How credits work

You pay for Garren with credits. 1 credit is 1 minute of finished video, in any frame, with everything in it: cut, zooms, graphics, b-roll, captions, music and sound.

What an edit costs

An edit uses 1 credit per minute of finished video, rounded up per video, at least 1 credit:

What counts is the length of the finished video, not your footage. Twenty minutes of raw takes that become an 8-minute video use 8 credits. An edit with No style uses less.

The estimate

Before you start, the New video page shows This edit uses about N credits and how many you'll have left. Garren estimates the finished length from:

1. the length you set under More options › Length, if you set one
2. otherwise your script
3. otherwise a typical cut of unscripted footage, which is about a third of the raw footage

When you start, the estimate is reserved. When the edit is done, Garren charges the real finished length, and never more than 10% above the estimate you saw. If the video comes out shorter, you pay less. If an edit fails on our side, the reserved credits go back to your balance.

Where credits come from

• Your plan. Each plan includes credits every 30 days, on monthly and on yearly billing. Unused plan credits don't carry over to the next 30 days. See Plans and prices.
• Credit packs. One-time top-ups on any plan, valid for 12 months. Pack credits are used after your plan's credits. See Credit packs.

See your balance

Your credits are in the account menu under Credits. Settings › Plan & billing shows your plan, when your credits renew, any packs you own and the Credit history of everything that used credits.

When you run low

The app tells you before you start anything your balance doesn't cover: "You have N. This edit needs N more." You can then buy a credit pack, change to a bigger plan, or wait until your credits renew.

Other things that use credits

Most things after the edit are included: 5 changes in chat per video, sound changes, a new caption look, the YouTube package and the first set of thumbnails. A few use credits, such as more chat changes or the same video in another frame. See What uses credits.