Credits and generation settings
Credits — what costs how much
AI features deduct credits as you use them. You are charged only for successful generations; nothing is deducted when a generation fails. For generations that take a while to finish, such as video, credits are held when you submit, confirmed on success, and automatically refunded in full if the job fails or expires (shown in your transaction history). New users get trial credits (the amount is whatever the credits page shows — there is no separate sign-up screen; your first sign-in is your sign-up). Top-up pack prices and a summary price list are also available without signing in on Pricing.
| Feature | Credits |
|---|---|
| Co-writer chat (short drama) — questions, answers, planning cards, re-suggestions (per turn) | 1 |
| Scene drafting (short drama) — only turns that deliver a scene (per scene · one free re-suggestion per scene) | 50 |
| Episode review (scales with length — proofreading + dramaturgy review in one pass) | e.g. 6,000 chars 5 · 24,000 chars 10 · 80,000 chars 35 |
| Generating a fix for a review note (per note) | 5 |
| "What comes next?" on the script screen (per question) | 1 |
| AI draft for empty character DNA / location element / prop definition fields (per item — Fill all at once also counts per item) | 1 |
| Appearance change check (per episode batch) | 1 |
| Polish a production prompt with AI (per call) | 5 |
| Character voice design — one voice candidate from a description (character card · per candidate) | 10 |
| Scene dubbing — voice setup (per character made from a description · editing room) | 5 |
| Scene dubbing — dialogue line (per line · editing room) | 1 |
| One image — production shot · character sheet · location · prop (per image) | Depends on the model — 10 for the default Nano Banana 2 · 20 for GPT Image (the model list shows credits per image) |
| Video clip generation (per clip) | Not fixed — see below |
Review checks on images — reading appearance, sheet review, identity crops — and script import are free for everyone.
Video has no fixed price. It depends on the model, length, quality, and audio — even for the same 8 seconds the cost can differ several times over. Check the exact amount as the estimated credits on the generation screen after choosing your settings. Higher quality and longer clips cost more.
Video comes in two lanes: "Draft" and "Final"
The model list on the production screen contains every model at once, and each model name has a "Draft" or "Final" tag on its right (2026-09-13 — the buttons for picking a lane first were removed).
- Draft — Gemini Omni (default), Veo Lite, Veo Fast, Seedance Mini, Fast. These are for checking a scene cheaply and quickly, so
a clip usually costs 10–65 credits (20–35 for 720p, 5 seconds). Gemini Omni and Veo are cheaper while they are marked "Launch special", and will be adjusted with advance notice when the special ends. Gemini Omni makes vertical 9:16 video with sound and dialogue, and cuts a single clip into several shots. You can give it start and end frames together with character references in one go. The model picks a length between 3 and 10 seconds (we tell it the length you asked for in the prompt), at 360p or 720p (360p costs about a third of 720p). Google has not yet evaluated Korean dialogue (only English is officially supported), so if a clip has Korean dialogue you'll be asked to confirm once before generating. Seedance 2.5 Draft previews 2.5 at 480p (about 33 credits for 5 sec). If you like it, [1080p final] on that video makes a 1080p video with the same settings, priced in the Final lane (about 365 credits for 5 sec).
- Final — Seedance 2.0, Seedance 2.5, Veo 3.1. This is output-grade quality, so a clip usually costs
100–700 credits. Only Seedance 2.5 can make a single clip up to 30 seconds (and it costs accordingly — 150 credits for 720p, 5 seconds), with a maximum quality of 1080p.
Trial and bonus credits can only be used in the Draft lane. When you generate in the Final lane, trial and bonus credits are skipped and only topped-up or contract credits are spent — even if you still have trial credits, the generation goes ahead as long as your topped-up credits cover it, and the trial credits stay for drafts. If your topped-up credits are not enough, you are asked to switch to a Draft model. If you have no topped-up credits at all, generating without picking a model uses the default Draft-lane model (the generation screen shows that model as the default too). While you still have credits granted directly by an operator (for events, collaboration offers, and so on), this limit is lifted, and even trial and bonus credits can be used in the Final lane. Once those credits are used up or expire, the Draft-lane limit applies again. Rewards for accepted reports are bonus credits, so they can only be used in the Draft lane.
