AI Video · API Access Guide

Elai API Pricing 2026: Access, Minutes, Top-Ups & Documentation Conflict

Elai does not publish a separate per-call API tariff. The key variables are plan minutes, top-ups and a current first-party contradiction over whether trial users can access the API.

Last reviewed August 31, 2026Buyer-focused API guideEditorial team, AI Video Signal
Affiliate disclosure: this guide contains an affiliate link for the provider discussed. If you subscribe through it, AI Video Signal may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. API access, quotas and plan rules can change; verify the provider dashboard before production deployment.

Quick answer: Elai uses subscription rendering minutes rather than a separate public API rate card. Creator is currently $29/month or $23/month equivalent annually, Team is $125/month or $100/month equivalent annually, and paid subscribers can buy extra rendered minutes for $2 each. Elai’s official API page is internally inconsistent: it says “Create a paid Elai account” and then says API is available across all plans including trial, while the pricing comparison presents API as a paid-plan feature. Verify API-token availability in your account before production work.

Need the current API plan or checkout details?
Check current Elai plans →

Elai's API economics are subscription-minute economics

Plan / usageCurrent official signal
Free / trial$0; API eligibility is contradictory across first-party pages
Creator$29/month monthly or $23/month equivalent annually; 15 minutes/month on current English pricing
Team$125/month monthly or $100/month equivalent annually; 50 minutes/month on current English pricing
EnterpriseCustom pricing
Extra rendered minute$2 on paid subscriptions

The official API access documentation currently conflicts

Elai's current English “Getting started with API” section contains two incompatible signals in the same step: its heading tells users to create a paid account, but the following sentence says the API is accessible across all plans, including trial. Separately, the pricing comparison presents API under the developer feature set with the Free tier excluded. Because access eligibility affects whether an integration can even be tested, we recommend checking whether an API token can be generated in the account you actually plan to use.

No pay-as-you-go API plan

Elai's public pricing says the platform uses a pre-paid subscription model and does not offer a general pay-as-you-go subscription. Paid users can top up rendering capacity at $2 per extra minute. That is the most useful public unit cost for overflow budgeting until Elai publishes a separate API rate card.

What consumes the budget

Elai defines minutes or credits as rendered video duration. Its pricing documentation also warns that rendering is the usage event, so automation that regenerates many variants can consume capacity quickly. Before scaling personalized video, estimate not only final output minutes but also re-renders and failed/revised jobs.

When the Elai API makes sense

  • Personalized onboarding or sales videos generated from structured data.
  • Automated e-learning content generation.
  • Workflows where a fixed subscription-minute budget is easier to forecast than per-request billing.
  • Teams comfortable verifying API eligibility and capacity directly in the current account before deployment.
Check the provider plan before deploying
View Elai plans →

Official sources

Elai pricing →
Elai getting started with API →
Elai API documentation →

FAQ

Does Elai charge separately for API calls?

Elai does not publish a separate per-call API tariff on its current public pricing page. Its commercial model is based on subscription rendering minutes plus optional top-up minutes.

How much are extra Elai minutes?

Elai currently lists extra rendered minutes at $2 each for paid subscriptions.

Can trial users access the Elai API?

Elai’s current first-party documentation conflicts: the API guide says API is available across all plans including trial, while the same section says to create a paid account and the pricing comparison presents API as a paid-plan feature. Verify the API token in your account.

How much is Elai Creator?

Elai currently lists Creator at $29/month on monthly billing or $23/month equivalent when billed annually.