Ahsan Javaid
Arcads AI pricing is built on monthly credit plans, from Starter with 8,000 credits up to Business with 192,000, plus custom Enterprise deals. Arcads does not publish its dollar prices on its website. They appear only on the pricing screen inside the app, after you create an account.
This guide separates three kinds of evidence so you know how much weight each figure can carry: what Arcads documents in its own help centre, what third-party reviewers report from the in-app pricing screen, and what the credit maths works out to per video.
Pricing and plan details checked October 28, 2026.
Arcads AI Pricing at a Glance
Arcads offers five standard plans, each defined by its monthly credit pool. The credit figures and rules below come from Arcads’ help centre. AIToolister has not verified the dollar prices; Arcads keeps them in the app, so the price column shows third-party-reported figures, not prices AIToolister has verified.
| Plan | Credits per month | Reported price (list) | At the credit limit | Unused credits |
| Starter | 8,000 | $110/month | Generation stops | Reset each cycle |
| Creator | 16,000 | $220/month | Generation stops | Reset each cycle |
| Pro | 48,000 | $550/month | Extra usage billed | Roll over |
| Scale | 96,000 | Not reported | Extra usage billed | Roll over |
| Business | 192,000 | Not reported | Extra usage billed | Roll over |
| Enterprise | Custom | Through sales | Custom | Custom |
Reported prices come from Creatify, a competing ad tool, which published a screenshot of an Arcads in-app pricing screen on August 24, 2026. On that date, a limited-time 30% promotion cut the three plans to $77, $154 and $385 a month. Treat every dollar figure here as a dated report, and check the price shown in your own account before paying.
Two pricing rules are official. Arcads bills monthly or yearly, and yearly billing is 20% off.
Arcads Plans Compared, from Starter to Business
Credits are only half the difference between Arcads plans. Several features unlock at specific tiers, and those gates often decide which plan you actually need.
Starter and Creator: the self-serve plans
Every plan, including Starter, gets all of Arcads’ models up to 4K, the Mark AI agent, and the Arcads MCP connector. Creator adds three things Starter lacks: Workflows, background removal and AI captions.
The caption gate matters most. Captions are standard on paid social video ads, so a Starter subscriber who needs them inside Arcads has to upgrade. Creator also doubles the credit pool, from 8,000 to 16,000 a month.
Pro, Scale and Business: the volume plans
Pro and the tiers above it add the features agencies and larger brands usually ask for:
- the public API, for automating production
- team seats
- custom actors and free voice cloning
- ElevenLabs voices
- free image upscaling
- direct Slack access and calls with the Arcads team
These plans also change how billing behaves. Unused credits roll over with no cap, and usage beyond your allowance bills extra instead of stopping generation.
Enterprise
Arcads’ sales team sets Enterprise credits, pricing, and terms.
Quick guide: choose Creator if you need captions on a modest number of ads. Choose Pro if you need the API, a team, custom actors or credits that carry over.
How Arcads Credits Work
Every Arcads plan draws from a single monthly credit balance. Each generation spends credits based on the model, video length, and resolution, so two videos of the same length can cost different amounts.
These are Arcads’ standard rates from its How does Arcads pricing work? help article:
| What you generate | Credits |
| Talking-actor video, Arcads 1.0 (up to 2 minutes) | 800 |
| Talking-actor video, Audio-Driven or OmniHuman 1.5 | 800 per started minute |
| Custom actor (one-time setup) | 1,600 |
| Veo 3.1 clip, 8 seconds | 800 |
| Seedance 2.5, 5 seconds at 720p / 1080p | 210 / 520 |
| Kling 3.0 Pro, 5 / 10 seconds | 240 / 400 |
| Translate video | 240 per started 30 seconds, per language |
| Replace actor or animate actor | 500 |
| Show Your App / Unboxing POV preset | 200 / 400 |
| Captions: Insta and TikTok / Classic / Animated | 8 / 80 / 48 per started minute |
| Trim, stitch, resize, text overlay, change voice | 0 |
| Images, standard resolution | Free up to 100 per rolling 24 hours on paid plans |
Arcads’ older How Are Credits Counted? article lists different rates for several items. It prices all three talking-actor models, Arcads 1.0 included, at 800 credits per minute, per actor, with length rounded up. It also lists actor replacement at 800 credits and a flat 80 credits for captions.
