Start without a charge
Create a key in Settings → API and verify it with GET /api/v1/usage. Creating a key and checking usage do not require a top-up or charge credits. The dashboard creates live keys; the quickstart explains sandbox access and the first paid request.
Per-operation prices
These are prepaid API prices in USD. Read data.pricing in the usage response for the current operation and AI-model price tables. Available endpoints and their schemas are listed in GET /api/v1/tools.
| Operation | API price | Billing unit |
|---|---|---|
| Stock video (POST /generate-and-post) | $0.60 | accepted video request |
| Post to social | $0.05 | publish action |
| Article-to-video | $0.50 | accepted video request |
| Article generation | $0.20 | successful request |
| AI video | Varies by model, length, and resolution | Model prices in data.pricing.ai_video_models are base rates |
| AI influencer | Varies by engine and spoken length | Preview the selected engine with dry_run: true; read the accepted charge in data.price_usd_cents |
| YouTube clips | $0.40 per delivered clip | clip_count reserved up front; undelivered clips refunded |
| Usage, tool discovery, job status, trends and hooks | Free | Rate-limited reads |
Trend and hook lookups are free reads. YouTube clips cost $0.40 per delivered clip. The requested maximum is charged up front, and undelivered clips are refunded when the job completes. A failed job or a result with zero clips is refunded in full. Dry runs are free. REST and MCP use the same account balance and prices.
API balances and dashboard plan tokens are separate. A paid API call (stock video, YouTube clips, AI video, AI influencer, blog to video, posting) is charged to your prepaid API balance only — it never uses plan tokens. An API top-up does not change your subscription.
Fund your account
Open Settings → API and use the top-up controls. The minimum top-up is $10.00. Complete checkout, then check data.balance.api_credits_usd_cents in the usage response before starting paid work. Amounts in API responses are in USD cents: 100 means $1.00.
Automatic charging is currently unavailable. An enabled auto-refill preference is a saved setting, not a working refill service. Complete a manual top-up when you need more API credits.
Retries and failed requests
Paid generation POST requests require an Idempotency-Key. Keep one saved key for each job and reuse its unchanged request when retrying. Once you have a job ID, poll it for free. A different key starts a separate request that may charge again. Signal GET requests (trends and hooks) are free and do not use idempotency replay.
402 INSUFFICIENT_API_CREDITS means the balance cannot cover the operation. Review the error's cost and balance, then fund the account before submitting another job. An accepted video request is still processing; check its final status before distributing the asset. If a failed request's charge needs investigation, send support its request ID and job ID, never your API key.
Partner integrations
Rendering for many customer brands from one account is self-serve: send a brand object per stock video. For private media delivery or a larger generation volume, contact admin@reelsbuilder.ai to confirm available capabilities and account terms. A funded API balance alone does not enable every partner feature.