Video API pricing compared
Compare Zvid, Shotstack, Creatomate, JSON2Video, Bannerbear, and Plainly pricing with public sources, credit calculations, and clear billing assumptions.
A video API's credit count only tells part of the story. The useful comparison is the cost of your output, the amount you commit to, and what happens to unused credits.
Zvid: up to $0.015/min
Create videos from JSON, design in the visual editor, and automate reusable templates. For the price you would pay and the limits that apply, see Zvid's monthly and annual plan comparison.
Public prices for a one-minute output
The calculations below use a 60-second Full HD video at 25 fps, except Bannerbear's animation example at 30 fps: its supported frame rates are 24, 30, and 60 fps. Subscription rates assume the full included allowance is used. They are effective rendering costs, not the amount charged at checkout. Prices are in USD before any applicable tax and exclude optional voice, transcription, or media-generation charges.
| Service / option | Payment | Included output | Cost per output minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zvid | See current plans | 60 credits per Full HD minute | Up to $0.015/minHeadline rate; check the current plan table for allowance-based costs. |
| Shotstack Prepaid | $75 once | 250 minutes | $0.30Credits expire one year after purchase. |
| Shotstack Subscription | $39 / month | 200 minutes / month | $0.195Full allowance used; subscription overage has a 30% premium. |
| Creatomate Essential | $54 / month | 2,000 credits / month | ≈ $0.86432 credits per 60-second 1080p video at 25 fps. |
| Creatomate Growth 10K | $129 / month | 10,000 credits / month | ≈ $0.413Same 32-credit render; full credit allowance used. |
| JSON2Video Prepaid | $49.95 once | 120 minutes | ≈ $0.416Prepaid credits do not expire. |
| JSON2Video Professional | $49.95 / month | 200 minutes / month | ≈ $0.250Monthly credits expire; maximum video length is 10 minutes. |
| JSON2Video Startup | $99.95 / month | 500 minutes / month | ≈ $0.200Monthly credits expire; maximum video length is 30 minutes. |
| Bannerbear Automate | $49 / month | 1,000 API credits / month | ≈ $5.88–$5.9360-second animation at 30 fps; 120–121 credits. See credit-rule note below. |
| Bannerbear Scale | $149 / month | 10,000 API credits / month | ≈ $1.788–$1.803Same animation; extra video-processing steps cost additional credits. |
| Bannerbear Enterprise | $299 / month | 50,000 API credits / month | ≈ $0.718–$0.724Same 120–121-credit animation; full API-credit allowance used. |
| Plainly Starter | $69 / month | 50 minutes / month | $1.38Monthly billing; up to 2 concurrent renders and 24-hour video retention. |
| Plainly Pro | $649 / month | 600 minutes / month | ≈ $1.082Monthly billing; up to 16 concurrent renders and 7-day video retention. |
| Plainly Unlimited | From $1,500 / month | Unlimited minutes | Depends on usageMonthly billing; concurrency starts at 2. Divide your actual payment by exported minutes. |
How the numbers are calculated
Shotstack: minutes included in the purchase
The prepaid option is $75 ÷ 250 = $0.30 per minute. The $39 subscription includes 200 minutes, giving $39 ÷ 200 = $0.195 per minute if all minutes are used. Shotstack displays that subscription rate rounded to $0.20. Its 30% overage premium applies to subscriptions. Check Shotstack's pricing.
Creatomate: resolution, frame rate, and duration
Creatomate calculates credits from width × height × fps × seconds ÷ 100,000,000, rounded up with a minimum of one credit. Our 1080p example uses 32 credits: 1920 × 1080 × 25 × 60 ÷ 100,000,000 = 31.104, rounded up.
That is 32 × $54 ÷ 2,000 = $0.864 on Essential, or 32 × $129 ÷ 10,000 = $0.4128 on Growth 10K. Higher resolution or frame rate changes the calculation. See the plan prices and credit formula.
JSON2Video: prepaid or monthly minutes
The $49.95 prepaid purchase includes up to 120 minutes, or approximately $0.416 per minute. Professional includes 200 minutes for $49.95 per month; Startup includes 500 for $99.95. These examples cover ordinary Full HD rendering; some external services add costs. See JSON2Video's pricing and credit rules.
Bannerbear: animation credits and extra processing steps
For a 60-second animation at 30 fps, Bannerbear's pricing FAQ implies 120 credits at two credits per second. Its V5 credit guide adds one base credit, giving 121 credits. The ranges above show both published rules, using plan payments from the pricing page.
For example, Scale is 120–121 × $149 ÷ 10,000 = $1.788–$1.8029 per minute. This covers an animated template; composing it with video, adding audio, or other processing steps adds usage. At 60 fps, animation credit consumption doubles. Confirm the applicable credit rule for your workflow before budgeting.
Plainly: exported video minutes
Plainly counts the duration of exported videos, rather than the time spent rendering. Starter is $69 ÷ 50 = $1.38 per minute; Pro is $649 ÷ 600 ≈ $1.082. These are monthly payments. Annual commitments have different prices.
Its Unlimited option starts at $1,500 per month, so its effective cost depends on how many minutes you export. Plainly renders After Effects templates, which need to be prepared first. See Plainly's plans and billing FAQ.
Compare the whole workload
- Use the same output settings. Resolution and frame rate can change how credits translate into video.
- Check the commitment. A monthly equivalent billed annually is different from a cancellable monthly payment.
- Count unused credits. Dividing a subscription by its full allowance understates your effective cost when you use only part of it.
- Check the limits. Video duration, concurrent renders, batch size, storage, and delivery features affect whether a plan fits your workflow.
The Zvid headline rate and competitors' selected plan calculations have different purchase assumptions; they do not establish a universal savings percentage. Use the live Zvid plan table to compare the allowance you actually need.
Sources and review date
Public prices were checked on September 21, 2026. Vendors can change prices and allowances; follow the original sources before choosing a plan.
- Shotstack pricing
- Creatomate pricing
- Creatomate plan prices
- Creatomate credit calculation
- JSON2Video pricing
- JSON2Video credit consumption
- Bannerbear pricing
- Bannerbear animation format and frame rates
- Bannerbear API and AI credit rules
- Plainly pricing and output-minute billing
Also evaluating turnaround time? Read the Zvid rendering speed comparison.