Run 5 faceless YouTube channels with minimal human work: cheapest tool stack

Gemini 3.8 Flash, paid tier: $0.75 per 1M input tokens, $3.75 per 1M output tokens through 31 Dec 2026 (doubles from 1 Jan 2027). Free tier: free of charge. (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot gemini-pricing))

• $0.75 through December 31, 2026. $1.50 starting January 1, 2027.
• $3.75 through December 31, 2026. $7.50 starting January 1, 2027.

Formula: units_month*(llm_in*0.75+llm_out*3.75)/1e6

Claude Pro: $20 billed monthly, $17/month with annual billing (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot claude))

• $17 Per month with annual subscription discount ( $200 billed up front). $20 if billed monthly.

Formula: iff(annual,17,20)

Pro: $59/month billed yearly or $69/month billed monthly (checked 2026-10-18, AI writing calculator (aiwritercost): jasper fact jasper/1)

• Pro: $59/month billed yearly or $69/month billed monthly (cancel anytime)

Formula: iff(annual,59,69)

Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS, paid tier: $0.50/1M text input tokens and $6.00/1M audio output tokens = $0.0015 per 10 s of audio through 31 Dec 2026 ($0.003 from 1 Jan 2027) (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot gemini-pricing))

• $0.50 (text) through December 31, 2026.
• Equivalent to $0.0015 per 10s audio * through December 31, 2026. Equivalent to $0.003 per 10s audio * starting January 1, 2027.

Formula: voice_min*6*0.0015 + chars/4*0.5/1e6

API pay as you go: Falcon $0.01 per 1,000 characters, Gen2 $0.03 per 1,000 characters; $10 of free credits for new users (checked 2026-10-18, TTS calculator (ttscost): murf fact murf/api-rates)

• Falcon TTS API: $0.01 per 1,000 characters Gen2 TTS API: $0.03 per 1,000 characters
• Every new user receives $10 in free credits upon signup.

Formula: chars/1000*0.01

API: Free $0 (500K characters/month); Starter $10/month (1.9M, then $10 per 1M); Pro $99/month (13.5M, then $8 per 1M); Scale $499/month (78M, then $6 per 1M) (checked 2026-10-18, TTS calculator (ttscost): speechify fact speechify/api-plans); API: Free $0 (500K characters/month); Starter $10/month (1.9M, then $10 per 1M); Pro $99/month (13.5M, then $8 per 1M); Scale $499/month (78M, then $6 per 1M) (checked 2026-10-18, TTS calculator (ttscost): speechify fact speechify/api-plans)

• Free Build and ship on the text-to-speech API. No credit card. $0 /month Start free Included every month 500K characters After that Pauses until next month
• $10 /month Start Building Included every month 1.9M characters After that $10 per 1M characters
• $99 /month Start Pro Included every month 13.5M characters After that $8 per 1M characters
• $499 /month Start Scale Included every month 78M characters After that $6 per 1M characters
• Free Build and ship on the text-to-speech API. No credit card. $0 /month Start free Included every month 500K characters After that Pauses until next month
• $10 /month Start Building Included every month 1.9M characters After that $10 per 1M characters
• $99 /month Start Pro Included every month 13.5M characters After that $8 per 1M characters
• $499 /month Start Scale Included every month 78M characters After that $6 per 1M characters

Formula: 10+max(0,chars-1900000)/1e6*10

API text to speech: $0.04 per 1,000 characters (v4 Turbo, v3 Conversational, Flash/Turbo), stated as about $0.04 a minute; 20,000 characters = about 20 minutes (checked 2026-10-18, TTS calculator (ttscost): elevenlabs fact elevenlabs/api-turbo)

• $0.04 ~$0.04/minute 20,000 ~20 min
• Flash / Turbo Text to Speech $0.04 Price per 1K characters

Formula: chars/1000*0.04

Flex: $0 base fee, monthly; text to speech billed per second at $0.00067 (checked 2026-10-18, TTS calculator (ttscost): resemble fact resemble/flex)

• "name":"Flex","slug":"flex","plan_type":"self_serve","base_fee_cents":0
• "id":1,"name":"Text-To-Speech","slug":"text_to_speech","description":"Convert text to natural-sounding speech using AI voices. Billed per second of audio generated.","unit_type":"seconds","category":"metered","rate_per_unit_cents":0,"rate_per_unit_dollars":0.00067

Formula: voice_min*60*0.00067

API text to speech: $0.08 per 1,000 characters (v4, v3, v2 Multilingual), stated as about $0.08 a minute; 10,000 characters = about 10 minutes (checked 2026-10-18, TTS calculator (ttscost): elevenlabs fact elevenlabs/api-rate)

