💳 Billing
In this section, you can find details about the billing system for using the ZapCap API. Our pricing model is designed to ensure straightforward and manageable costs for your transcription and rendering needs.
Subscription Requirement
ZapCap requires an active Pro and above subscription to access the API.
To purchase a subscription, visit app.zapcap.ai/pricing.
Important Note: While our pricing page shows various restrictions for the web application (such as video limits, file size caps, and template restrictions), these do not apply to API usage. The API operates on a separate credit-based billing system with no inherent restrictions. API credits can be purchased at platform.zapcap.ai/dashboard/billing.
Billing Usage
ZapCap API operates on a straightforward balance system. Costs are deducted based on the usage of services:
- Transcription and Rendering Costs: The base cost for processing a 1-minute video (60 seconds) is 10 cents.
- Transcription: Costs 3 cents (30% of the total cost).
- Rendering: Costs 7 cents (70% of the total cost) — this can be affected by export settings (see below).
Rendering Cost Multipliers
The rendering cost is multiplied based on your export settings. These multipliers stack:
| Setting | Option | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| FPS | ≤ 30 fps | 1x |
| 60 fps | 1.5x | |
| 90 fps | 2x | |
| 120 fps | 2.5x | |
| Quality (composited / greenScreen) | Standard (1080p) | 1x |
| Quad HD (1440p) | 2x | |
| Ultra HD (4K) | 4x | |
Resolution (transparent, custom width×height) | ≤ 1080p (~2.07 MP) | 1x |
| ≤ QHD (~3.69 MP) | 2x | |
| ≤ 4K (~8.29 MP) | 4x | |
| Speed | Standard | 1x |
| Fast | 1.2x | |
| Ultra Fast | 1.5x | |
| Codec | h264 (composited / greenScreen) | 1x |
ProRes 4444 (transparent .mov) | 1.5x | |
VP9 with alpha (transparent .webm) | 2x |
FPS scales linearly above 30 — each additional 60 fps adds 1.0 to the multiplier (so 30→1×, 60→1.5×, 90→2×, 120→2.5×). Anything ≤30 fps stays at 1×.
Example 1 — Composited render at 60 fps, 4K, Ultra Fast:
- Transcription: $0.03
- Rendering: $0.07 × 1.5 (fps) × 4 (quality) × 1.5 (speed) × 1 (h264) = $0.63
- Total: $0.66 per minute
Example 2 — Transparent ProRes 4444 overlay at 1080p, 30 fps, Standard:
- Transcription: $0.03
- Rendering: $0.07 × 1 (fps) × 1 (resolution) × 1 (speed) × 1.5 (ProRes) = $0.105
- Total: $0.135 per minute
Example 3 — Transparent VP9 overlay at 1920×1080, 23.976 fps, Standard:
- Transcription: $0.03
- Rendering: $0.07 × 1 (fps) × 1 (resolution) × 1 (speed) × 2 (VP9) = $0.14
- Total: $0.17 per minute
- Default settings (30fps, 1080p, Standard speed, composited h264) keep costs at the base $0.10/minute.
- For NLE plugin overlays, ProRes 4444 at 1080p / 30fps is the cheapest transparent option.
- VP9 transparent costs more because it can't be parallelised — use it only when a smaller
.webmmatters (web overlays, bandwidth-sensitive workflows).
Storage Costs and TTL
- Files are charged at $0.015 per GB/month, with costs prorated for durations less than a month.
- Storage costs are based on the selected TTL (Time to Live) for your files.
- If no TTL is specified, storage costs will be calculated indefinitely until you delete the files or set a TTL.
- Storage costs are applied to uploaded videos and generated videos. You can apply TTLs to both
Billing for TTL and Storage
The cost of storage is based on the selected TTL:
- Files are charged at $0.015 per GB/month, with costs prorated for durations less than a month.
- If no TTL is specified, storage costs are calculated for 12 months.
Here are some examples of how storage billing is calculated based on different TTL settings and file sizes:
| File Size (MB) | TTL | Total Cost for the period |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 1 | $0.000025 |
| 50 | 7 | $0.000175 |
| 50 | 30 | $0.00075 |
| 50 | None | $0.009 |
| 1000 | 1 | $0.0005 |
| 1000 | 7 | $0.0035 |
| 1000 | 30 | $0.015 |
| 1000 | None | $0.18 |
Managing Your Balance
Monitor and manage your balance usage through your ZapCap account dashboard. You can add funds as needed to continue using the transcription and rendering services without interruption.
Checking Your Balance via the API
curl -X GET "https://api.zapcap.ai/user-billing" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
Response:
{
"balance": "12.34"
}
balance is the remaining API credit in USD, returned as a string. Parse it client-side before doing arithmetic (parseFloat(balance) in JS, Decimal(balance) in Python, etc.) so floating-point comparisons behave as expected.
Use this endpoint to surface remaining credits in your own UI, or to drive low-balance alerts. A polling interval of once per minute (or on each task creation) is plenty. Balances can change when API usage is charged, including video storage and completed processing, when credits are topped up, or when billing adjustments are applied.
If you have any questions or need assistance with billing, please contact our support team at hi@zapcap.ai. We are here to help you maximize your use of the ZapCap API.