When are credits charged?

Credits are charged at generation, not at export or download. The moment you press Generate, the work is queued and the credits are committed — whether or not you go on to export the video, edit it further, or keep it at all.

The one exception is 4K export, which costs credits of its own. Every other export option is free.

This is the single most common source of unexpected credit spend, so it's worth understanding before you start a longer project.

The rule in one line

Generating spends credits. Exporting does not — unless you export in 4K.

What this means in practice

Pressing Generate on a scene, a preview, or a full video commits the credits for that generation immediately.
Exporting, downloading, or sharing a finished video costs nothing extra at standard resolutions. You've already paid for it at generation.
Exporting in 4K is charged separately. The cost is shown before you confirm the export.
If you generate a video and then decide you don't want it, the credits are not returned — the AI work has already been done.
If you start a generation on one project and then switch to another, the first generation continues running and continues consuming credits.
Editing a scene after generation triggers a new generation for that scene, and is charged again.

🚨 Common mistake: starting a full video generation, then opening a second project and expecting the first one to stop. It doesn't. Both will run and both will be charged.

What is not charged

Failed generations. If a generation errors out, credits are not deducted. Failed attempts won't appear as charges in your usage breakdown.
Export and download at standard resolutions, preview links, and YouTube publishing. (4K export is the exception — see above.)
Browsing, editing text, or changing settings — until you press Generate.

Check the cost before you commit

You never have to guess. Atlabs shows the exact credit cost before anything is charged.

At the start of a video. When you click Finalise Video at the end of the wizard, the "How would you like to start?" panel opens and shows you three routes with their exact cost for your project:

Storyboard — all scenes as still images
Video Preview — the first 25 seconds with full motion and lip sync
Full Video — all scenes with complete motion and lip sync

The gap between them is large. On a 50-scene project, Storyboard and Preview typically land somewhere in the tens of credits, while Full Video can run to several hundred. Click the ⓘ on any card for a breakdown.

Nothing is charged until you press Generate.

💡 Tip: The resolution and model dropdowns at the bottom of that panel change the price. Lowering the resolution updates all three figures immediately, so you can try a setting and watch the cost move before committing.

Later, for individual scenes. On the storyboard, click Select Scenes to Generate Motion below the video player. Pick the scenes you want and the estimated cost appears before you confirm.

💡 Tip: Generate your Storyboard (still images) first and review it. Regenerating a still image is far cheaper than regenerating motion. See How can I save credits while creating videos?

Where your credits went

To see exactly what was charged and why, go to Account → Subscription → Usage, and click View Details on any row. You'll get a per-scene breakdown split across Images, Voiceover, Motion, and Lip Sync, with the model used and the exact cost of each asset.

Need help? We've got your back — reach out to us at support@atlabs.ai.

Updated on: 09/10/2026

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