Arcads itself says rates can vary by account because it tests new pricing. The Generate button shows the exact cost before you confirm, and Arcads automatically refunds failed generations. You can also set daily, weekly or monthly spending limits.
What One Arcads Video Actually Costs
A standard one-actor talking video uses 800 credits, so an Arcads ad’s cost depends on how many 800-credit blocks it uses. The examples below are estimates built from the documented rates, not quotes.
| Example ad | Credits |
| 30 seconds, one actor | 800 |
| 30 seconds, one actor, Classic captions | 880 |
| 30 seconds, one actor, translated into one language | 1,040 |
| 60 seconds, two actors (Audio-Driven or OmniHuman 1.5) | 1,600 |
| 90 seconds, one actor, Audio-Driven or OmniHuman 1.5 | 1,600 |
| 90 seconds, one actor, Arcads 1.0 | 800 or 1,600 (Arcads’ articles disagree) |
The two-actor figure uses the older article’s per-actor rule; the newer pricing article does not mention extra actors. Check the Generate button for any video longer than a minute or with more than one actor.
Converting credits into dollars
The formula is simple: plan price ÷ plan credits × credits used. At the reported $110 Starter list price, 800 credits work out to $11.00. At the reported $77 promotional price, the same 800 credits cost $7.70. Both figures assume the reported prices still apply to your account.
On credits alone, Starter covers about 10 one-actor talking videos a month, Creator about 20 and Pro about 60.
Why the real cost runs higher
That per-video figure is a floor. Three things push the real cost up:
- Discarded tests. Ad testing means generating several hooks or actors to find one that works, and each test spends credits.
- Regenerations. Re-running the AI to change a take spends credits again.
- Unused credits. On Starter and Creator, credits you do not use reset at renewal. If you use half your credits in a month, your cost per video doubles.
Arcads Free Trial: What You Get and When Billing Starts
Arcads offers a 72-hour free trial with 1,000 credits and every feature unlocked, including Workflows and the Mark agent. Some AI answers and reviews still say there is no trial, but Arcads’ current help centre describes one.
The terms worth knowing before you sign up:
- A card is required. You enter it at sign-up, but Arcads doesn’t charge it during the trial.
- You get a reminder. Arcads emails you 24 hours before the trial ends.
- Billing starts automatically. After 72 hours, the Starter monthly plan begins unless you cancel.
- Cancelling ends access at once. Use “Cancel free trial” in billing settings; access stops immediately rather than at the 72-hour mark.
The free daily images included with paid plans are not part of the trial. In practice, 1,000 credits cover one standard talking-actor video (800 credits) plus a few small extras, such as captions.
Rollover, Running Out of Credits and Cancelling
What happens to your credits depends on your plan, and these rules shape your real cost as much as the monthly price does.
- Starter and Creator: generation stops when you hit the monthly limit, and an upgrade offer appears. Unused credits reset at each renewal.
- Pro, Scale and Business: usage beyond the allowance is billed on your next invoice. Unused credits roll over in full, with no cap and no expiry.
- Upgrading mid-cycle: the new plan is charged that day, its credits are added to your balance, and your billing date resets.
- Cancelling: cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing cycle, and you lose any unused credits.
On overage plans, set a spending limit. Without one, a busy month carries over into a larger invoice.
Why Arcads Prices Differ Across the Web
If you search for Arcads pricing, you will find conflicting numbers. Most of the gaps trace back to a few causes:
- An old credit system. Arcads once counted one credit per video. Reviews written then describe plans of 10 or 20 credits, which does not match today’s 8,000 and 16,000.
- Outdated plan sizes. Some pages list Pro at 40,000 credits; Arcads’ help centre now lists 48,000.
- Optimistic video counts. Claims of “up to 50 videos” on Starter do not match the documented rate of 800 credits per standard talking-actor video.
- Missing trial details. Several sources say Arcads has no free trial. Its current documentation describes a 72-hour trial.
