# Costs and Settings

Understand local cost estimates, provider settings, usage summaries, and the difference between estimates and provider invoices.

## Cost tracking

VideoBrainstorm records local estimates for image, video, and provider usage so you can see what a brainstorming session likely costs.

## Access payment versus generation costs

The current public BYOK offer is a $50 lifetime product license with a 7-day refund window. That license unlocks the workspace; it does not include generation credits or replace provider billing.

Generation usage runs through the provider keys saved in Settings. The user's Google API key covers Gemini image generation, Auto Mode, and Veo video. OpenAI and Replicate keys are billed by those providers when their optional providers are used. See [Provider and BYOK Setup](/docs/provider-setup.md#public-offer-and-billing-boundary) for the access and billing boundary.

- Planned: a job was queued and an estimate was created.
- Running: the provider call is in progress.
- Succeeded: the output returned and the estimate is attached to the asset.
- Failed: the run failed. Uncertain failures stay out of compact totals unless actual cost is known.
- Cancelled: the run was stopped before results were saved. Provider dashboards remain the billing source.

Example summary:

- Image directions, Gemini, 3 outputs: $0.40 estimate.
- Image edit, OpenAI, 1 output: $0.05 estimate.
- Video test, SeedDance, 5s: $0.36 estimate.

## Where estimates come from

Image estimates use provider, quality, aspect ratio, and requested count. Video estimates use provider and clip duration. Provider invoices remain the source of truth.

## Spend confirmations

VideoBrainstorm pauses before jobs that are likely to surprise you on provider spend: video, high-cost image batches, unknown estimates, repeated failures, or retries that may already have billed.

1. Review the reason. The card says why the app paused before any provider call starts.
2. Choose the next action. Run anyway starts the generation. Edit request keeps your prompt and attachments in the composer.
3. Use a lower-cost option when offered. The lower-cost button appears only when VideoBrainstorm can safely switch to an available lower-cost provider for the same request.

If VideoBrainstorm is not confident that a lower-cost path is equivalent, it only shows Run anyway and Edit request.

## Troubleshooting next steps

- Provider key rejected: open Settings, test or update the key, or choose another provider for the next run.
- Generation still running: keep the tab open. If the app offers reconnect after reload, reconnect instead of starting a duplicate job.
- Failed or stuck run: use Retry to prepare the composer, review the prompt, then run again only if the request still looks right.
- Missing references: upload a reference image, include the skipped pack, edit the prompt, or run anyway without that continuity.

Local estimates help you decide before spending. Provider dashboards and invoices remain the final billing source.

## Settings to review

- Account access and plan state.
- Saved Gemini, OpenAI, and Replicate key status.
- Cost summaries by 24-hour and all-time views.
- Whether the user is still inside the 7-day platform refund window.