AI Video Generation Cost per Shot: What Kling 4.0 Really Costs

Two quotes for the same spot can differ by a factor of four, even when both use the same model at the same price per second. One thing changes: how many attempts each shot takes to get right. AI video generation cost per shot is the only figure that lets you compare two offers honestly.

Kling 4.0 arrived in mid-October and reopened the debate about price lists. Our position is simple: the price per second estimates one attempt, not one spot.

The price per second describes an attempt, not a scene

With Kling 4.0, each generation runs from 3 to 30 seconds, with stereo audio included. An independent test by Voyager reports, on the provider fal and as of 23 October 2026, $0.157 per second at 720p and $0.235 at 1080p. The same test says it found no per-second credit rate on Kling's public pages.

The practical point: the rate depends on where you access the model, and it can change. Treat it as an order of magnitude. A 4-second clip at 1080p therefore costs about $0.94 per attempt. If the attempt works, the spend ends there. If it doesn't, you pay again, and a failed attempt costs the same as a good one.

The right budget is built per shot

A one-minute spot typically holds 10 to 15 shots of 3 to 5 seconds. A guide from LTX sets out the formula we use too: shots, times duration, times attempts, times price per second. LTX makes competing models, so read its prices with care. The formula holds for any model, though, and the guide is blunt about it: cost is set by the iteration rate, not by the sticker price on the model page.

Apply it to a hypothetical spot of 10 shots of 4 seconds, at 1080p and $0.235 per second:

• One full pass (10 shots, one attempt each) costs $9.40.
• At 3 attempts per shot, generation costs about $28.20.
• At 12 attempts per shot, it costs about $112.80.

These are calculation assumptions, not measurements from one of our projects. They show the point: the attempts multiplier outweighs any list-price gap between two models. And that is only the generation layer. On top sit the hours of the people who watch, select, correct and redo, which usually cost more than the rendered seconds.

Attempts are decided before you generate

The number of attempts is not a property of the model. It depends on how you work. These are the things that push the count up, and we see them every time:

• A vague brief. If nobody has decided style, pacing and what must not appear, every attempt is exploration.
• No references. Characters, products and environments without reference images drift from shot to shot, and continuity gets paid for in discards.
• Over-ambitious shots. Several subjects, hands in action and legible on-screen text are still where models fail most often. When a scene needs them, plan it as a hard case.
• Revisions downstream. A client changing their mind after generation sends the shot back to square one.

A 30-second maximum per generation doesn't change this logic. A long single take is more expensive to get wrong, because a flaw at second 25 costs the whole attempt.

How we work at KORAI: planned attempts, not discovered ones

We start from the storyboard and give each shot a difficulty level and an attempt budget before generating. We run style tests at low resolution and generate the delivery version only for approved shots. At each step we check consistency, artefacts and consent for any faces. Our quotes are per shot and state the attempts we expect. The full method is on the AI Video Production page, and for how a spot is set up, see our article on making an advertising spot with artificial intelligence.

What to ask a supplier before you sign

A quote based only on the price per second tells you nothing. Ask for these five things:

1. The number of shots and the length of each.
2. The expected attempts per shot, with a threshold beyond which you talk.
3. The working resolution and the delivery resolution.
4. Who approves each shot and how many revisions are included.
5. What happens to costs if the model changes mid-project.

If a supplier can't answer, you'll discover the real cost mid-project. To judge whether the spend pays back, you need a criterion on results: see our article on the ROI of AI content. If you want a per-shot quote for your next project, write to us via the AI Video Production page.