Google launches Veo 3.1 Lite, slashing AI video generation costs as OpenAI exits market

Google Launches Veo 3.1 Lite, a More Cost-Effective AI Video Generator Model

Google is launching a cost-effective version of its Veo 3 AI video generator, Veo 3.1 Lite, the company announced Tuesday, highlighting Google's renewed commitment to all forms of generative AI. Google says that its latest addition will round out the Veo product family to give developers flexibility based on their needs. The company says the new model will cost 50% less than Veo 3.1 Fast while retaining the same speed. And like all the Veo 3 models, Veo 3.1 Lite will support audio within the videos. A representative for Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Veo 3.1 Lite offers an assortment of features, including text-to-video and image-to-video, along with 16:9 and 9:16 aspect ratios, and video resolution up to 1080p. Veo 3.1 Lite doesn't support 4K resolutions like other models, something that may disappoint creators making professional-grade videos. The blog post also points out that developers can customize video duration at 4,6, or 8 seconds, and costs will adjust accordingly. The rollout of Veo 3.1 Lite began on Tuesday and is accessible to developers through the paid tier of the Gemini API and Google AI Studio, including Google's filmmaking studio, Flow. The timing of this release is telling. Last week, OpenAI -- one of Google's biggest competitors in the AI space -- announced it would be shutting down its video generation app, Sora. Sora was a unique offering because it was both a social media app and an AI video creation tool. Google's Veo 3.1 Lite highlights that the tech giant is not stepping away from generative media, but instead, is looking for ways to make creating AI images and videos cheaper. OpenAI's official statement said it was sunsetting Sora to reprioritize core goals, but AI video is a compute-intensive process, which makes it expensive for AI companies to run. In addition to Veo 3.1 Lite, Google is also updating pricing for the Veo 3.1 Fast model. The new pricing will be available "soon," according to the developer documentation. Making it cheaper to run AI is not just a concern for individual developers but also for the entire industry.

Google introduces a new video generation model as OpenAI shutters Sora app

Google's Veo 3.1 Fast model is also going down in price starting next month. Google's not calling it quits on AI video, even as OpenAI shutters its Sora AI video app. The company announced a new Veo model today, aimed at developers looking to offer video generation in their own products. Google introduced its new Veo 3.1 Lite model in a blog post today. The model is meant to balance "practical utility with professional capabilities," the post says, costing developers as little as five cents per second for 720p generated video, including audio. You won't be able to generate videos with Veo 3.1 Lite in the Gemini app; it's only available for paying Google AI Studio users. For those users, 720p video costs five cents per second and 1080p video costs eight cents per second. There are options to make landscape video clips in 16:9, or portrait in 9:16. The new model can't generate 4K imagery. There are options to create clips that are four, six, or eight seconds long -- not suitable for trying to make movies, but useful for whipping up gen-AI animations to add to website or app interfaces. Google's also announced that its Veo 3.1 Fast model is coming down in price starting on April 7. Starting next month, that model can kick out 720p video for 10 cents per second (down five cents), 1080p video for 15 cents per second (down three cents), or 4K video for 35 cents per second (also a five-cent reduction). Veo 3.1 Fast is rolling out for paid Google AI Studio users right now. You can check out the full developer documentation for the new model here.

Google commits to video generation, announces Veo 3.1 Lite

Veo 3.1 Lite slots under Veo 3.1 Fast, with Veo 3.1 remaining at the top. This new offering is Google's "most cost-effective video model." Meant for "high-volume video applications," this model supports Text-to-Video and Image-to-Video, as well as 720p or 1080p resolutions with landscape (16:9) and portrait (9:16) aspect ratios. It offers the same generation speed as Veo 3.1 Fast. Developers can also customize duration at 4s, 6s, or 8s, with cost adjusting accordingly. On the pricing front, it is "less than 50% of the cost of Veo 3.1 Fast," which is getting a price cut on April 7. Veo 3.1 Lite is rolling out today on the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. Google ends the announcement with the following note: "Our commitment to making video generation more available to developers doesn't stop with the release of Veo 3.1 Lite. Stay tuned for more updates soon!" Others at the company have posted about how "video's here to stay." Veo is integrated into various Google products at this point, including YouTube Shorts, Google Photos, Google Vids, and the Gemini app. There's also the dedicated Flow tool.

Google's Veo 3.1 Lite Cuts API Costs in Half as OpenAI's Sora Exits the Market - Decrypt

