What is the difference between VEO 3.1 Fast and VEO 3.1 Quality?
Google ships VEO 3.1 in three tiers that make the same kind of clip, 4, 6 or 8 seconds at 720p or 1080p with native audio, at very different prices: VEO 3.1 (the "Quality" tier in Google Flow) is $0.40 a second on the Gemini API, VEO 3.1 Fast is $0.10 a second at 720p and $0.12 at 1080p, and VEO 3.1 Lite is $0.05 at 720p and $0.08 at 1080p. Quality is tuned for the highest fidelity, Fast for turnaround and cost, and Lite for the lowest price; only Quality and Fast offer 4K. Viralance offers VEO 3.1 Fast and Lite on one-time credits: an 8-second Fast clip is 12 credits at 720p or 1080p (about $3.60 on the $9 Mini pack, $2.17 on Business) and an 8-second Lite clip is 5 credits at 720p. For occasional use the one-time credits are the cheaper route: Google AI Pro is $19.99 a month and only includes a limited VEO 3.1 Lite allowance, while four 8-second Fast clips on Viralance are $14.40 on Mini with nothing expiring; the Gemini API is cheaper per second only if you have a Google Cloud project and write the code yourself. Google prices are from ai.google.dev, checked October 6, 2026.
The concrete numbers
- Gemini API prices per second of generated video (audio included): VEO 3.1 $0.40 at 720p or 1080p and $0.60 at 4K; VEO 3.1 Fast $0.10 at 720p, $0.12 at 1080p and $0.30 at 4K; VEO 3.1 Lite $0.05 at 720p and $0.08 at 1080p, no 4K. Google charges only for clips that generate successfully.
- An 8-second 1080p clip therefore costs $3.20 on VEO 3.1, $0.96 on Fast and $0.64 on Lite through Google’s API, before any platform margin.
- In Google Flow the tiers appear as Veo 3.1 Quality, Fast and Lite. Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month in the US) includes 1,000 Flow credits a month with a limited VEO 3.1 Lite allowance; full VEO 3.1 access sits in Google AI Ultra, which includes 10,000 or 25,000 credits. Plan credits reset monthly.
- Viralance, one-time credits: VEO 3.1 Fast 6/8/12 credits for 4/6/8 seconds at 720p and the same at 1080p; VEO 3.1 Lite 3/4/5 at 720p and 4/6/8 at 1080p. Viralance does not offer the Quality tier.
- All three tiers generate native audio (dialogue, ambience, effects) and accept text-to-video and image-to-video; VEO 3.1 Fast on Viralance also takes up to 3 reference images.
- Credits cost $0.30 each on the Mini pack and $0.18 on the Business pack, never expire, and failed generations are refunded automatically.
Common follow-ups
Is VEO 3.1 Fast noticeably worse than VEO 3.1 Quality?
Quality is Google’s highest-fidelity tier and Fast trades some fidelity for speed and a quarter of the price; both produce 720p or 1080p clips with native audio. For social clips, drafts and ads tested in volume, Fast is the usual choice; for a hero shot where fine detail matters, Quality. Generate the same prompt on both if the shot is important.
Is VEO 3.1 Lite good enough?
Lite is the cheapest VEO 3.1 tier and still generates native audio at 720p or 1080p. It is the right first pass for most prompts; on Viralance an 8-second 720p Lite clip is 5 credits, less than half the Fast price.
Why is VEO 3.1 Fast on Viralance more than Google’s $0.96 for 8 seconds?
Viralance runs VEO 3.1 through fal.ai’s hosted endpoints and bills in credits, so the per-clip price includes hosting, the watermark-free library, refunds for failed jobs and the rest of the studio. An 8-second Fast clip is 12 credits: $3.60 on Mini, $2.17 on Business. If you already have a Google Cloud project and write code, the Gemini API is cheaper per second.
Does Viralance have VEO 3.1 Quality?
No. Viralance offers VEO 3.1 Fast and VEO 3.1 Lite. For the Quality tier use Google Flow (Google AI Ultra) or the Gemini API.
Can I get 1080p from VEO 3.1 Fast?
Yes. On Viralance, VEO 3.1 Fast renders 1080p for the same credits as 720p (12 credits for 8 seconds); on Google’s API 1080p is $0.12 a second against $0.10 at 720p.
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