# How credits work

What a video costs, and how monthly credits and top-ups work.

Updated 2026-09-19.

## Credits are what a video costs

You buy credits, and each video spends some of them when it finishes. What a video costs depends on the **Quality** you pick before you press **Make video**:

- **Draft**, 360p: 5 credits. Watermarked, for checking a shot before you spend the credits on a finished one.
- **HD**, 720p: 10 credits. What you show at the kitchen table.
- **Full HD**, 1080p: 20 credits. For a big screen or a TV in the showroom.
- **4K**: 30 credits. For a website or a trade-show loop.

A draft costs half what a finished HD video does, so you can try two angles or looks for the price of one finished video. Nothing is charged if a video fails. Charges only happen on a video that finishes.

## Two pools of credit, and they behave differently

RenderSplash keeps two separate amounts, and they are easy to mix up:

1. **Your monthly allowance**, included with your plan and spent first. It is use it or lose it: it resets to the full amount at the start of every billing period, and whatever you did not spend does not carry over.
2. **Your prepaid balance**, credit you bought yourself with a top-up. It is only touched once your monthly allowance runs out for that period, and unlike the allowance, it never expires and carries forward indefinitely.

The credits pill in the top bar is on every page and shows how many credits you can spend right now: what is left of your plan's credits plus any you bought, for example "85 credits." Hover it to see the two apart. It turns amber when you have less than one HD video left. Click it and it takes you to **Billing**, where both numbers, and your full history, are laid out.

## Buying more

Top-ups are cheaper the more you buy at once: **$0.80 a credit** normally, **$0.70 a credit** at 250 or more in one purchase, and **$0.60 a credit** at 500 or more. Buy them from **Billing**, under **Prepaid balance**, with the **Add credit** button, picking a preset amount or typing your own number. Bought credit never expires, so buying ahead of a busy month, or in a larger batch to get the better rate, is never wasted.

## Before you press Make video

The cost line beside the **Make video** button always says what a clip will cost before it runs, either "X credits, Y left this month" or a dollar amount from your prepaid balance. If you do not have enough of either, the button explains why and points you to **Billing** to add more.

## Related

- [Which resolution to choose](https://rendersplash.com/help/choosing-a-resolution)
- [Billing, upgrades and cancellation](https://rendersplash.com/help/billing-and-plans)

Need more help? [Contact support](https://rendersplash.com/contact). We answer within one business day.

## Related

- [Which resolution to choose](https://rendersplash.com/help/choosing-a-resolution)
- [Billing, upgrades and cancellation](https://rendersplash.com/help/billing-and-plans)

Still stuck? Email support@rendersplash.com. We answer support email within one business day.