How credits work
What each action costs, when credits roll over, and how to top up.
Credits are the currency of the Reel Estate platform. You use them to create staged photos, generate video clips, and more. In this guide, you'll learn how credits work: what costs credits and what doesn't, how credits work with your subscription, and how credits are spent.
How credits work
Reel Estate works on a credit model. Your monthly subscription gives you a number of credits, based on your subscription tier. Credits last for the month you purchase them, and are used specifically for AI generation.
Each subscription tier provides a set amount of credits, and each action on the platform that costs credits always costs the same amount.
- Free: 30 credits. Lets you get comfortable with the platform and try it out before making a purchase. All free-account-created content carries a Reel Estate watermark.
- Basic: 150 credits. Enough credits to create the content you'd typically need for 1–2 listings per month.
- Agent: 420 credits. Enough credits for 3–5 listings per month.
- Pro: 960 credits. Enough credits for 6–15 listings per month.
Credits renew at the start of each billing cycle. So if you subscribe to a Basic plan on January 16th, on February 16th your account resets to 150 credits regardless of how many you've used.
How credits are used
Credits buy the generative AI creation on your account. You can use credits to:
- Stage a photo
- Create an upscaled, higher-resolution version of a photo
- Generate a video clip from a photo
- Re-perform any of the above. For example, if you stage a living room and don't like the output, you can stage it again. If you like the output, you can re-stage the new photo to add a twilight effect.
There are a lot of features on your account that don't require any credits. Without using credits you can:
- Create a video from your generated video clips
- Add shapes, templates, text, audio, or a watermark to your video
- Add video effects, transitions, or a floorplan to your video
- Recreate a horizontal video in vertical, to use on social media
- Download your videos and photos
- Share a public link of your completed video
Think of credits as the money you spend on the "magic" effects of the platform: the things that transform your listing photos. Everything else is included in your plan and can be used however much you want. A common pattern: create a branded video for a listing, then go back into the same project and create two shorter vertical videos for social, then create an MLS-compliant horizontal video. Four videos for the price of one.
Spending credits
So you know how many credits you have in your account. But what can you "buy" with them? AI generations always cost the same amount of credits:
- Staging a photo costs 1 credit
- Upscaling a photo (enhancing the image and increasing its resolution) costs 1 credit
- Generating a video clip from a photo costs 3 credits
Final video rendering costs vary by length and resolution. The Generate Video modal shows the exact number before you commit. The default render is 720p; 1080p HD is available on Agent and Pro plans and costs more credits per second.
You can re-run any of these generation effects as many times as you like. Many users stage and re-stage the same photo to get multiple effects, or generate a few different versions of a video clip to pick the best output. Each additional generation costs the same as the original.
Common questions
What happens to unused credits at the end of the month? They don't roll over. Each billing cycle starts fresh at your plan's allotment. If you consistently run out, Plan comparison lays out which tier fits which workflow.
Can I top up credits mid-cycle? Depends on your plan. See Plan comparison for current top-up options by tier.
Do credits get refunded if a generation fails? Credits are deducted only after a generation successfully begins. If something fails before the job starts (validation, network, plan limits), you keep the credits.
What happens to my credits if I cancel? You keep the credits for the rest of your current billing cycle and can spend them normally. After the cycle ends, the account drops to Free-tier limits. See Upgrading and downgrading your plan for the full breakdown.