YouTube Shorts reply-to-comment video for about 16 cents
A Short that answers one comment, built from a still, a 300-character voice answer and a render: $0.158 on Sume, no video model needed.
Reported by HeyOrca (read 2026-10-07): YouTube is testing AI-generated Q&A stickers, and Ask YouTube is on desktop. Both point at the same viewer habit, asking a question and expecting a short answer. A reply video is the cheap way to meet it, and it does not need a generative video model.
The build
Make one still with the question text on it, voice the answer, and let Timeline hold the still for the length of the voice. Image and voice costs are small. The render is the biggest line.
| Step | Call | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Question card image | Seedream 5 lite image | $0.04375 |
| Voice answer, 300 characters | TTS 1.0 | $0.01425 |
| Render 1080x1920 with the still held over the voice | Timeline 1.0, 1 output minute | $0.10 |
| Total | $0.158 |
What this is not
Sume does not read your YouTube comments, and it does not place the sticker. You paste the comment text into the image prompt yourself. A reply under 60 seconds bills one Timeline minute, so a 25-second answer and a 55-second answer cost the same.
If you want motion behind the card, a Grok Imagine 8 s 720p clip is $0.10 on the repo's estimator, which brings the total to $0.258.
Sources
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