Seedance and GPT Image open up once you have topped up or use a team or operator-supported account. If you have ever topped up credits (a pack or a membership), still have credits granted directly by an operator, or are on a business contract or team account, you can use every model. Other accounts use Google models only (Gemini Omni and Veo; Nano Banana for images) — the other models appear in the list as "After top-up" and can't be selected. The 990 KRW short-form preview payment and fully refunded payments don't count as a top-up. When you generate in someone else's project, this is decided by the account that pays for that project (the project owner or the team billing account).
Team rules. Under a team (production company) contract, an operator can lock the team to Google models only. In that team's projects (projects whose credits are paid by the team billing account), image, video, and writing AI run only on Google models (Nano Banana, Veo, Gemini) no matter who generates — including collaborators from outside the team invited to the project — and other models show as "not included in your team's contract". Topping up credits does not unlock them; the lock ends on the contract end date. For an exception, the team administrator asks the operator. Work paid from your own credits is not locked, such as your own projects created before you joined the team. With the default Draft model (Gemini Omni), a first-episode draft (8 clips + 3 scenes + 10 sheets) is about 660 credits, so the sign-up credits (500) alone won't take it all the way to video — you'll need to top up. A credit table for typical combinations and a "first episode estimate" are on Pricing; those numbers come from the same calculator as the generation screen.
Sign-up credits are granted immediately to accounts on common mail providers (Gmail, Naver, Kakao, Daum, Outlook, iCloud, and so on). If you sign up with a company, school, or personal-domain address, you can still sign in and write, but the sign-up credits are granted after an operator confirms — contact support and we'll add them right away.
In short drama, chat costs 1 credit per turn, and a turn that delivers scenes costs 50 credits per scene — while you answer questions and refine the direction, only 1 is deducted each time, and the 50 per scene is charged only on turns that deliver a scene. If you asked for a scene and none arrives, that 50 is automatically refunded in full. If you're not happy with the result, use re-suggest on the scene card — the first one per scene is free.
Credits in a collaborative project are deducted from the project owner's wallet — even when a member generates something, the owner's credits are used, not the member's (the owner and admins can see who used how much on the project home). Working in someone else's project does not reduce your credits.
Local features such as continuity checks and PDF are free. The exception is removing the Shortime Studio credit from a PDF export (1 credit per page, optional) — the recipient watermark and the PDF itself are free.
Top-ups
Top up with the packs on Account → Credits ($7.99/300 · $24.99/1,000 · $79.99/3,600 — prices are shown in USD, but you are charged in KRW: ₩9,900 · ₩29,900 · ₩99,000); checkout is handled by Toss Payments. Topped-up credits are valid for 1 year from the payment approval date. In environments where payments are not yet open, you'll see "Payments coming soon" and cannot top up.
If a team or company needs credits in bulk, we direct you to Contact sales instead of top-up packs. Click "Contact sales" on the credits page to go to the inquiry form.
Payments are not supported during the beta. A notice to that effect appears at the top of the credit top-up screen, and payment inquiries go to help@codecrayon.me. The notice disappears automatically once payments open.
Results can be used commercially on every plan, including free use. You don't need a higher plan or a separate commercial license. Securing any rights you need — others' copyright, portrait rights, and so on — is a separate matter, and this does not guarantee exclusivity, copyrightability, or non-infringement of the results.
Your KRW payment history is at the bottom of Account → Credits. Refunds are handled by inquiry and processed after unused credits are reclaimed (credits already used are not refunded because they incur provider costs).
Bonus credits — missions and referrals
Account → Bonus credits shows ways to get credits other than topping up. Amounts, conditions, and periods are operating policy and may change — the values shown on that screen are always what counts. Below is an explanation of what earns them. Your history of what you received (when and how much) is not on this screen but in Usage history, with a "Bonus" badge.
