What Opus Clip's own help docs say
The rule is in Opus Clip's credits article: processing clips "will cost 1 credit per minute of the original video imported". The charge lands on import. A 60-minute episode costs 60 credits before the first clip exists, and a second pass over the same episode costs it again.
On the pricing page read October 28, 2026: Free is 60 credits a month, Starter is $15 a month for 150, Pro is $29 a month, or $14.50 a month billed yearly, for 300. AI b-roll, the scheduler, multi-aspect export and credit top-ups are Pro-only. Posting a clip to X costs 3 credits per clip, per account.
What users say about those credits
- "Every time you turn around, they want you to buy more credits." (Trustpilot)
- "This isn't a tool, it's a funnel to upsell you at every click." (Product Hunt)
- "They take away all your unused credit after the 12 month window." (Trustpilot)
- "Getting charged for a renewal when I still have nearly 2,000 credits left." (G2)
Put the rule and the reviews together and the shape is clear: you pay by the minute of input, the output you keep has nothing to do with the bill, and what you do not use goes away.
How RealTake charges instead
RealTake Clips separates finding from making. Bringing in an episode, up to 3 hours on paid plans, and reading it for moments is covered by the source minutes in your plan. Asking for more moments on a topic, "find more about pricing", comes out of the same minutes, with nothing re-uploaded. Credits are spent only when you choose a moment and make it into a finished clip, so you are never billed for 30 clips when you post 6.
Finding moments is covered by your plan's source minutes: 60 on the free plan, then 600, 1,500 and 4,000 a month. Credits are spent only on the clips you choose to make, you see the cost before anything renders, and a failed render is never charged. Every feature, including b-roll, all four shapes and posting, is on every plan.
Per source minute that works out to about 8 cents on Presence, 7 on Authority and 6 on Empire, against Opus Clip's 10 cents on Starter and Pro.
Drop in your last episode and see the moments.
Free plan: 5 watermarked videos a month. No credit card.
Opus Clip vs RealTake on credits
| RealTake | Opus Clip | |
|---|---|---|
| What a credit is spent on | A clip you chose to make | Every minute of video imported, kept or not |
| Finding the moments | Covered by plan source minutes | Charged on import |
| Per source minute | 8¢ · 7¢ · 6¢ (Presence · Authority · Empire) | 10¢ (Starter and Pro) |
| See the cost first | Yes, before anything renders | Credits deducted on import |
| Posting | Included, 4 platforms, now or scheduled | 3 credits per clip per account on X; scheduler Pro-only |
Opus Clip facts from opus.pro, its help docs and public reviews, read October 28, 2026.