Adobe Firefly Video is billed by the second, not by the clip. Adobe’s generative credits FAQ names the rate for each resolution, and resolution is the only setting that moves it.
This guide collects those rates and does the arithmetic Adobe leaves to the reader.
Resolution is the only price dial
Two settings look as though they should change the bill: resolution and duration. Only resolution does.
Duration is not yours to choose on Adobe’s own model. Adobe’s documentation puts it at five seconds, at 24 frames per second, and frames per second is fixed across Adobe and partner models.
The generation page says it in one sentence: different resolutions use varying amounts of generative credits. Resolution is not a taste preference that costs a little more. It is the meter.
The credits-per-second table Adobe publishes
These figures come from Adobe’s generative credits FAQ, which lists video consumption per second rather than per clip.
| Output | Credits per second |
|---|---|
| 1080p at 24 FPS | 100 |
| 720p at 24 FPS | 50 |
| 540p at 24 FPS | 20 |
The gap between the top and bottom rows is fivefold: the same five seconds costs five times as much in 1080p as in 540p.
One trap sits beside it. Premiere’s Generative Extend is a separate line item with its own rates, and it adds 30 FPS rows that Generate Video does not have.
| Generative Extend in Premiere | Credits per second |
|---|---|
| 4K at 30 FPS | 175 |
| 1080p at 30 FPS | 125 |
| 1080p at 24 FPS | 100 |
The two tables overlap at 24 FPS and nowhere else. Extending a finished Premiere timeline is not priced like generating a fresh clip in Firefly.
What a single five-second clip costs
Multiply the rate by five and the estimate is done.
| Resolution | Credits per five-second clip |
|---|---|
| 1080p | 500 |
| 720p | 250 |
| 540p | 100 |
Adobe bills the second, not the frame. A five-second 1080p clip is 120 frames, but a still-heavy shot and a fast action shot of the same length cost the same. Which resolution suits a first pass is a settings question the step-by-step guide answers.
How many clips a monthly allowance buys
Adobe’s plan cards quote the allowance in clips, not credits, which flatters them at high resolution.
| Plan | Monthly credits | Adobe’s published allowance | Same allowance at 1080p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firefly Standard | 2,000 | Up to 20 five-second videos | 4 clips |
| Firefly Pro | 4,000 | Up to 40 five-second videos | 8 clips |
| Firefly Pro Plus | 10,000 | Up to 100 five-second videos | 20 clips |
| Firefly Premium | 50,000 | Not stated on the plan card | 100 clips |
The published allowance is not resolution-neutral, and Adobe does not say which resolution it assumes. The arithmetic gives it away. Divide 2,000 credits by twenty clips and then by five seconds and you get 20 credits per second, exactly Adobe’s 540p rate. The same holds for 4,000 over forty and 10,000 over a hundred.
Budget at 1080p and the allowance collapses to a fifth: four clips on Firefly Standard, eight on Firefly Pro, twenty on Firefly Pro Plus.
Example: costing a thirty-second cut at 1080p
The prompt below is Adobe’s own, published with the Firefly Video Model announcement, so the input and the settings are both documented.
The prompt Adobe published
cinematic realistic detailed shot of a cute robot holding up a red glowing heart. The lighting is gorgeous and sun-kissed, with dappled lighting on the robot's face and a strong sunny backlight, shallow depth of field. film grain. shot on 35mm film.What the settings return
Set the model to Firefly Video, the resolution to 1080p, the aspect ratio to Widescreen, and leave duration alone. Adobe’s published output is a five-second clip at 24 FPS with no native audio, downloadable as an MP4. A thirty-second cut needs six of them; silence is the default, because sound is a separate step after generation.
Model: Firefly Video
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: Widescreen (16:9)
Duration: 5 seconds
Native audio: noneThe bill for six of them
Six five-second clips at 1080p is thirty seconds of output, and at 100 credits per second that is 3,000 credits. The same six at 720p cost 1,500; at 540p, 600. Adobe’s one speed figure is that its announcement samples generated in less than 90 seconds each.
Failures, refunds and the monthly reset
Credits leave the balance before the generation runs, so a failure looks like a charge until it is not. Adobe’s FAQ is explicit: credits are typically refunded within minutes, or up to 24 hours for longer jobs such as video.
Nothing carries over. Generative credits do not roll over, and the balance resets on the billing date. Adobe points at the account menu for the exact reset day. Once the limit is reached, the options are waiting for the reset or buying more credits.
What Adobe has not published
Partner video models are priced differently and Adobe does not say how. The FAQ marks partner-model consumption as varies, and explains that the number of credits depends on the model selection, output and file size. No per-second rate exists for partner models.
The FAQ publishes credit allowances and nothing priced in dollars, so a per-clip cost in currency cannot be derived from it. Plan prices appear only on Adobe’s plan cards. The Firefly Video API guide covers the endpoint behind the same three resolutions.
Two Adobe pages disagree about the line-up. The FAQ lists allowances of 2,000, 4,000, 10,000 and 50,000 credits; the first-year unlimited generations offer lists the 4,000, 7,000, 10,000 and 50,000 credit plans. That extra 7,000-credit tier appears nowhere else.
Resolution splits too. Adobe’s video generator page claims high-fidelity 4K generation, while the credit table stops at 1080p. Those 4K rows belong to Premiere’s Generative Extend and to partner models.
Frequently asked questions
How many credits does one Firefly video use? It depends on resolution and length. At five seconds, 1080p is 500 credits, 720p is 250 and 540p is 100.
Is 1080p worth five times 540p? That is what the rate card says. For a timing placeholder, generate at 540p and regenerate the keepers at 1080p.
Do failed generations cost credits? They are deducted up front and typically refunded within minutes, or within 24 hours for video.
Do unused credits carry over? No. The balance resets on your monthly reset date.
The rate is not hidden — one table, one FAQ. The rest is deciding which of those three rows a shot deserves. The step-by-step guide covers the settings around it, and the Adobe Firefly Video hub collects both.