Threads is a text-first surface. Conversation, replies and opinion drive it, and video is a supporting element rather than the main event. That makes the useful question not "how do I make video for Threads" but "when does a clip add something a sentence could not."
The answer is narrower than on video-first platforms, which is worth knowing before you invest.
TL;DR
- Text leads on Threads. Video supports a post rather than being the post
- Where a clip earns its place: showing a thing, proving a claim, or a visual that a sentence cannot carry
- Short and vertical. Generate 9:16 natively, since ratio costs nothing
- Cheapest route: Wan 3.0 at 480p, 24 credits per 5 seconds
- Check current specs on the platform, since duration and format limits change
When a clip earns its place
Showing a thing. A product working, a process running, a result. Something a sentence can only describe.
Proving a claim. You said the thing is fast; here it is being fast. This is the strongest case, because Threads runs on assertion and evidence is scarce.
A visual that carries meaning by itself. A before and after, a chart animating, a comparison.
Where it does not earn its place: as decoration on a post that already works as text. A clip attached to an opinion adds nothing and costs you the scroll.
What to generate and what to capture
Capture: screen recordings, your product, your actual work, anything functioning as proof. Free and more persuasive than anything generated, because the whole value is that it is real.
Generate: abstract backgrounds behind text, illustrative concepts, atmospheric inserts, and the occasional visual metaphor.
Note the ordering. On a text-first platform where evidence is the scarce good, a screen recording beats a generated clip most of the time.
Canon 8frame prices, a credit is $0.01 at pack rate:
| Element | Route | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Background plate, 5s at 480p | Wan 3.0 | 24 |
| Plate at 1080p | Wan 3.0 base, 5s | 95 |
| Clip with generated audio, 8s | Veo 3.1 Lite | 54 |
| Fast exploration, 8s | Gemini Omni Flash | 135 |
| Illustrative still | Seedream 5 | 6 |
| Still with exact text | Nano Banana Pro | 21 |
| Music bed, 30s | Lyria 2 | 13 |
A month of supporting visuals: fifteen stills (90), six plates (144), a music bed (13) is about 247 credits, roughly $2.47.
Vertical, and it is free
Generate 9:16 natively rather than cropping. A vertical clip costs the same credits as a horizontal one on every model here, and cropping from 16:9 keeps only about 30 percent of the frame while softening the result through rescaling. There is no video upscaler on this canvas to recover that.
Compose with the caption zone in mind: subject in the upper two thirds, visual quiet in the lower middle third.
Speed matters for a conversational surface
Threads moves on timing. Something happens and the useful post is now, not tomorrow.
On our own production jobs, Gemini Omni Flash has a 39-second median generation time against Kling's 143 and Seedance's 234 (70, 58 and 36 jobs). When you are responding to something live, that gap decides whether the clip exists in time to matter.
At 135 credits for 8 seconds with audio it costs more than Wan at 24, and for a same-hour response that is a reasonable trade. See how long AI video generation takes.
Captions
Muted autoplay is the default assumption. Two lines maximum, roughly 32 to 42 characters each, split at clause boundaries, in the lower middle third rather than the true bottom.
On a text-first platform this matters doubly: if your clip is silent and uncaptioned, it is competing with text while conveying less than text would.
What not to generate
Your product. People may buy it.
Yourself. The account is a person, and that is the asset on a conversational platform.
Screenshots of things that did not happen. Fabricated evidence is worse here than anywhere, because evidence is the currency.
FAQ
What are Threads video specs? They change. Check the platform's current documentation rather than a blog table.
Is video important on Threads? Less than on video-first platforms. It supports a text post rather than replacing it.
What is the best clip to post? A screen recording or real footage proving something you claimed.
Does vertical cost extra? No. Ratio is not a price dimension.
Lead with text, prove it with a clip, caption everything. The 8frame canvas is free and unlimited, and generation is paid from $19/month.