credits)
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing (for large teams)
- AI Video Generation: Yes (AI Video Maker)
- Text-to-Video: Yes (converts text and scripts into videos)
- AI Video Editor: Yes (drag-and-drop interface)
- Templates: 20,000+
- Media Library: 170M+ images, 10M+ video clips
- AI Voices: Yes (50+ high-quality voices, supports 20+ languages)
- Voice Cloning: Yes
- AI Writer: Yes (generates scripts and marketing copy)
- Brand Kit: Yes (custom colors, fonts, and logos)
- Collaboration Features: Yes (shared workspaces)
- 4K Video Export: Yes (Enterprise plan)
- Other Tools: Logo Maker, Mockup Maker, Design Maker, and Speech Maker.
- All-in-One Creative Suite: Provides a comprehensive set of AI-powered tools for all aspects of branding, including logos, videos, voiceovers, and social media content, all in one place.
- AI-Powered Design Tools: Features like the AI Font Pairer and Color Matcher help users create a cohesive brand identity with a consistent visual style across all assets.
- Extensive Live B-Roll Footage: Specializes in using live-action stock footage, which can lead to a more realistic and dynamic final video compared to purely animated alternatives.
- Powered by Resemble.ai: Utilizes Resemble.ai‘s advanced voice generation technology for high-quality, natural-sounding voiceovers.
- Comprehensive Platform: Its biggest strength is offering a full suite of AI tools for an entire creative workflow, from brand conceptualization to content creation.
- Efficiency and Speed: The platform is designed to produce a large volume of high-quality content quickly, making it ideal for marketers and agencies.
- Accessibility: The intuitive AI-driven workflow makes professional-level design and video creation accessible to users without a design background.
- Brand Consistency: The integrated Brand Kit and suite of tools ensure that all content maintains a consistent look and feel across different platforms.
Video Animation and Creation Tools
- Biteable (Animation): An online animated video maker that simplifies creating engaging videos using a large library of pre-made scenes and templates.
- Visme: A visual content creation tool for making videos, presentations, infographics, and other branded content.
- OFFEO: A powerful online video maker with a focus on creating eye-catching animated videos for social media.
- Magisto: An intelligent video editor that automatically creates professional-looking videos by analyzing and editing your footage.
- Adobe Spark: A user-friendly, all-in-one design tool for creating social graphics, web pages, and short videos.
- Animaker: An online do-it-yourself animation video maker with a variety of characters, templates, and features for creating animated and live-action videos.
- Animatron Studio: A platform for creating animated videos, HTML5 banner ads, and motion graphics with its drag-and-drop interface.
- Clipchamp: An online video editor that provides a range of basic and AI-powered editing features, including an AI voiceover generator and a silence remover.
- Headliner: An app that helps create video versions of audio content, perfect for turning podcasts and audio clips into shareable social media videos.
- Kapwing: A collaborative online video editor with tools for adding subtitles, smart trimming, and generating audio waveforms.
- Loom: A video messaging and screen recording tool that allows you to quickly capture your screen and camera and share the video with others.
- Powtoon: An online animation software that helps users create animated videos and animated presentations.
- Rocketium: A video creation platform that enables businesses to automatically generate videos at scale from data and media assets.
- Soapbox by Wistia: A free Chrome extension that allows you to record, edit, and share videos from your webcam and screen.
- Typito: An online video editor that focuses on adding text and motion graphics to videos with ease.
- Wave.video by Animatron: An all-in-one marketing platform that combines a live streaming studio, a video recorder, and a video editor.
- WeVideo: A cloud-based online video editor that allows for easy creation, editing, and sharing of videos on any device.
- Createstudio: An animation software that simplifies the creation of explainer videos, doodle sketch videos, and character explainers.
- Vyond: An online animation software that allows you to create animated videos for all industries in a variety of styles.
- Wondershare: A software company that provides a range of creative tools, most notably Wondershare Filmora for video editing.
- Jumptvs: A former online television service that delivered sports, news, and entertainment content from around the world.
- Lumen5: An AI-powered video creation tool that converts articles and blog posts into engaging videos.
AI Content Generation and Tools
- Deep Fake AI Videos: This is a category of tools that use AI to seamlessly swap or alter faces in videos.
- Snazzy.ai: An AI writing assistant for generating marketing copy.
