Grok Imagine (xAI) pricing and API costs
Grok Imagine pricing checked September 30, 2026: grok-imagine-video at $0.05/s and grok-imagine-video-1.5 at $0.08/s, flat per output second with a monthly cost calculator and the 1.0 vs 1.5 split.
Pricing paths
Pay-as-you-go API
The direct path. xAI bills video per output second at a flat list rate: grok-imagine-video $0.05/s and grok-imagine-video-1.5 $0.08/s, with no resolution tier on the checked pricing table.
Hosted app
grok.com/imagine generates clips inside Grok consumer plans. Plan prices and quotas are not verified on this page — budget from the official app before treating API rates as account credits.
Version choice
The two model IDs are the real pricing decision: 1.0 stays the budget model at $0.05/s, while Video 1.5 (June 2026) costs $0.08/s — a 6-second clip moves from $0.30 to $0.48.
Grok Imagine API pricing by model ID
Checked xAI list prices. Both IDs bill a flat rate per second of generated video — the pricing table lists no resolution tiers — and generation is asynchronous: submit, poll the request ID, fetch the finished URL. Duration is user-set between 1 and 15 seconds at 480p or 720p.
| API model | Price | What you get | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| grok-imagine-video-1.5 · 480p / 720p | $0.080 / second | Current recommended model (June 2026): 24 fps, synchronized audio, faster renders | xAI API model catalog Checked 2026-09-30 |
| grok-imagine-video · 480p / 720p | $0.050 / second | Budget generation across text, image, edit, reference and extension modes | xAI API model catalog Checked 2026-09-30 |
| Billing basis | Flat per output second | No resolution tiers on the checked pricing table; duration 1–15 s, seven aspect ratios | xAI API pricing Checked 2026-09-30 |
| Free tier | None documented | No free video allowance on the checked pricing page; API use bills from the first second | xAI API pricing Checked 2026-09-30 |
| Hosted app · Grok plans | Plan-based (not verified here) | Consumer access at grok.com/imagine inside Grok subscriptions | Grok Imagine product surface (grok.com/imagine) Checked 2026-09-30 |
Grok Imagine monthly cost calculator
Price the API path: pick a model version, clip length and monthly volume. Grok app plans are excluded on purpose — their quotas are not verified here and do not convert into API seconds.
Cost per clip
$0.7515 seconds · 480p · $0.05 / second
Cost per month
$22.5030 clips
All tiers and resolutions at this volume
| Tier | Resolution | Per second | Cost per clip | Cost per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| grok-imagine-video Lowest cost | 480p | $0.05 / second | $0.75 | $22.50 |
| grok-imagine-video | 720p | $0.05 / second | $0.75 | $22.50 |
| grok-imagine-video-1.5 | 480p | $0.08 / second | $1.20 | $36.00 |
| grok-imagine-video-1.5 | 720p | $0.08 / second | $1.20 | $36.00 |
Flat list prices checked 2026-09-30: no resolution tier, billed per output second of generated video. Excludes taxes; the app-side Grok plan quotas are not part of this math.
Prefer a shareable URL? Open the standalone pricing calculator page
Which Grok Imagine model for which job
Monthly estimates use the checked flat list prices with 6-second clips — the typical social length — and exclude taxes.
| Use case | Recommended setup | Estimated monthly cost | Why this option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drafts and iteration | grok-imagine-video · 480p | $3–9 (10–30 clips) | The $0.05/s budget ID keeps prompt iteration cheap at $0.30 per 6-second clip |
| Social posts | grok-imagine-video-1.5 · 720p | $5–14 (10–30 clips) | 24 fps clips with synchronized audio at $0.48 per 6-second render |
| 15-second storytelling | grok-imagine-video-1.5 · 720p | $12–36 (10–30 clips) | The 15-second maximum costs $1.20 per clip; extension stitches continued shots into one video |
| Bulk volume | grok-imagine-video · 720p | $23–75 (30–100 clips) | At $0.75 per 15-second clip the budget ID absorbs volume that 1.5 would price at $120 |
Four ways to keep Grok Imagine costs down
Draft on 1.0, finish on 1.5
Iterating at $0.05 per second and reserving the $0.08 Video 1.5 rate for final renders cuts the same volume’s bill by about 40%.
Set the duration you need, not the maximum
Billing is flat per output second across 1–15 s, so a 6-second setting costs 60% of a 10-second render of the same scene.
Edit instead of regenerate
The edit mode re-renders a clip at its original duration — fixing one prompt beats paying for full-length regenerations.
Watch the version on every call
The model ID is the price: grok-imagine-video bills $0.05/s and grok-imagine-video-1.5 bills $0.08/s, so pin the ID deliberately rather than letting a default choose for you.
Cost examples
Calculated from the checked list prices. They exclude taxes, account discounts, failed generations and input materials.
| Example | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| grok-imagine-video-1.5 · 720p · 6 seconds | 6 × $0.08 | $0.48 per clip |
| grok-imagine-video-1.5 · 720p · 15 seconds | 15 × $0.08 | $1.20 per clip |
| grok-imagine-video · 480p · 6 seconds | 6 × $0.05 | $0.30 per clip |
| grok-imagine-video-1.5 · 720p · 30 clips / month | 30 × 6 × $0.08 | $14.40 per month |
| grok-imagine-video · 720p · 100 clips / month | 100 × 6 × $0.05 | $30.00 per month |
Pricing FAQ
- How much does Grok Imagine cost?
- Flat per output second on the xAI API: $0.05 for grok-imagine-video and $0.08 for grok-imagine-video-1.5, with no resolution tier on the checked pricing table. A 6-second clip costs $0.30 on 1.0 or $0.48 on 1.5.
- Does the Grok app use the same pricing as the API?
- No. grok.com/imagine runs inside Grok consumer plans whose quotas are separate billing surfaces and are not verified on this page. API rates are useful for developer budgets but are not a conversion of app credits.
- What is the difference between the two model IDs?
- Video 1.5 (June 2026) is the current generation: 24 fps, synchronized audio, better physics and roughly 25-second renders of a 6-second 720p clip. It bills at $0.08 per second against $0.05 for the prior grok-imagine-video.
- Is there a free Grok Imagine tier?
- The checked xAI pricing page documents no free video allowance — API generation bills from the first second. Grok app plan quotas are separate and unverified here; check grok.com for current terms.