- Onboarding missions — one each for three steps that take you around the product: write a first episode past a certain length,
take your first character sheet all the way to "confirm as reference", and finish one video in the Draft lane. They are credited automatically once you meet the condition.
- Complete your creator profile — fill it in at Account → My profile.
- Come back each month — accounts that have been writing since before last month earn a return bonus when they save an episode of 300+ characters this month.
- Bonuses (missions, return, referral) follow the same rule as sign-up credits — granted to accounts on common mail providers; company, school, and personal-domain accounts receive them after an operator confirms.
- Refer a friend — copy the referral link on the screen and share it. When the person you invited signs up, a set period passes, and
they save a certain amount to an episode, both you and they receive credits. There is a monthly cap on how many referrals count. If they also make a payment within the qualifying period, you get an additional percentage of the payment amount as credits.
- Accepted reports — when a bug report or improvement suggestion is adopted, an operator grants a reward.
The [Copy notice and link] button copies the reward disclosure along with the link, not just the link. When you post a referral link publicly, keep that notice with the link — no one should click it without knowing it's promotional. Self-referrals, duplicate accounts, and fake activity are not eligible.
Daily generation limit
Even if you have credits left, there is a cap on how much one account can generate per day, to protect your account (it stops credits from draining all at once through account theft or malfunction). When you hit the limit a notice appears, and it resets every day at midnight. If your workload is heavy and you hit the limit often, let us know through customer support.
Accounts that have received business contract credits are not subject to this daily limit. That's because the whole team's work comes out of a single contract wallet.
Credit validity
| Credit type | Validity |
|---|---|
| Credits you topped up | 1 year from the payment approval date |
| Welcome credits | 90 days from receipt |
| Operator bonuses and rewards | The period shown when granted |
| Business contract credits | Until the date set in the contract |
Business contract credits are paid credits received under a separate contract with the company. They are worth the same as topped-up credits and can be used in both the Draft and Final lanes. Any remaining credits expire when the contract ends.
When you hold several types, the grant with the nearest actual expiry date is used first automatically, regardless of how it was obtained. Using credits with a deadline first reduces what you lose to expiry.
You can check your balance and the next upcoming expiry on the credits page. The price list and what credits are used for are visible without signing in.
Usage history — every credit movement
Account → Usage history shows credits going out and coming in, in one list, in chronological order. Each row has a badge for its type: Used (AI task deduction) · Top-up (pack payment) · Bonus (missions, referrals, operator grants) · Contract credits (issued under a business contract). The four boxes at the top show your current balance, usage in the last 30 days, credits earned in the last 30 days, and processing (temporary holds).
- Credits returned after a failed generation are shown with the original deduction struck through and the returned amount beside it.
- Tasks that haven't finished are shown as In progress, together with the amount held at the time. When the task finishes,
it is confirmed at the actual amount used and any remaining hold is released.
- KRW payment amounts (how much you paid) are not here but in the payment history at the bottom of Account → Credits.
This screen is a ledger in units of credits.
- Credit expiries and grant cancellations do not appear in the list. Only the four types above (Used, Top-up, Bonus, Contract credits)
appear as rows; expiries and cancellations are reflected only in your balance and the summary numbers at the top. So the sum of the row amounts may not match the summary.
Image and video settings
Image and video models follow the list published by our operators. The default model and the visible options change when operating settings change, so this guide doesn't pin specific names.
- Images: on the production screen, check the models published by operators and the aspect ratios and quality each model supports.
If there is only one option, that model applies right away; if there are several, you can switch in the list.
- Video: only values the current model accepts — model, aspect ratio, quality, length, audio — appear in the spec row.
When you change models, unsupported values move to the nearest supported value or are dropped with a reason.
- Whatever the settings, check the server-calculated estimated credits before you click [Create].
AI models for writing
You don't choose the writing model in the app. Operators manage the default model and availability separately for features with different kinds of work, such as the co-writer, episode review, and character extraction. You can focus on requesting and reviewing results.
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