AI avatar video preview before render: what you pay when

Sume's docs give no separate price for an avatar video preview, so this post does not invent one. What they do say is that a preview is the first-frame still stage, made "without starting the full render", and that the final render is where the per-second cost sits. Because you pick the render tier at generate-video, you approve the frame first and decide what to spend second.

Everything below is read from the Avatar video previews and Generation admission docs and the pricing constants, 2026-09-29. Check your own balance and the live price line before a large run.

What does the final render cost per second?

Avatar Video is priced per second of video by tier, with a slightly higher rate when a product image is sent. The table shows the no-product rate and a 30-second example, before any agent fee.

Which tier is used if I never override it?

The preview's quality defaults to plus when you omit it. Calling generate-video with an empty body keeps that tier. Add quality to the call and it overrides the final render only, so you can approve a frame on plus and render on standard, or the other way round, without making a new preview.

Does changing the tier at generate-video change what is reserved?

Yes. Admission, pre-spend, the ledger reservation, the provider submit and the readback all use the effective tier, meaning the override if you sent one. At submit, Sume reserves the estimated amount. A balance that cannot cover it fails with 402 insufficient_credits before provider work starts.

What if I dislike the frame?

Regenerate the stills, which reuses the stored request and returns the same preview id with a new preview-only job. Fields that define the video, such as the script, video_inputs, avatar, scene or aspect_ratio, need a new preview instead. Failed jobs release or refund their reservation where applicable. The call below renders an approved preview on standard.

• Approve a frame, then render at a cheaper tier if the draft is only for internal review.
• Keep plus for the render you will publish, and check the cost on the result afterwards.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/avatar-video-previews/avp_123/generate-video \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"quality": "standard"}'

How should I plan a budget around previews?

Budget the render at your intended tier and duration, add whatever previews you expect to regenerate, and read the cost on the finished job rather than trusting a table. The preview flow itself is described in Avatar video previews: approve the first frame before rendering, and the tier rates in AI avatar video pricing per minute.