Video upscale at $0.009 per second vs paying for a 1080p generation
Sume's video upscale is $0.009 per second with a 30-second maximum, so a 10 s clip is $0.09. Wan 3.0 1080p costs $2.50 for 10 s. Price table.
Sume lists video upscale as a media tool at $0.009 per second of video, with a 30 second maximum per job (see the Sume API rate card). Generation is a different line: Wan 3.0 is priced per second by resolution, with fal list prices of $0.05, $0.10 and $0.20 for 480p, 720p and 1080p (read 2026-10-05) and Sume's rates 1.25 times that.
This post only compares prices. An upscaled clip and a natively generated clip are different outputs; judge them side by side before you choose.
Price per clip length
| Clip length | Upscale at $0.009/s | Wan 3.0 480p | Wan 3.0 720p | Wan 3.0 1080p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 s | $0.045 | $0.3125 | $0.625 | $1.25 |
| 10 s | $0.09 | $0.625 | $1.25 | $2.50 |
| 20 s | $0.18 | $1.25 | $2.50 | $5.00 |
| 30 s | $0.27 | $1.875 | $3.75 | $7.50 |
How to use the gap
Upscaling a 10 second clip costs $0.09, which is 3.60 percent of generating those 10 seconds at 1080p. The comparison favours a workflow of drafting cheap and finishing the approved clip, if the upscaled result meets your bar.
A 30 second clip is the maximum for one upscale job and costs $0.27. Anything longer must be split. Compare it with $7.50 for a 30 second Wan 3.0 clip at 1080p.
Test on one clip before you commit a batch: upscaling cannot add detail the source never had, and the cost saving is only worth it if the result is acceptable for your channel. The per-second Wan rates are available through the catalog in the video docs.
- Upscale price grows linearly with seconds, up to 30.
- Generation price depends on the resolution tier.
- Check one sample for artifacts before running a batch.
Sources
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