Sume Pro, Startup or Scale: real cost per 10-second clip

On Sume, Pro costs $40 a month and includes $40 of usage, Startup costs $120 and includes $140, and Scale costs $400 and includes $800. For a $1.00 clip (10 seconds of H3 Max at 768p) that means $1.00, $0.857 and $0.50 per clip if you spend the full included amount. The cheapest plan depends on your monthly volume, not on the headline price.

Included usage per dollar

Divide the plan fee by the included usage: Pro 40 / 40 = $1.00 paid per $1.00 of usage; Startup 120 / 140 = $0.857; Scale 400 / 800 = $0.50. Those ratios only apply when you actually use the included amount. Startup needs 140 clips a month and Scale needs 800 to reach them at $1.00 a clip.

Concurrency also scales: 4 parallel jobs on Pro, 8 on Startup and 20 on Scale, per the generation admission docs.

Total monthly bill at four volumes

This table assumes every clip is $1.00 and that usage above the included amount is billed at the same published rate, per Sume's pricing FAQ. It does not assume rollover of unused usage, because I did not find a statement on that.

Where the break-evens fall

Pro is cheapest below $120 of monthly usage, because Startup's flat $120 only beats paying usage at $1 per $1 once you pass that. Startup then wins until about $420 of usage: above $140 its bill is 120 + (U - 140) = U - 20, which meets Scale's $400 at U = 420. Past $420 Scale is cheaper, and from $800 upward you pay $1 per $1 on top of $400.

Do not buy by headline

A plan with a bigger included amount that you do not consume is a more expensive plan. Estimate your clip count first, then pick. If your volume is bursty rather than steady, the slot counts matter as much as the fee; see the concurrency post in this series.

A rule for picking

Estimate your steady monthly usage in dollars, not clips. Under $120 pick Pro. From $120 to about $420 pick Startup. Above about $420 pick Scale. Then check slots: if you need more than 4 jobs running together, Pro is the wrong plan whatever the usage, because the extra wait is real even when the cost is lower.

Seasonal teams can change plan monthly. If one month is $600 and the rest are $80, Scale for the big month costs $400, against $600 on Pro, while the quiet months are $80 on Pro (the $40 fee plus $40 of overage). Compare the yearly sticker in the yearly post before locking in.