• $0.08 ~$0.08/minute 10,000 ~10 min

Formula: chars/1000*0.08

Credits per month: Free $0 (10,000), Starter $6 (30,000), Creator $22 (121,000), Pro $99 (600,000), Scale $299 (1.8M, 3 seats), Business $990 (6M, 10 seats) (checked 2026-10-18, TTS calculator (ttscost): elevenlabs fact elevenlabs/plans); Minutes included (text to speech): Free about 10, Starter 30, Creator 121, Pro 600, Scale 1,800, Business 6,000; extra minute about $0.36 / $0.20 / $0.18 / $0.17 / $0.17 / $0.17 (checked 2026-10-18, TTS calculator (ttscost): elevenlabs fact elevenlabs/minutes)

• Free $0 (10,000 credits); Starter $6 (30,000 credits); Creator $22 (121,000 credits, $11 for the first month); Pro $99 (600,000 credits); Scale $299 (1,800,000 credits, 3 seats); Business $990 (6,000,000 credits, 10 seats)
• Minutes included Extra minute
• ~ 10 ~ $0.36
• ~ 30 ~ $0.20
• ~ 121 ~ $0.18
• ~ 600 ~ $0.17
• ~ 1,800 ~ $0.17
• ~ 6,000 ~ $0.17

Formula: 99+max(0,voice_min-600)*0.18

Credits per month: Free $0 (10,000), Starter $6 (30,000), Creator $22 (121,000), Pro $99 (600,000), Scale $299 (1.8M, 3 seats), Business $990 (6M, 10 seats) (checked 2026-10-18, TTS calculator (ttscost): elevenlabs fact elevenlabs/plans); Minutes included (text to speech): Free about 10, Starter 30, Creator 121, Pro 600, Scale 1,800, Business 6,000; extra minute about $0.36 / $0.20 / $0.18 / $0.17 / $0.17 / $0.17 (checked 2026-10-18, TTS calculator (ttscost): elevenlabs fact elevenlabs/minutes); Commercial License is listed from Starter up ("Everything in free, plus Commercial License"); Additional Credits are listed from Creator up (checked 2026-10-18, TTS calculator (ttscost): elevenlabs fact elevenlabs/commercial)

• Free $0 (10,000 credits); Starter $6 (30,000 credits); Creator $22 (121,000 credits, $11 for the first month); Pro $99 (600,000 credits); Scale $299 (1,800,000 credits, 3 seats); Business $990 (6,000,000 credits, 10 seats)
• Minutes included Extra minute
• ~ 10 ~ $0.36
• ~ 30 ~ $0.20
• ~ 121 ~ $0.18
• ~ 600 ~ $0.17
• ~ 1,800 ~ $0.17
• ~ 6,000 ~ $0.17
• Everything in free, plus Commercial License
• Professional Voice Cloning Additional Credits 121k credits per month

Formula: 22+max(0,voice_min-121)*0.20

$14.99/mo (yearly billing) (checked 2026-10-17, LicenseLens: uppbeat / Pro / price); 10 YouTube channels safelisted (checked 2026-10-17, LicenseLens: uppbeat / Pro / monetize)

• Pro $14.99/month
• Saving 40% with yearly billing
• Safelist 10 YouTube channels

Formula: 14.99

from €14.50/mo (checked 2026-10-17, LicenseLens: envato / Core / price)

• Core For those who need unlimited access to pro-grade creative assets and templates From €14.50 /month

Formula: 14.50*eur_usd

€25/mo, billed annually (checked 2026-10-17, LicenseLens: storyblocks / Unlimited All Access / price)

• Unlimited All Access For individuals who produce at scale and demand creative freedom. € 25 per month, billed annually

Formula: 25*eur_usd

Runway API: credits cost $0.01 each; gen4_turbo 5 credits/s; grok_imagine_1_5_lite (720p) 3 credits/s; wan3 (720p) 10 credits/s (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot runway-api))

• Credits can be purchased for $0.01 per credit
• gen4_turbo 5 credits per second
• grok_imagine_1_5_lite (720p) 3 credits per second
• wan3 (720p) 10 credits per second

Formula: ai_s*regen*3*0.01

Runway API: credits cost $0.01 each; gen4_turbo 5 credits/s; grok_imagine_1_5_lite (720p) 3 credits/s; wan3 (720p) 10 credits/s (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot runway-api))

• Credits can be purchased for $0.01 per credit
• gen4_turbo 5 credits per second
• grok_imagine_1_5_lite (720p) 3 credits per second
• wan3 (720p) 10 credits per second

Formula: ai_s*regen*5*0.01

Veo 3.1 per second: Lite $0.05 (720p) / $0.08 (1080p); Fast $0.10 (720p) / $0.12 (1080p); Standard $0.40 (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot gemini-pricing))

• Veo 3.1 Lite video with audio price (default) Not available $0.05 (720p) $0.08 (1080p)
• Veo 3.1 Fast video with audio price (default) Not available $0.10 (720p) $0.12 (1080p) $0.30 (4k)
• You will only be charged if your video is successfully generated.

