Veo 3.1 Lite is the best value on this canvas and the number that proves it is not the headline price. At 54 credits for an 8-second clip with audio, it works out to 6.75 credits per second of finished video with sound. Nothing else with audio is within a factor of two.
TL;DR
- 54 credits for 8 seconds with audio, 6.75 per second, about $0.54 a clip
- 33 credits for 8 seconds silent, 4.13 per second, the cheapest anything on the canvas
- 720p. That is the ceiling and it is the main thing Lite gives up
- Veo 3.1 Fast is 168 and Standard is 448 for the same 8 seconds with audio
- Standard is 8x Lite per second. Iterate on Lite, finish on Standard only when the shot carries a campaign
The ladder
Canon 8frame prices, a credit is $0.01 at pack rate:
| Tier | Clip | Credits | Per second |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | 4s with audio | 27 | 6.75 |
| Lite | 6s with audio | 41 | 6.83 |
| Lite | 8s silent | 33 | 4.13 |
| Lite | 8s with audio | 54 | 6.75 |
| Fast | 4s with audio | 84 | 21.00 |
| Fast | 8s silent | 112 | 14.00 |
| Fast | 8s with audio | 168 | 21.00 |
| Standard | 4s with audio | 224 | 56.00 |
| Standard | 8s silent | 224 | 28.00 |
| Standard | 8s with audio | 448 | 56.00 |
A $19 Starter plan's 1,000 credits buys about 18 Lite clips with audio, 30 silent, 5 on Fast, or 2 on Standard.
What Lite gives up
Resolution. 720p. For phone-delivered social with motion and a grade over it, that is genuinely enough. For anything holding still on a large screen, it is not, and there is no video upscaler on this canvas to fix it afterwards.
Ceiling on complexity. Lite handles straightforward subject and camera movement well and degrades faster than Standard on complex motion, multiple objects and anything physical.
It fails where every tier fails: hands doing something specific, text in frame, crowds, two people interacting. Those are shot-selection problems rather than tier problems.
Where it is the right answer
Iteration, always. Whatever you finish on, draft here. Prompt adherence is close enough to the higher tiers that a prompt working on Lite usually carries up the ladder.
Social at volume. 8 seconds with audio is a complete social clip for 54 credits.
Audio included. This is the underrated part: models that charge separately for sound add roughly 60 percent. Lite includes it at 6.75 per second.
Anything where 720p ships. Which is most feed video.
Where to move up
Fast at 168 when you want most of the Veo look at a third of Standard's price. The sensible middle for a hero clip that does not need the absolute ceiling.
Standard at 448 for the one shot a campaign leans on. It is genuinely the quality ceiling and it is genuinely eight times Lite per second, which is why iterating on it is the most expensive habit available here.
A different model when the shot needs something specific: Kling v3 Standard at 57 silent for directed camera work, Seedance 2.5 at 157 when a product label or a physical event has to hold, base Wan 3.0 at 95 when you need 1080p, or 142 for a 30-second take at 480p.
The workflow
- Draft silent at 33 credits. Composition, framing, motion.
- Add audio at 54 once the picture works, since you pay for sound on every rejected attempt otherwise.
- Finish on Fast at 168 or Standard at 448 only for shots that justify it.
- Generate at delivery resolution. Lite is 720p, so if you need 1080p this is the wrong tier and base Wan 3.0 at 95 is the cheap route to it.
Three silent drafts plus one final with audio is 153 credits, about $1.53, for a shot you actually composed.
FAQ
How much does Veo 3.1 Lite cost? 54 credits for 8 seconds with audio, 33 silent. About $0.54 and $0.33.
What resolution is Lite? 720p. Generate elsewhere if you need 1080p, since there is no video upscaler here.
Is Lite good enough for client work? For social delivery, frequently. For a hero clip on a large screen, use Fast or Standard.
How many Lite clips does $19 buy? About 18 with audio, or 30 silent.
Draft silent, add audio once, finish higher only when it matters. The 8frame canvas is free and unlimited, and generation is paid from $19/month.