Avatar catalog estimate is a 4-second floor: real cost at 15, 30, 60 s

The catalog shows 74, 98 and 220 cents for avatar videos, which is the 4-second floor. Here is what 15, 30 and 60 second scripts cost at each Sume quality tier.

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Why does the catalog show 74 cents for an avatar video?

The estimate in GET /v1/catalog for the Standard avatar talking video is 74 cents, with 98 for Plus and 220 for Max. Those figures are the shortest allowed script, 4 seconds, and not a typical video. Standard is $0.184 per second, so 4 seconds is $0.736, which rounds up to 74 cents.

Scripts must estimate to between 4 and 60 seconds, so the real price scales by length. Plus is the default when you omit quality.

What do 15, 30 and 60 seconds cost?

Prices are per second from the rate card, with and without a product shown. The rate for no product / with product is $0.184 / $0.194 for Standard, $0.245 / $0.258 for Plus and $0.55 / $0.58 for Max.

Avatar video cost by length in USD (read 2026-10-02)
Tier15 s30 s60 s
Standard, no product2.765.5211.04
Standard, product2.915.8211.64
Plus, no product3.6757.3514.70
Plus, product3.877.7415.48
Max, no product8.2516.5033.00
Max, product8.7017.4034.80

What else is billed?

Creating an avatar costs $0.95 once, not per video. Inline captions are an add-on to the avatar estimate, and Sume's docs do not list a separate price for them, so check the estimate before you rely on them. The captions post explains when to caption separately.

Sume does not support more than one avatar per video, and resolution is 720p.

How do I get a precise number before I render?

Count your script's estimated seconds and multiply by the tier rate. The reserve at submit uses the estimate for your request, rounded up to whole cents, and the avatar docs describe the fields. Do not use the catalog's 74 cents as a per-video price.

Which tier should I start with?

Plus is the default, so a request without a quality field bills at Plus. If you only need a draft, set Standard explicitly. See the quality-tier cost post for the full tier comparison.

What does a worked example look like?

A founder records a 45-second Plus intro with no product. At $0.245 per second that is $11.025, plus the one-time $0.95 to create the avatar. The first video costs about $11.98 and later ones with the same avatar cost $11.03 each.

If the catalog's 98 cents were read as the video price, that budget would be off by more than a factor of eleven. The 98 cents is simply 4 seconds of Plus at $0.245, which is $0.98.

The script length drives the cost, so trim the script before you spend on a higher tier.

Sources

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