Understanding Credit Costs

The Math

Every creative submission costs:

40 tokens (the base) plus the showcase deposit if Product Showcase is on:

Showcase deposit = sum of clip durations in seconds. Each clip's duration is clamped between 4 and 12 seconds.

A few worked examples:

• No showcase. 40 tokens total.
• 3 clip showcase at default 4 seconds each. 40 + (4 + 4 + 4) = 52 tokens.
• 6 clip showcase at 4 seconds each. 40 + 24 = 64 tokens.
• 6 clip showcase at 8 seconds each. 40 + 48 = 88 tokens.
• 12 clip showcase at 12 seconds each (max). 40 + 144 = 184 tokens.

The submit screen displays the exact total before you commit. Adjusting clip count or clip durations on the product step updates the math live.

Why the Showcase Portion Is a Deposit

The showcase number you see at submit is a deposit, not a flat fee. At delivery, we reconcile against actual delivered seconds:

• If the final clip came in shorter than your deposit covered, unused seconds refund automatically to the client's balance.
• If the work done went beyond what your deposit covered, an outstanding token balance can result. The video still delivers; the balance can be settled later via top up or upgrade.

Most creatives end up either neutral or with a small refund.

What You See on the Submit Screen

The submit screen surfaces:

• The token cost of this specific submission (base + showcase deposit, broken down).
• Your client's current token balance.
• The resulting balance after the submission.

If the cost exceeds the balance, the Submit button stays disabled. The page either kicks in Auto Reload (if enabled on the client) or routes you to top up or upgrade. See What Happens When Credits Run Out.

Credits Belong to Clients

Credits are scoped to a specific client, not to your account. If you run three clients, you watch three independent balances. Every submission deducts from the balance on the client that owns the campaign.

To check a balance:

• Per client. The client's settings page shows the live balance and allocation. The Recent Clients section of the dashboard also surfaces it.
• Transaction history. The per client credits page (/dashboard/clients/<id>/credits) lists every credit movement.

For the deeper credit balance breakdown, see Understanding Your Credit Balance.

Cost Math for Iteration

If you are running multiple angles on the same product (the right move on most campaigns), here is the math at a glance for two common patterns:

Three creatives, showcase off. 3 × 40 = 120 tokens. Fits inside a Starter cycle (150 credits) with room left over.

Three creatives, 3 clip showcase at 4 seconds each. 3 × 52 = 156 tokens. Just over Starter's cycle. Auto Reload or a Growth plan covers it.

Five creatives, 6 clip showcase at 8 seconds each. 5 × 88 = 440 tokens. Fits inside a Scale cycle (575 credits) with room to spare.

These are submit time deposits. Refunds at delivery typically come back small (a few tokens per creative on average) and net positive over many submissions.

Tips for Cost Efficient Iteration

Sharpen inputs before resubmitting. The biggest credit savings come from getting the persona and dialogue right on the first creative for an angle, rather than running multiple weak iterations.

Set realistic clip durations. Default 4 second clips are usually plenty for a hook. If you set every clip to 12 seconds out of habit, you are tripling the showcase deposit for no creative gain.

Use the per second reconciliation. Trust that the deposit reconciles down. Do not over deposit just to avoid an overage, because the unused seconds always come back.

Upgrade vs. top up. Plan allocations work out cheaper per token than manual top ups. If you consistently top up multiple times per cycle, upgrading is almost always cheaper.

For full top up and Auto Reload mechanics, see What Happens When Credits Run Out. For a deeper breakdown of how credits move on your account, see Understanding Your Credit Balance.