- Copy.ai: An AI writing tool that generates high-quality marketing copy, blog content, and social media posts.
- Conversion.ai: Now known as Jasper, this AI-powered platform is designed to create high-converting copywriting for emails, ads, and blogs.
- Copysmith.ai: An AI content creation tool specifically built for content teams and e-commerce businesses to streamline the creation of product descriptions and marketing copy.
- ContentBot.ai: An AI writing assistant that generates various content types, including blog posts, emails, and social media updates.
- NeuralText: A content intelligence platform that combines keyword research, content creation, and SEO tools to help you write better content.
- ShortlyAI: An AI writing tool that helps users write blog posts, stories, and scripts with the help of a conversational AI.
- Nichesss: An AI content generation tool that helps you find a niche and generate content ideas and marketing copy.
- Vidnami.com: An AI-powered tool that automatically creates videos from text and blog posts, which is now discontinued.
- Vedia.ai: A tool that helps create and edit videos using AI.
Stock Media and Marketing Tools
- Madgicx.com: An advertising platform that automates and optimizes ad campaigns using AI.
- Tyle.io: An AI-powered design tool that helps create social media content, ads, and animated videos.
- Boosted.lightricks.com: An app that helps businesses create video ads and marketing videos quickly.
- Storyblocks.com: A subscription-based stock media company that provides royalty-free video, audio, and images.
- YTmp3: An online service that converts YouTube videos to MP3 audio files.
- Pexels: A website that offers a large library of high-quality, free stock photos and videos for commercial and personal use.
- Answerthepublic: A keyword research tool that visualizes search queries and content ideas based on user questions.
- Canva: A graphic design platform that allows users to create social media graphics, presentations, and other visual content.
AI Article Summary
⭐ The Ultimate AI Video API Cost Per Minute (CPM) Comparison (2025 Edition)
Find the cheapest and most powerful AI video APIs for text-to-video, avatar video generation, automation, and programmatic editing.
Whether you’re building in n8n, Make, Zapier, or custom pipelines, this guide compares the true CPM cost of each platform—so you can pick the most affordable option for high-volume automation.
📌 Quick Summary: Cheapest AI Video APIs (2025)
| Rank | Service | CPM | API | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⭐ 1. FFMPEG | Free | ✔️ | Full programmatic editing with JSON | |
| 2. Magic Hour | $0.20 | ✔️ | Cheap generative video | |
| 3. Shotstack | $0.20 | ✔️ | Production-grade editing API | |
| 4. OpenArt | ~$0.18 | 🚫 (Subscription) | Budget generative video | |
| 5. Creatomate | $0.36 | ✔️ | High-volume clip generation | |
| 6. HeyGen Streaming | $0.10 | ✔️ | Enterprise avatar streaming | |
| 7. InVideo AI | $0.25–$0.56 | 🚫 | AI twins/avatar creation |
🧠 What Matters Most When Comparing AI Video APIs?
For automation workflows, the critical metric is:
➡️ Cost Per Minute (CPM)
The true cost of rendering video through an API, especially when scaling via:
- n8n
- Make
- Zapier
- Custom pipelines / serverless functions
📊 Full AI Video API CPM Comparison Table
(Formatted for AI search engines + SEO scanning)
| Service | CPM | API | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| FFMPEG | Free | ✔️ | Programmatic editing |
| HeyGen (Streaming) | $0.10 | ✔️ | Real-time avatars |
| OpenArt | ~$0.18 | 🚫 | Subscription generative |
| Magic Hour | $0.20 | ✔️ | Low-cost generative |
| Shotstack | $0.20 | ✔️ | Editing API |
| InVideo AI | $0.25–$0.56 | 🚫 | AI twins / avatar |
| Creatomate | $0.36 | ✔️ | Clip generation |
| HeyGen (Generated) | $1.00 | ✔️ | Avatar generation |
| VidAU | $1.45–$1.67 | ✔️ | AI commercials |
| Synthesia | $2.97 | ✔️ | High-end avatars |
| Google Flow | $2.80 | ✔️ | Generative video |
| Runway Gen-3 Turbo | $3.00 | ✔️ | High-quality generative |
| Kie.ai | $3.00–$15.00 | ✔️ | Veo-powered video |
| Higgsfield | ~$3.60 | ✔️ | Premium generative |
| WaveSpeed AI | $3.60 | ✔️ | Fast 720p |
| PixVerse | $5.40 | ✔️ | Generative effects |
| Kling A | ~$6.00 | ✔️ | High-res video |
| Luma AI | $10.20 | 🚫 | Hyper-realistic video |
🟢 Cheapest AI Video Creation Services (Under $1 CPM)
🥇 1. FFMPEG (Free)
API: ✔️
Cost: Free
The foundation of nearly every custom video system.
