Is Veo 3.1 free? Flow credits, the Gemini app and the API

Veo 3.1 can be tried for free in one place, Google Flow, within a small daily credit allowance. It has no free tier on the Gemini API: Google's pricing page lists the Veo 3.1 free tier as "Not available", and every Veo 3.1 model is paid per second of video.^[1] In the Gemini app, Veo is being replaced by Google's newer Gemini Omni model.^[3] On SeedRouter, every new account starts with a small free balance, and Veo 3.1 is paid per clip or per second after that.

Prices as published by Google, checked on October 4, 2026. Free allowances change often, so check the linked pages before you rely on a detail.

Is Veo 3.1 free to use?

Partly, and only inside Google's own creative app. Google Flow gives every account 50 credits a day "with or without a subscription", and the help page describes them as credits "to try Google Flow".^[4] Veo 3.1 generations cost credits, so the daily allowance buys a few short clips at most. Unused daily credits "don't roll over".^[4]

Outside Flow, Veo 3.1 is paid. The Gemini API charges for every second of video, and the Gemini app's video features need a Google AI subscription.^[1][3]

Where does Google offer Veo 3.1 for free?

The Flow credit costs are per generation, not per request, and Google notes that "you can make a single request that may generate 2 videos".^[4] At the listed rates, 50 daily credits cover up to five Veo 3.1 Lite generations or two Fast generations; a single Quality generation costs 100, more than one day's allowance.^[4]

There are two limits on the free side of Flow. During peak hours, "roughly 2 PM to 5 PM UTC, you may not be able to generate videos without a subscription".^[4] And Google's plan page describes Flow on the free plan as including "limited access to Nano Banana Pro", without naming Veo.^[2] What a free account can render on a given day may be less than the credit table suggests.

Paid Google AI plans add Flow credits each month: 200 on Google AI Plus ($4.99 a month), 1,000 on Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month), and 10,000 or 25,000 on Google AI Ultra (from $99.99 a month).^[2][4]

Is the Veo 3.1 API free?

No. On the Gemini API, all three Veo 3.1 models show "Not available" in the free tier column and a per-second price in the paid tier:^[1]

At those rates, the cheapest 8-second clip on Google's API is Veo 3.1 Lite at 720p: 8 × $0.05 = $0.40. Google adds that "you will only be charged if your video is successfully generated".^[1]

SeedRouter has no free tier either, but every new account gets a small free balance to test with; the pricing page lists the amount. After that, you top up once and each finished video is charged at the current rate. Current Veo 3.1 prices on SeedRouter:

These rates come from the same table that bills your account. Three Veo 3.1 models are priced per 8-second clip and two per second; the Veo 3.1 API pricing guide works through clip costs at each resolution. Three rules keep testing cheap:

• Failed tasks are free. A task that ends failed costs nothing, including one stopped by content moderation or by an image that breaks a limit.
• The charge is fixed at acceptance. The amount reserved when the task is accepted is the amount charged.
• Your balance never expires. There is no subscription, and a small top-up lasts until you use it.

What is the cheapest way to try Veo 3.1 through an API?

Start on veo-3.1-lite at 720p. It is the lowest-priced per-clip model, returns the same 8-second clip as the other per-clip models, and works from text alone. When a prompt works, move it to veo-3.1-fast or veo-3.1-quality by changing model and, if you want, resolution. The Veo 3.1 Lite vs Fast vs Quality guide explains when each tier is worth it.

curl https://api.seedrouter.ai/v1/videos/generations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEEDROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "veo-3.1-lite",
    "prompt": "A paper boat drifts down a narrow city gutter after rain, camera at water level, street lights rippling around it, no text, no logos.",
    "resolution": "720p",
    "aspect_ratio": "16:9"
  }'

The response is a task ID, not the video. Poll GET /v1/tasks/{id} every 10–20 seconds; in our runs a clip was ready in a few minutes. The finished task holds a video URL on SeedRouter's storage. The Veo 3.1 API reference lists every field.

For a quick visual test, enable_gif returns an animated GIF instead of an MP4 on the per-clip models (720p only). This is the GIF veo-3.1-lite returned in one of our test runs, re-encoded to MP4 for this page:

veo-3.1-lite with enable_gif: true. The task returned a GIF, 480 × 270, 16 fps, 8 seconds.

You can also try a prompt in the Veo 3.1 playground before writing any code. It is billed like an API call, and a failed run is not charged.

What about "free unlimited" Veo 3.1?

Google's pages do not offer unlimited free Veo 3.1. The nearest thing is a mode inside Flow: Google's credit table lists "Veo 3.1 - Lite (Lower Priority)" at 0 credits per generation, but only for "Ultra subscribers & family plan managers"; for everyone else it is "Not available".^[4] So the zero-credit option requires a Google AI Ultra plan, which starts at $99.99 a month.^[2]

Third-party sites that promise free, unlimited Veo 3.1 are paying for each second of video somewhere, because every Veo 3.1 model on Google's API is billed per second.^[1] Read their terms before you upload your own images, and be wary of anything that asks you to install an app to unlock "free" access.

Frequently asked questions

Is Veo 3.1 Fast free?

Not on the API: Google lists Veo 3.1 Fast at $0.10 per second at 720p, with no free tier.^[1] In Google Flow's credit table, a Veo 3.1 Fast generation costs 20 credits for non-Ultra subscribers, so 50 daily credits would cover two of them.^[4]

Is there a Veo 3.1 free trial?

Not as a named trial. Google Flow's 50 daily credits are the closest thing; Google calls them a way "to try Google Flow".^[4] On SeedRouter, the free balance on a new account works the same way for the API: enough for a test, after which you top up.

Can I use Veo 3.1 in the Gemini app for free?

No. Google's video generation page says "Google AI subscription required" and that Gemini Omni "will replace Veo in the Gemini app".^[3] To keep using Veo 3.1 itself, use Flow or the API.

Does Veo 3.1 add a watermark?

Google says "Videos created by Veo are watermarked using SynthID, our tool for watermarking and identifying AI-generated content."^[5] SynthID is described as imperceptible, so it is not a visible logo on the frame.^[3]

How long is a Veo 3.1 video?

On SeedRouter, the per-clip models always return 8 seconds and the per-second models take 4, 6 or 8 seconds. Each request makes one clip; extending a video is not offered.

Start with one short clip

For personal clips, Google Flow's daily credits may be all you need to try the model. To use Veo 3.1 in your own product, create an API key, add a small balance on the billing page, and send your first veo-3.1-lite request with the example above.

References

1. Google. Gemini Developer API pricing (Veo 3.1). Checked October 4, 2026 at ai.google.dev.
2. Google. Gemini subscriptions (Free, Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra, United States). Checked October 4, 2026 at gemini.google.
3. Google. Video generation in the Gemini app. Retrieved October 4, 2026 from gemini.google.
4. Google. Manage your Google Flow credits. Google Flow Help. Retrieved October 4, 2026 from support.google.com.
5. Google. Generate videos with Veo 3.1 in Gemini API. Retrieved October 4, 2026 from ai.google.dev.