The release comse days after OpenAI shut down its generative video project, Sora. Google has a new AI video model for developers, and it's cheaper -- significantly cheaper -- than what came before. Veo 3.1 Lite launched this week through the Gemini API at less than half the cost of Veo 3.1 Fast, the mid-tier option in Google's video generation lineup. The model supports Text-to-Video and Image-to-Video in both landscape (16:9) and portrait (9:16) formats, at 720p and 1080p resolution. Video duration is adjustable at 4, 6, or 8 seconds, with cost scaling accordingly. To put that in perspective: Veo 3.1 previously cost around $0.40 per second of generated video with audio through the API, while Veo 3.1 Fast ran $0.15 per second. Lite brings that floor down to $0.05 per second for 720p -- finally making high-volume video applications financially viable for smaller creators We tried the model and the generations turned out very fast without showing a major degradation in quality. An 8 second video (the longest available) took less than 1 minute to generate. The prompt adherence was respectable, showing a minor glitch in the lettering. Other than that, the difference between Veo 3.1 Lite and Veo 3.1 Fast is not as noticeable as the difference between Veo 3.1 Fast and the original full version of Veo 3.1 Google didn't stop at pricing its new model competitively. On April 7, pricing for Veo 3.1 Fast is also dropping. The company said it "rounds out the Veo 3.1 model family, giving developers flexibility based on needs." The message to builders is clear: Pick your tier, not your ceiling. This matters because cost has always been the dirty secret of AI video generation. The outputs look great in demos but those are usually handpicked generations and video AI is still too random to use consistently. OpenAI found out the hard way. Sora was reportedly burning $15 million per day, and the company announced last week it was shutting the product down entirely. OpenAI is now "pivoting to world simulation research to advance robotics" -- which is a very corporate way of saying it didn't work out. A $1 billion deal with Disney got caught in the wreckage. Veo 3 launched in May 2025 as Google's loudest AI showcase, positioned as an all-in-one generator that produced not just video but full soundtracks -- ambient noise, effects, even dialogue. Then came Veo 3.1 in October, going head-to-head with Sora 2. The quality was impressive, but the price tag wasn't exactly inviting for anyone trying to ship something at scale. Chinese competitors spotted that gap early. Kuaishou's Kling AI has been offering comparable video generation at much cheaper prices than Google's $250 Ultra plan and even the $20 pro alternative. Tencent's Hunyuan Video went even further, releasing an open-source model for free, timed to land during OpenAI's 2024 Sora launch hype cycle. The Chinese market doesn't just compete on quality. It competes on economics, and it has been winning that argument for a while. On the professional end, tools like Utopai's PAI are carving out a completely different niche: long-form cinematic storytelling with consistent characters, detailed storyboards, and AI-driven editing at the scene level. PAI isn't cheap -- $100 for 10,000 credits that burn fast -- but it signals where serious creators are going. They want control, not just generation. Veo 3.1 Lite isn't trying to be PAI's cinematic pipeline, and it isn't trying to beat Kling on price. It's aiming at the middle: developers who need to ship video features at scale without hemorrhaging API credits on every iteration. The model is Google's infrastructure play for the next generation of apps that treat video as a standard component, not a premium trick. If the April 7 price cut for Veo 3.1 Fast follows through as promised, the cost of building with AI video drops across Google's entire lineup in one week.

Google introduces Veo 3.1 Lite with lower pricing and scalable video output

Google has introduced Veo 3.1 Lite, its most cost-effective video generation model to date. The model expands the Veo 3.1 lineup by offering a lower-cost option while maintaining the same generation speed as existing models. Veo 3.1 Lite is designed for developers who need to generate large volumes of video content efficiently. It delivers output at less than 50% of the cost of Veo 3.1 Fast, while maintaining similar performance in terms of speed. The model targets high-scale use cases such as content platforms, short-form video creation, and automated media generation. Developers can manage costs more effectively by adjusting duration and resolution based on their needs. Google also confirmed that pricing for Veo 3.1 Fast will be reduced starting April 7, further lowering the cost of video AI adoption.

Google Veo 3.1 Lite AI video model is here: What it offers and how to use it

Veo 3.1 Lite costs less than half the price of Veo 3.1 Fast, while still offering the same speed. Google has introduced a new AI video generation model called Veo 3.1 Lite. The company says this is its most 'cost-effective' video model so far and is designed to help developers build high-volume video applications at a low price. According to Google, Veo 3.1 Lite costs less than half the price of Veo 3.1 Fast, while still offering the same speed. The tech giant has also announced that it will reduce the price of Veo 3.1 Fast starting April 7. As per Google, this would allow even more developers to integrate video generation into their products. The latest Google Veo 3.1 Lite AI model 'balances practical utility with professional capabilities,' according to Google. The model supports both text-to-video and image-to-video creation, allowing developers to generate videos either from written prompts or from images. The new model offers flexible framing options, supporting both landscape (16:9) and portrait (9:16) formats. In terms of quality, Veo 3.1 Lite can generate videos in 720p and 1080p resolutions. Developers can also choose the length of the generated video, with options for 4 seconds, 6 seconds and 8 seconds, and the cost will adjust depending on the selected duration. The new model is rolling out starting today and can be accessed through the paid tier of the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. Also read: Apple turns 50: From garage startup to global tech company, full look at iPhone maker's journey Logan Kilpatrick, Group Product Manager at Google DeepMind, took a subtle dig at OpenAI's Sora while announcing the Veo 3.1 Lite model on X. For context, OpenAI recently announced plans to shut down its Sora AI video generation app. 'Video's here to stay - introducing Veo 3.1 Lite, our most cost efficient video generation model to date, and on April 7th we are also reducing the price for Veo 3.1 Fast : ),' he posted on X.