Formula: ai_s*regen*0.05

Veo 3.1 per second: Lite $0.05 (720p) / $0.08 (1080p); Fast $0.10 (720p) / $0.12 (1080p); Standard $0.40 (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot gemini-pricing))

• Veo 3.1 Lite video with audio price (default) Not available $0.05 (720p) $0.08 (1080p)
• Veo 3.1 Fast video with audio price (default) Not available $0.10 (720p) $0.12 (1080p) $0.30 (4k)
• You will only be charged if your video is successfully generated.

Formula: ai_s*regen*0.08

Veo 3.1 per second: Lite $0.05 (720p) / $0.08 (1080p); Fast $0.10 (720p) / $0.12 (1080p); Standard $0.40 (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot gemini-pricing))

• Veo 3.1 Lite video with audio price (default) Not available $0.05 (720p) $0.08 (1080p)
• Veo 3.1 Fast video with audio price (default) Not available $0.10 (720p) $0.12 (1080p) $0.30 (4k)
• You will only be charged if your video is successfully generated.

Formula: ai_s*regen*0.12

Remotion is free for individuals and companies of up to 3 people (commercial use allowed); 4+ people need a Company License: Creators $25/month per seat, or Automators $0.01 per render with a $100/month minimum (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot remotion-pro))

• Remotion is free to use for individuals and companies up to three people.
• For individuals and companies of up to 3 people Free License Create and automate Commercial use allowed Unlimited use
• Remotion for Creators Create videos for yourself - $25/mo per seat
• Remotion for Automators Build video creation tools - $0.01 per render, $100/mo minimum

Formula: 0

Remotion is free for individuals and companies of up to 3 people (commercial use allowed); 4+ people need a Company License: Creators $25/month per seat, or Automators $0.01 per render with a $100/month minimum (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot remotion-pro))

• Remotion is free to use for individuals and companies up to three people.
• For individuals and companies of up to 3 people Free License Create and automate Commercial use allowed Unlimited use
• Remotion for Creators Create videos for yourself - $25/mo per seat
• Remotion for Automators Build video creation tools - $0.01 per render, $100/mo minimum

Formula: 0

Remotion Lambda cost example (2048 MB, us-east-1): a 10-minute remote HD video rendered for $0.103-$0.108; a 1-minute video for $0.017-$0.021 (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot remotion-lambda-cost))

• Rendering a 10 minute Remote HD Video
• Warm Lambda : $0.103, 56.09sec
• Warm Lambda : $0.017, 18.91sec
• We always recommend to measure the cost of your composition yourself.

Formula: video_min*lambda_per_min

YouTube Audio Library: royalty-free music and sound effects in YouTube Studio; monetizable in the YouTube Partner Program (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot ytaudio))

• you can find royalty-free production music and sound effects to use in your videos.
• If you're in the YouTube Partner Program , you can monetize videos with music and sound effects from the Audio Library.

Formula: 0

Lyria 3.5 music generation: $0.08 per full song (paid tier) (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot gemini-pricing))

• Lyria 3.5 (Full Song) Not available $0.08 per song

Formula: units_month*0.08

$14.99/mo (yearly billing) (checked 2026-10-17, LicenseLens: uppbeat / Pro / price); 10 YouTube channels safelisted (checked 2026-10-17, LicenseLens: uppbeat / Pro / monetize)

• Pro $14.99/month
• Saving 40% with yearly billing
• Safelist 10 YouTube channels

Formula: 14.99

€16.99/mo, billed €203.88 yearly (checked 2026-10-17, LicenseLens: epidemic-sound / Pro / price); 3 channels per platform (checked 2026-10-17, LicenseLens: epidemic-sound / Pro / monetize)

• Pro €16,99 Per month, billed €203.88 yearly.
• Earn money from 3 channels per platform

Formula: ceil(channels/3)*16.99*eur_usd

Remotion is free for individuals and companies of up to 3 people (commercial use allowed); 4+ people need a Company License: Creators $25/month per seat, or Automators $0.01 per render with a $100/month minimum (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot remotion-pro))

• Remotion is free to use for individuals and companies up to three people.
• For individuals and companies of up to 3 people Free License Create and automate Commercial use allowed Unlimited use
• Remotion for Creators Create videos for yourself - $25/mo per seat
• Remotion for Automators Build video creation tools - $0.01 per render, $100/mo minimum

Formula: 0

Canva Free: available to anyone at $0 (Pro price not readable from our location, so not used) (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot canva))

• Free is available to anyone.

