What Costs Credits
A complete reference of which operations consume credits in DUTO. Credit costs are dynamic and fetched from the pricing_matrix database -- hover over any generation node in the Flow Editor to see its current cost via the NodeCostBadge.
note
Exact credit amounts depend on model, resolution, duration, and configuration. The ranges below are approximate. Check the Pricing page for per-model tables.
Operations That Cost Credits
The following 26 node types are registered in CREDIT_REQUIRED_MODELS and consume credits when executed:
Image Generation
| Node | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Text to Image | Generate images from text prompts |
| Image Gen | Alternate image generation node |
| Image Upscale | Upscale images to higher resolution (2x, 4x) |
| Image Background | Remove, replace, or blur image backgrounds |
| Image Edit | Edit images with prompts (inpainting, outpainting) |
| Angles | Generate multi-angle views of a subject |
| Dynamic Inpaint | Advanced inpainting with dynamic masks |
Video Generation
| Node | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Text to Video | Generate video from text prompts |
| Video Gen | Alternate video generation node |
| Image to Video | Animate a static image into video |
| Video Extend | Extend an existing video's duration |
| Video Upscale | Upscale video to higher resolution |
| Cinema Studio | Multi-mode generation (image + video) |
| Motion Control | Video generation with camera/motion control |
| VeoEffects | Apply camera, lighting, and style effects |
| Timelapse | Generate timelapse-style videos |
Video Editing
| Node | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Video Edit Gen-4 | Edit video using Runway Gen-4 |
| Video Edit Kling | Edit video using Kling |
| Video Swap | Swap elements in video (PixVerse/Wan) |
| Video Eraser | Remove objects from video |
| Video Watermark Remover | Remove watermarks from video |
| Video Face Swap | Swap faces in video |
| Video Translate | Translate video dialogue (HeyGen) |
Audio Generation
| Node | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Text to Audio | Generate speech or sound from text |
| Kling Video to Audio | Generate audio soundtrack from video |
| Lip Sync | Sync audio to video lip movements |
| MMAudio | Generate ambient/foley audio from video |
| Video Foley | Add sound effects to video |
Free Operations (No Credits)
These operations do not consume credits:
Intelligence Nodes
| Node | Note |
|---|---|
| Brain | LLM reasoning (uses OpenRouter -- no credit cost) |
| Analyzer | Image/video analysis (describe, tags, recreate, QC) |
| Story Generator | Generate story content |
| Narrative Explorer | Explore narrative branches |
| Prompt Expander | Expand short prompts into detailed ones |
Flow Control
| Node | Note |
|---|---|
| Start | Workflow entry point |
| Sync Gate | Synchronize parallel branches |
| Conditional Switch | Route based on conditions |
| Retry Gate | Retry failed operations |
| Batch Processor | Process items in batch |
| Batch End | Collect batch results |
Text Nodes
| Node | Note |
|---|---|
| Text Prompt | Enter and edit text prompts |
| Text Preview | Display text output |
Media I/O
| Node | Note |
|---|---|
| Upload Media | Upload files from your device |
| Library | Select assets from Content Library |
| Remote Media | Fetch media from URLs |
| Preview Media | View generated outputs |
| API Endpoint | Connect to external APIs |
Other Free Operations
- Uploading and organizing files in the Content Library
- Creating, saving, and loading workflows (without running generation nodes)
- Browsing, downloading, and deleting library content
- Account management and settings
- Storyboard planning (the planning pipeline uses LLM calls, not credit-based generation)
Cost Factors
What affects the credit cost of a generation:
| Factor | Effect |
|---|---|
| Model | Premium models cost more than budget models |
| Resolution | 4K and 8K cost more than standard resolution |
| Duration | 10-second videos cost more than 5-second videos |
| Audio | Models with audio output (Veo 3, Kling 2.6) may have included audio at no extra cost |
| Configuration | Options like negative prompts or guidance scale can affect pricing |
Cost Optimization
- Use Budget Mode -- SeedDream v4.5 for images and Kling v2.6 for videos are significantly cheaper
- Test at low resolution -- Iterate on prompts with standard resolution, then generate final output at 4K
- Check NodeCostBadge -- Hover over any node to see its current credit cost before running
- Use free intelligence nodes -- Brain and Analyzer nodes are free and can help refine prompts before committing credits to generation