Credits and plans
One job costs three things added together, and you always see the total before you confirm.
The formula
Processing + generation + shorts. Nothing is charged until you submit, and the exact number is shown on the New Job page beforehand. Over the API it comes back as credit_cost on the response.
Processing is the length of the source video in hours, multiplied by your processing tier's rate. This is usually the largest line, because it scales with how long your stream was, not how much output you asked for.
| Tier | Credits per VOD-hour | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Rapid Sprint | 18 | Cheapest. Good on straightforward streams. |
Stable Tempo | 25 | A little more accuracy for a little more cost. |
Creator Focus | 38 | Middle ground. Noticeably more careful than the entry tiers. |
Studio Polish | 55 | Best for streams that are harder to follow. |
Auto Balance | 65 | Solid general-purpose choice. |
Director Finish | 90 | Most thorough. Worth it when a mistake would cost you the moment. |
Generation is 10 credits per minute of finished highlight reel. An 8 minute reel is 80 credits. A shorts-only job pays none of this.
Shorts are 10 credits each.
A worked example
A 4 hour stream, processed on Rapid Sprint, producing an 8 minute highlight reel and 5 vertical shorts:
| Line | Calculation |
|---|---|
Processing | 4 hours x 18 credits per hour = 72 credits |
Generation | 8 minutes x 10 credits per minute = 80 credits |
Shorts | 5 shorts x 10 credits each = 50 credits |
Total | 202 credits |
The same stream as a shorts-only job, still with 5 shorts, drops the generation line entirely: 72 + 50 = 122 credits. That is the saving for skipping a reel you were not going to publish anyway.
Selecting two profiles doubles the generation line. Each highlight profile renders its own reel and is charged for it. Processing is paid once, since the stream is only analyzed once, but a second reel is a second set of generation credits.
Plans
Credits are bought as packs. Which pack you have bought also sets a few per-job limits.
| Plan | Price | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|
Free | free | 3 shorts per job, 3 music tracks, no branding. 500 credits on signup. |
Starter | $5 | 5 shorts per job, 10 music tracks, no branding. |
Pro | $20 | 10 shorts per job, 25 music tracks, 1 branding preset. |
Studio | $50 | 10 shorts per job, 50 music tracks, 3 branding presets. |
New accounts start with 500 free credits, enough to run a real job and judge the output before spending anything. Every plan includes full API access and webhooks.
Per-job shorts caps are covered in Vertical shorts, and music and branding limits in Music and branding.
When credits come back
Refunds are automatic. You do not need to contact support for any of these.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
The job failed | Everything is refunded, automatically, without you asking. This includes VODs that turned out to be unusable. |
The reel came up short | If ViddyFlow could not find enough good material to fill the length you asked for, you are refunded in proportion to what was missing. |
You cancelled mid-run | Refunded on a tiered basis. Cancelling early gives back most of it; cancelling once rendering is underway gives back less, because the work was already done. |
You asked for more shorts than your plan allows | You are billed only for the shorts you actually receive, not the number you requested. |
The principle is that you pay for output you actually received. A job that produced nothing costs nothing, and a job that produced less than you asked for costs proportionally less.
Keeping the bill down
Processing scales with the length of the source video, so the biggest lever is not uploading more stream than you need. If only the last two hours of a six hour stream are worth clipping, a shorter source is dramatically cheaper than a longer one at any tier.
After that: pick a cheaper tier when the stream is easy to follow, run a shorts-only job when you do not publish long-form, and select one profile rather than three unless you genuinely want three different reels.