Vidu Q4 Preview vs Sume: clip cost by length and resolution

Vidu Q4 Preview advertises launch pricing as a starting rate per second, and its release does not say which resolution that rate applies to. So each row sets that floor against the list price of the Sume model priced for the same clip; it is not a like-for-like quote.

Worked example: 12 10-second Vidu Q4 Preview clips vs Sume at 720p

Vidu Q4 Preview, released on 2026-10-07, advertises launch pricing "from $0.014 a second", so 12 10-second clips come to $1.68 at that starting rate. The cheapest 720p model in Sume's video catalog for the same length is MiniMax H3 at $9.00. Vidu's number is a starting rate, and its release does not say which resolution it applies to, so the two columns below are a floor against a list price, not a like-for-like quote.

Vidu's side comes from its launch release and Unite.AI's summary, read 2026-10-10. Sume's side comes from the Video Router docs and the API pricing page, computed from the same estimators that bill a job.

What do 12 10-second clips cost at 720p?

Sume prices are the provider list price times 1.25, which is what the ledger charges. Vidu is shown at its starting rate only; Unite.AI reports the model offers 3 to 16 second clips at 540p, 720p, 1080p, 2K and 4K, so a 10-second clip is in range.

How do I run the Sume side?

Submit to POST /v1/videos with the catalog id, then poll the polling_url. This example runs the cheapest row above and needs a Sume API key in SUME_API_KEY.

import os
import time

import requests

H = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SUME_API_KEY']}"}
job = requests.post(
    "https://api.sume.com/v1/videos",
    headers=H,
    json={
        "model": "minimax-h3",
        "prompt": "A paper boat drifts down a rain-soaked street at dusk",
        "duration": 10,
        "resolution": "768p",
        "aspect_ratio": "16:9",
    },
).json()
while True:
    s = requests.get(job["polling_url"], headers=H).json()
    if s["status"] in ("completed", "failed"):
        break
    time.sleep(10)
print(s["status"], s.get("unsigned_urls"))

What this comparison leaves out

Read these before treating either number as a quote.

• Vidu's starting rate is the floor of its rate card; a 1080p, 2K or 4K clip may cost more per second.
• Sume does not list Vidu Q4 Preview in its video catalog at the time of reading, so there is no Sume price for it.
• Quality, motion and audio behavior differ by model and are not scored here.

Every clip length in one table

This page replaces 24 posts that asked the same question with different numbers. Each row is one of them, with the answer it gave when it was published.