One finished minute at three takes a shot: Veo 3.1 vs Omni Flash cost

If each shot takes three generations to get right, a finished minute of video means 180 generated seconds. At Google's list prices that is $9.00 on Veo 3.1 Lite at 720p, $21.60 on Fast at 1080p and $72.00 on Standard at 1080p. On Sume, Omni Flash at 1080p is $33.75.

Three takes is an assumption for the sum, not a measured rate. Replace it with your own number.

Why multiply

The sticker price is per generated second, but you pay for every take, not just the one you keep. A per-minute price on a pricing page therefore understates the cost of a finished minute by your retake factor.

The table uses a factor of three. Divide each total by three for a perfect first take, or multiply by two for a factor of six.

The mixed row

The last row swaps two of the three takes for 360p drafts. Per 10-second shot that is 20 seconds at $0.0375, which is $0.75, plus 10 seconds at $0.1875, which is $1.875, so $2.625 a shot and $15.75 for six shots. It is cheaper than the all-1080p row for the same number of takes, because two thirds of the generated seconds are drafts.

The saving depends on drafts being good enough to reject bad ideas, and that is the part to test.

What to do with this

Use the retake factor to set a budget before you open a tool. If your factor is unknown, run ten shots and count. Then compare tiers on cost per kept second, not cost per generated second.

A tier that is twice the price but needs half the takes is the same cost. A tier that is four times the price needs a quarter of the takes just to break even, and Standard is four times Fast at 720p.

Sume note

Sume does not list a Veo model. Its Google video model is gemini-omni-flash-1.1, which takes 3 to 10 seconds at 360p, 720p, 1080p or 4K, in 16:9 or 9:16, with audio always on. Sume bills the provider list rate times 1.25 for each output second, so its rates are $0.0375, $0.125, $0.1875 and $0.375 a second.