Animated Story uses your own AI keys for the pictures and the optional moving clips, so you pay your AI provider directly. There is no markup and no credits to buy, but the costs are real, so here is exactly what each part costs and how to keep it low.
What each part costs:
- Writing the script: a fraction of a cent on your AI key
- Voices: free, on your own computer (Voice Engine)
- Pictures with ChatGPT: about 5 cents each (Standard) or 15 cents (Best)
- Pictures with Gemini: about 7 cents each (Standard) or 14 cents (Best)
- Free practice pictures: $0
- Moving clips (optional, Google Veo): about 40 cents (Veo Lite), 80 cents (Veo Fast) or $3.20 (Veo best quality) each
- Lip sync: free, on your own computer
A 30 second video has about 5 scenes, so with ChatGPT Standard pictures and Still picture it costs about 30 cents. The same video with Veo best quality moving clips costs about $16 more.
Test for free first:
- In step 2, set Pictures by to Free practice.
- Set Movement to Still picture, gentle camera movement (free).
- Choose a short Length, then click Write the script and Make everything.
Free practice uses free picture engines that cannot copy a reference picture, so the faces will not match your character or photo and can change from scene to scene. Use it to check the script, the voices and the pacing. When you are happy, switch Pictures by to ChatGPT or Gemini and click New picture on each scene. Free practice pictures are never kept as a character's reference picture.
The price is always shown first:
Before any job that costs more than 25 cents, a box shows the price line by line (pictures, the room, moving clips) and how much of your monthly limit is left. Nothing starts until you click Make it. Veo best quality has its own extra question, with the full cost and a Use Veo Lite button. After a Veo best quality run, Movement goes back to Still picture, so the next run cannot cost $3.20 a scene by accident.
The monthly limit:
Settings, What each AI does, Animated Story monthly limit. It is a hard stop: when this month's Animated Story pictures and moving clips reach it, no more are made and nothing is charged. It starts at $10. If you reach it, the panel says so before anything starts and offers to make only the free parts (voices). Raise it on the same Settings screen whenever you are ready.
Make everything never pays twice:
Make everything only makes what is still missing. Change one line and only that voice is made again. To redo one picture, use that scene's New picture button instead of Make everything.