How much it costs to make your own show

Updated September 13, 2026 · 5 min read

Making a show costs what its Scenes cost — and you see every price on the button before you press it. The free Studio currently covers a World build, a Character a day, and up to 4 Lite Images a day, no card. Paid work runs on Credits: an Image is 4–12, a 5-second Clip from an Image is 15 at the default model, and plans unlock Clips and Film. Here’s the honest arithmetic.

Free to start: 4 Lite Images a day
Card required: None
Paid in: Credits
Price shown: On every press

The Scene Planner — an episode’s scenes in order, each with its priced action before any take runs. — Every priced action shows its number before you press it.

Start with what’s free today
Free to start · up to 4 Lite Images a day · no card. The free Studio currently includes one World build, one new Character a day, and that daily Lite Image allowance — Story writing and outlining cost 0 Credits, so planning a season is free.
That’s enough to build the World, cast the lead, and draw the first scene images. The daily meter resets each UTC day and doesn’t roll over — the app shows the live allowance, and this guide is the orientation, not the meter.
The free path: a World, a Character a day, four Lite Images.
TRY THIS
Describe your show
Know what an Image costs
Images are the cheap unit: 4 to 12 Credits each depending on the model tier — the Lite tier is 4, the keeper tiers run higher. Each Lite Scene Image you draw uses the daily allowance first, then Credits.
In practice, the daily four cover a working session’s worth of exploration — casting shots, set ideas, the first look at a scene. Images also need no plan: they run on Credits and the meter alone, whether a plan exists or not.
An Image: 4–12 Credits, daily Lite ones first.
Know what a Clip costs — the arithmetic is public
Clip prices are deterministic: the model’s per-second rate times the seconds you ask for. The two real examples from the pricing page: a 5-second Clip made from an Image on the default model is 15 Credits (3 per second); a text-only Clip runs on a different model at 10 per second — 50 for the same 5 seconds. Visible Clip models currently span 2–50 Credits per second.
The price is on the press itself — no estimating screen. If a rate moved since you looked, the press refuses before any spend and names the fresh number; you press again at the real price.
Rate × seconds, shown on the button — no pre-quote wait.
Budget for takes, not just scenes
The honest cost of an episode includes the misses. Every completed take is a charged attempt — screening them is how you pick the keeper, not a way to preview for free. A scene that lands in two takes costs two takes; plan for two or three per scene and be pleasantly surprised.
The control that keeps costs sane is the noted retake: change one thing per pass instead of re-rolling the scene blind. The directing guide covers the technique; the budget version is that specificity is cheaper than volume.
Every completed take is a charged attempt — screen honestly.
Then decide: free habit or a plan
Plans are for people making video regularly. The three web plans are monthly: Starter at $19.99 with 800 Credits, Creator at $39.99 with 1,600, Pro at $99.99 with 4,000. A plan unlocks Clips and Film — Images and Story pictures never require one — and members on a plan can add Credit packs when the wallet runs dry.
Unused Credits roll over while the account is open. The sound way to choose: work free until you know what your episodes actually take, then pick the plan whose Credits match your real rate of making — the pricing page has the current numbers.
A season is the sum of its scenes — plans supply the Credits.
TRY THIS
Describe your show

Different shows, different spends

Talky comedy: fewer, cheaper beats per episode.
Spectacle spends per second — the rate is on the press.
A season is arithmetic: scenes × takes × the rate on the button.

Generated in Character App · example stills, not a live product demo

Common mistakes

Budgeting the season before the scene. One Scene teaches you your real rate — takes per scene, seconds per Clip — for less than a wrong month of guessing. Start with one.
Expecting rejected takes to be free. A completed Clip is a delivered, paid attempt whether you keep it or not — refunds cover genuine dispatch failures, not editorial rejects. Screen honestly, retake with one note.
Forgetting the free meter resets. Daily Lite Images don’t roll over — draw today’s four today. Wallet Credits, unlike the meter, do roll over while the account is open.
Counting in dollars instead of Credits. Spend happens in Credits — plan grants plus packs — so the only number that matters on a press is the one on the button.

Questions

What can I make without paying anything?

The free Studio currently gives one World build, one Character a day, and up to 4 Lite Images a day — no card. Story writing costs 0 Credits; video Clips and Film need a plan.

How much is one episode?

The sum of its kept takes: scenes × takes per scene × the per-second rate on the button. There’s no flat episode price — the pricing page’s real examples (a 5-second image-backed Clip at 15 Credits) are the unit maths.

Do credits expire?

Unused wallet Credits roll over while the account is open. The daily Lite Image allowance resets each UTC day and does not roll over.

Do I need a plan to make Images?

No — Images run on Credits and the daily free meter, no plan required. Plans unlock Clips and Film and include monthly Credits.

What happens if a price changes mid-session?

The press refuses before any spend and shows the fresh number — you press again at the real price. Nothing is ever charged at a stale quote.