Formula: 0

Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image: $0.0336 per 1K image ($0.0168 in Batch) (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot gemini-pricing))

• Equivalent to $0.0336 per 1K resolution image
• Equivalent to $0.0168 per 1K resolution image

Formula: units_month*thumbs*0.0336

Remotion is free for individuals and companies of up to 3 people (commercial use allowed); 4+ people need a Company License: Creators $25/month per seat, or Automators $0.01 per render with a $100/month minimum (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot remotion-pro))

• Remotion is free to use for individuals and companies up to three people.
• For individuals and companies of up to 3 people Free License Create and automate Commercial use allowed Unlimited use
• Remotion for Creators Create videos for yourself - $25/mo per seat
• Remotion for Automators Build video creation tools - $0.01 per render, $100/mo minimum

Formula: 0

Help article, for iOS and web: Free $0 and 60–200 credits that do not refresh; Basic $9.99 and 200 credits; Max $24.99 and 500; Frontier $69.99 and 1400; Frontier 2x $139.99 and 2800; Frontier 4x $279.99 and 5600. (checked 2026-10-18, AI Video Ad Cost: captions fact 1)

• Understand how AI credits work in Captions across every plan — image, video, sound, music, voiceover, and AI Edit usage on iOS and web.
• Free $0 60 - 200 (do not refresh)
• Basic (formerly Pro / Starter) $9.99 200
• Max $24.99 500
• Frontier (formerly Scale) $69.99 1400
• Frontier 2x (formerly Scale 2x) $139.99 2800
• Frontier 4x (formerly Scale 4x) $279.99 5600

Formula: 9.99

Help centre, updated 30/09/2026: Starter is $19 per month for 15 video uploads, Professional is $39 per month for 40 video uploads, and Business is $69 per month for 100 video uploads. Annual billing is up to 41% off. Magic Clips is a $19 add-on. (checked 2026-10-18, AI Video Ad Cost: submagic fact 5); Help centre length limits, with the asterisks as rendered: Starter 2 minutes, Professional 5 minutes, Business 30 minutes. (checked 2026-10-18, AI Video Ad Cost: submagic fact 8)

• They start at just $19 per month for the Starter plan. We recommend this for plan for users just starting their journey in content creation. It offers 15 video uploads.
• If you're a professional video editor or an agency owner, we recommend the Business plan at $69 per month which includes 100 Video Uploads and 4K + 60 FPS Export to get the best video quality.
• However, our most popular plan is the Professional plan. It offers 40 video uploads at just $39 per month, you get the most value for your money, including all the AI features and Premium Features to make your videos look stunning!
• You can also add Magic Clips Add-On to your subscription for just $19 per month. It offer 10 video uploads.
• P.S. You can now get up to 41% off if you subscribe to the Annual plan!
• On the Starter plan, the limit is** 2 minutes** per video per upload and export
• On the Professional plan, the limit is** 5 minutes** per video upload and export
• On the Business plan, the limit is** 30 minutes** per video upload and export

Formula: 69*ceil(units_month/100)

YouTube Data API: no fee is published; projects get a default quota of 100 videos.insert calls per day (checked 2026-10-18, read on the official page 2026-10-18 (snapshot yt-quota))

• Projects that enable the YouTube Data API have a default quota allocation of 100 search.list calls, 100 videos.insert calls, and 10,000 units per day

Formula: 0

Monthly billing: Essentials $6, Team $12 per channel a month (checked 2026-10-18, Social scheduler calculator (schedulercost): buffer fact buffer/monthly); Yearly billing: Essentials $5, Team $10 per channel a month ($60 / $120 a year) (checked 2026-10-18, Social scheduler calculator (schedulercost): buffer fact buffer/yearly)

• Essentials Recommended $6 /month 1 channel · Billed monthly
• Team $12 /month 1 channel · Billed monthly
• Essentials Recommended $5 /month 1 channel · $60 billed yearly (save 2 months)
• Team $10 /month 1 channel · $120 billed yearly (save 2 months)

Formula: channels*iff(annual,5,6)