What do you mean with “I thought free video Gens were free”? Do you mean they are so slow that you gotta hop on the priority queue, therefor expend some credits or am I missing something else?

1. What “free” commonly covers — limited credits and basic features

Many platforms attach a finite pool of credits or a one-time deposit to free accounts so users can test functionality without buying into a subscription; those credits are consumed based on model, resolution, and clip duration (for example, Gen-4 charging credits per second) and free allocations are intentionally small compared with paid plans ^{[1] [4]}.

2. Why “free” can feel slow — priority vs regular queues

Even when free credits remain, submitted jobs are often assigned to a regular processing queue that is explicitly processed after paid-plan or priority-queue jobs, producing longer wait times that can feel like an enforced throttle rather than a true “free and equal” service (HeyGen’s queue rules state free-plan videos are processed after paid-plan videos; Runway and others offer explicit priority rendering for paid tiers) ^{[2] [3]}.

3. The cost dimension: credits, add‑ons, and priority packs

When free quotas are exhausted or when faster turnaround is needed, vendors sell generative-credit packs or priority-processing add-ons—typical price points and mechanics include monthly packs for more generative credits or a priority-processing add-on that increases the number of fast-processed videos per month, meaning users can pay to skip the regular queue (HeyGen describes generative credit packs and a $15/$150 add-on for priority processing; Runway similarly ties priority to paid plans) ^{[5] [6] [3]}.

4. Features behind paywalls: resolution, watermarking, and advanced models

Beyond speed and credits, platforms limit technical capabilities on free tiers: higher resolutions, watermark-free exports, advanced models or avatar features, and things like upscaling or model training are often reserved for paid plans or consume extra credits, so “free” trials frequently exclude production-grade outputs even when a video can be generated eventually (Runway emphasizes priority support and 4K/watermark-free exports for paid plans; HeyGen documents feature access tied to credits/add‑ons) ^{[3] [5]}.

5. How companies balance fairness, misuse prevention, and monetization

Providers justify tiered queues and credit systems as ways to ensure fair access, prevent misuse, and allocate expensive compute resources; documentation notes priority queues and monthly quotas are used to protect against overload and abuse, but that design also creates a clear monetization path—buy credits or pay for priority—to accelerate work or unlock capabilities (HeyGen describes priority process queues to ensure fair access and guard against misuse; Runway and others highlight SLA/priority benefits for paying customers) ^{[2] [3]}.

6. Practical takeaway and what this implies for users

The phrase “I thought free video Gens were free” is accurate only in a narrow sense: free tiers let one try video generation but usually impose constraints—small or one-time credits, slower processing queues, lower output quality, or watermarks—and the usual remedy is purchasing credits or a priority add-on to get faster, higher-quality, or uninterrupted production (help docs and pricing pages across HeyGen and Runway explain credits-per-second, priority add‑ons, and feature gating) ^{[5] [1] [6]}.

7. Limits of the reporting and alternative views

Public vendor documentation explains mechanics and pricing, but independent performance benchmarking, real-world queue times under peak load, and whether purchased priority always delivers consistent latency are not fully covered in these help articles; vendors present priority and credit systems as both fairness tools and revenue levers, while some third‑party writeups emphasize workarounds and efficiency tactics (the vendor docs state processing policies and pricing; third‑party guides discuss credit-saving strategies and tradeoffs) ^{[2] [7]}.