20-second 1080p clip: LTX-2.3 Fast $0.80 vs Wan 3.0 $5.00 on Sume

A 20-second 1080p clip is $0.80 with LTX-2.3 Fast at fal's list price ($0.04 a second) and $5.00 with Wan 3.0 on Sume ($0.25 a second). That is a 6.25 times difference, and most of it is the model tier, not the margin.

The comparison is only fair if you know what each number includes. This post lays out both.

Where each number comes from

fal's LTX-2.3 page lists Fast text-to-video and image-to-video at $0.04, $0.08 and $0.16 a second at 1080p, 1440p and 2160p. The standard tier is $0.06, $0.12 and $0.24. Both have native audio and a 20-second ceiling.

Sume's Video Router lists Wan 3.0 at provider list $0.05, $0.10 and $0.20 a second at 480p, 720p and 1080p, billed at list x 1.25. That is $0.0625, $0.125 and $0.25. Wan 3.0 accepts 2 to 30 seconds with audio, so 20 s fits in one job.

Closing the gap on Sume

The cheapest way to narrow the difference is resolution. A Wan 3.0 clip at 720p is $2.50 for 20 s, half the 1080p price. If the clip ships on a phone feed, 720p may be enough. The post on 20-second models and prices lists every Sume id that accepts 20 s.

Wan 3.0 has no open weights, so there is no self-hosting alternative for it. If you want an open model you run yourself, LTX-2.3 is that route; Sume does not list an LTX id.

Request the Wan 3.0 clip

The request uses the OpenRouter-shaped /v1/videos route. Duration is an integer number of seconds.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/videos \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: wan-20s-001" \
  -d '{"model":"wan-3.0","prompt":"A barista pours latte art, one continuous take, soft cafe sound","resolution":"1080p","duration":20,"aspect_ratio":"16:9"}'

What the cheaper route costs you

You run the infrastructure, or you pay a host, and you handle your own queueing, retries and storage. With Sume the job id, polling, result URL and a prepaid wallet are the same for each model. That is worth something if you route between several models, and little if you run a single open model at volume.

Also remember there is no seed on Sume video (a repeat request is a new take), so budget for retakes in either route.

Questions to settle before you pick

The cheapest number is not always the cheapest project. These are the questions that decide it.

• How many takes do you keep? A $0.80 clip you reject four times costs $4.00, and a $5.00 clip you keep on the first try is cheaper per keeper.
• Do you need more than 20 seconds? Wan 3.0 goes to 30 seconds on Sume. The LTX-2.3 page lists 20.
• Who runs the queue? A hosted route has job ids, polling and an invoice. A self-run route has none of those until you build them.
• Is 1080p required? Wan 3.0 at 720p is $2.50 for 20 seconds, and at 480p it is $1.25.