- Promotional prices shown as list prices. A limited-time discount can make the same plan look like $77 on one site and $110 on another.
- Arcads’ own documentation. Its two credit articles disagree on several rates, and Arcads says it tests different pricing on different accounts.
The safest figure is always the one in your own account: the pricing screen for plans and the Generate button for each video.
Is Arcads AI Worth It?
Arcads is worth it when you make a steady, predictable number of actor-led ads each month and use most of your credits. It is harder to justify when your volume swings or you test many variations to find one winner.
Arcads fits well if you:
- produce a regular batch of talking-actor ads, roughly 10 to 20 a month on Starter or Creator
- want many AI actors, multiple video models and localisation in one subscription
- run an agency or team that needs the API, seats or custom actors, which start at Pro
Look elsewhere if you:
- test dozens of hooks a month on Starter or Creator, where generation stops at the limit, and unused credits expire
- need captions but only want to pay for Starter
- want published prices before you create an account, or a free plan rather than a short trial
This assessment is based on Arcads’ documented plans, credit rules and features, not on hands-on testing. If you are weighing Arcads against general business software rather than ad tools specifically, our guide to the best AI tools for business covers wider options.
Arcads AI Alternatives Compared by Price
The three alternatives below publish their prices, making them easier to budget for than Arcads. Every figure comes from each company’s own pricing or help page, checked October 28, 2026.
| Tool | Free option | Entry paid plan | What the entry plan includes | Best fit |
| Creatify | Free plan: 10 credits a month, watermarked exports | Standard: $15/month, or $10/month billed yearly | 55 credits a month, 300 AI actors; credits last 2 months | Low-cost entry to AI UGC ads |
| HeyGen | Free plan: 3 watermarked videos a month, up to 1 minute each | Creator: $29/month, or $24/month billed yearly | 600 credits, 1080p export, no watermark; credits roll over one month | Avatar and presenter video beyond ads |
| Captions (Mirage) | None stated in its billing help | Max: $24.99/month | 500 credits; Mirage video costs 8 credits per second; credits do not roll over | Short AI-actor clips inside an editing app |
Credit units aren’t comparable across tools. On Captions, 500 credits buy about 62 seconds of Mirage video a month. On Creatify, its pricing page says 55 credits cover about 11 fifteen-second avatar videos.
The best free alternative to Arcads
Creatify and HeyGen both have free plans, and Arcads does not. Creatify’s free plan makes up to 2 video ads a month. HeyGen’s plan includes 3 videos up to 1 minute each. Both add a watermark, so they work for testing an idea rather than running finished ads.
For more options, see our roundups of the best AI marketing tools and AI content creation tools, including video and ad-creative tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Arcads have a free plan?
No. Every Arcads plan is paid. Paid plans include up to 100 free standard-resolution images per rolling 24 hours, which don’t use credits.
Does Arcads have a free trial?
Yes. New accounts get 72 hours and 1,000 credits with all features unlocked. A card is required, and the Starter monthly plan starts automatically unless you cancel before the trial ends.
How much does Arcads cost per video?
A standard one-actor talking video uses 800 credits. At the reported $110 Starter list price, that is about $11 per video; at the reported $77 promotional price, about $7.70. Captions, translation, extra actors and regenerations add to that.
Do unused Arcads credits roll over?
Only on Pro, Scale and Business, where unused credits roll over with no cap or expiry. On Starter and Creator, unused credits reset at each renewal.
Is Arcads cheaper if you pay yearly?
Arcads offers 20% off with yearly billing. If a monthly promotion is running, compare the two prices in your account before committing to a year.
What is the best free alternative to Arcads?
Creatify and HeyGen both offer free plans with watermarked exports. Creatify suits UGC-style ad tests; HeyGen suits presenter-style videos up to 1 minute.
Sources
- Arcads Help Centre: How does Arcads pricing work?
- Arcads Help Centre: How Are Credits Counted?
- Arcads Help Centre: Arcads FAQ
- Creatify: Arcads pricing (2026) (source of the reported in-app prices, captured August 24, 2026)
- Creatify pricing
- HeyGen pricing
- Captions: Subscription and billing
- Captions: Understanding credits
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