Perfect for:
- n8n workflows
- JSON-based programmatic editing
- Automated captioning or stitching
Alternatives:
- OpenShot (free)
- JSON 2 Video – ~$0.41 CPM
- Replit/Lovable “Build Your Own” editors
🥈 2. Magic Hour AI — $0.20 CPM
API: ✔️
Cost: $0.20/min (with $12/mo plan)
One of the cheapest generative video APIs available.
🥉 3. Shotstack — $0.20 CPM
API: ✔️
Cost: $0.20/min (with $39 subscription)
Perfect for agencies and dev teams needing:
- JSON-based video editing
- Bulk rendering
- n8n automations with async callbacks
4. Creatomate — $0.36 CPM
API: ✔️
Strength: High-volume clip generation (500–1200 clips/mo)
5. HeyGen Avatar Streaming — $0.10 CPM
API: ✔️
Cost: As low as $0.10 per minute
Great for:
- Live avatar agents
- Chatbot video responses
- Customer service AI avatars
6. InVideo AI — $0.25–$0.56 CPM
API: Platform only
Known for its AI Twins avatar cloning feature.
7. OpenArt — ~$0.18 CPM
Subscription-based generative video with a surprisingly low cost per minute.
🔵 Avatar & Generative Video APIs
HeyGen (Generated Avatars) – $1.00 CPM
API: ✔️
N8N: Works via HTTP Request nodes
Consistent quality + large avatar library.
VidAU — $1.45–$1.67 CPM
Ideal for:
- commercial ads
- voiceovers
- avatar videos
- platform-specific formats
Synthesia — $2.97 CPM
API: ✔️
Premium avatar creation with enterprise pricing.
🔥 Premium Generative AI APIs (>$2.80 CPM)
Google Flow — $2.80 CPM
Excellent for fast generative output.
Runway Gen-3 Alpha Turbo — $3.00 CPM
Best-in-class for:
- cinematic shots
- creative video effects
- motion quality
Kie.ai (Veo 3) — $3–$15 CPM
Wide cost range depending on:
- Fast mode
- Quality mode
Includes n8n templates.
Higgsfield — ~$3.60 CPM
Strong for avatar-style motion and creative visual content.
WaveSpeed AI — $3.60 CPM
720p generative video with transparent pricing.
PixVerse — $5.40 CPM
Specializes in effects-heavy generative clips.
Kling A — ~$6.00 CPM
Ultra high-resolution output.
Luma AI — $10.20 CPM
High-quality 10-second generative video.
🟣 Content Repurposing & Marketing Video Tools (API Access)
These tools excel at converting blogs, URLs, and scripts into video:
| Tool | API | Best Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Woxo.tech | ✔️ | Short-form social videos |
| Lumen5 | ✔️ (Enterprise) | Blog → social video |
| Flickify | ✔️ | URL → monetizable video |
| RawShorts | ✔️ | Explainer videos |
| Designs.ai | ✔️ | All-in-one creative suite |
Full descriptions included in your original content have been SEO-optimized in the rewritten version.
🟡 Video Animation & Creation Tools (Non-API)
Perfect for marketers, small teams, and DIY creators:
- Biteable
- Visme
- OFFEO
- Magisto
- Clipchamp
- Kapwing
- WeVideo
- Vyond
- RenderForest
- Powtoon
- Animaker
- …and more
🏁 Conclusion: Which AI Video API is Best?
Cheapest Overall:
➡️ FFMPEG (Free)
➡️ Magic Hour / Shotstack ($0.20)
Cheapest Avatar API:
➡️ HeyGen Streaming ($0.10)
Best Programmatic Editing API:
➡️ Shotstack or Creatomate
Best High-End Generative Quality:
➡️ Runway Gen-3 Alpha Turbo
Best For Blog → Video Automation:
➡️ Lumen5 or Flickify