Veo 3.1 Lite vs Fast vs Quality: which variant to use

What Google says is different

This table uses Google Cloud’s own Veo 3.1 documentation and price list, not our marketing. Where Google’s pages contradict each other, we say so. Prices are Google Cloud list prices, about per second of output (Google bills per “count”, which we and resellers read as one second).

Two things in this table matter more than they look. First, Lite is still labelled Preview on Google Cloud, while Fast and Quality are generally available and supported until “May 4, 2027 or later”. Second, Google Cloud supports reference images on Fast and Quality, but our generator doesn’t offer them, so on imaginary.app the practical feature set is the same across all three: text-to-video, image-to-video and first-and-last-frame.

What each variant costs on imaginary.app

Every number below comes from our pricing catalog. The dollar range runs from our cheapest credit (largest monthly plan) to our dearest (smallest one-time pack). The last column is Google Cloud’s list price for the same 8-second clip, so you can see that we cost more than going to Google Cloud directly. What you pay us for is skipping the Cloud project, billing account and service-account setup.

A few patterns are worth knowing before you pick. Switching audio off lowers the cost on every variant. On Fast and Quality, 1080p costs the same credits as 720p, so there is little reason to render at 720p there. On Quality, 4K without audio costs the same as 1080p with audio. For a calculator that covers monthly volumes, use the Veo 3.1 cost calculator; plan prices are on the pricing page.

When to use each variant

Choose Lite when

• You are still working out a prompt and expect several attempts.
• You make lots of short social clips where 1080p is the ceiling anyway.
• You want to keep using the same model in Google Flow after December 5, 2026, since Lite is the variant Flow keeps.

Choose Fast when

• You want 4K for less than Quality costs. Our generator offers Fast in 4K; Google’s model page lists Fast at 1080p, though its price list includes Fast 4K.
• You call Google Cloud directly and want reference images, which Lite doesn’t support there.
• You want a generally available model rather than one labelled Preview.

Choose Quality when

• The clip is a final deliverable: an ad, a hero video or a client shot.
• You need 4K that Google’s own model page lists without caveats.
• You have already tested the prompt on a cheaper variant and want one strong render.

Model-by-model detail lives on the Veo 3.1, Veo 3.1 Fast and Veo 3.1 Lite pages.

Draft on Lite, finish on Quality: a worked example

With AI video, many attempts end up thrown away. This workflow spends cheap credits on those attempts and expensive credits once. Lite won’t match Quality frame for frame, so the drafts test what the prompt does (framing, camera move, pacing, whether the dialogue fits in 8 seconds), not the exact final image. In the generator, every setting below is a button: Model, Resolution, Duration and the With Audio switch.

1. 1

   Block the shot: 3 silent 4-second Lite drafts at 720p (1 credit each)

   Leave audio off and keep clips short. You are checking the subject, framing and camera move. Change one thing in the prompt per attempt so you know what helped.
2. 2

   Check timing: 2 Lite drafts at 8 seconds with audio, 720p (3 credits each)

   Turn audio on and go to full length once the picture works. This is where you find out whether a line of dialogue is too long or a sound cue lands in the wrong place.
3. 3

   Render the final: 1 Quality clip at 1080p with audio (26 credits)

   Switch Model to Quality and keep the prompt. If you want the final to keep a composition from a draft, save a still you like and use it as the first frame in image-to-video (see the image-to-video guide).

If the Lite draft already looks good enough for where it’s going, stop there. For prompt structure that carries over cleanly between variants, see the Veo 3.1 prompting guide.

Real clips from our gallery

These are videos that imaginary.app users chose to share publicly, picked from the gallery’s top-sorted entries on November 8, 2026. They are not a controlled test: prompts differ, and we don’t know every setting each creator used. They do show what each variant produces from ordinary prompts.

The same prompt on Lite and on Fast

This dialogue prompt appears in the gallery twice, once rendered on Lite and once on Fast, both 8 seconds with audio. Watch them back to back and decide whether the difference matters for your use.

Veo 3.1 Lite · 8 s · with sound

A medium shot, historical adventure setting: Warm lamplight illuminates a cartographer in a cluttered study, poring over an ancient, sprawling map spread across a large table. Cartographer: "According to this old sea chart, the lost island isn't myth! We must prepare an expedition immediately!"

Credits for these settings on imaginary.app today: 3 at 720p, 5 at 1080p.

Watch this Veo 3.1 Lite clip in the gallery

Veo 3.1 Fast · 8 s · with sound

A medium shot, historical adventure setting: Warm lamplight illuminates a cartographer in a cluttered study, poring over an ancient, sprawling map spread across a large table. Cartographer: "According to this old sea chart, the lost island isn't myth! We must prepare an expedition immediately!"

Credits for these settings on imaginary.app today: 10 at 720p or 1080p, 22 at 4K.

Watch this Veo 3.1 Fast clip in the gallery

Veo 3.1 Lite

Veo 3.1 Lite · 4 s · no sound track

smartphone video, UGC style, handheld with slight natural shake. Close-up of soaking wet hiking boots being dropped onto a doormat in a dim hallway, water dripping off the soles, muddy laces. Rainy day, grey natural light from a window. … Audio: rain pattering outside, a frustrated sigh, the wet squelch of the boot.

Credits for these settings on imaginary.app today: 1 at 720p, 2 at 1080p.

Watch this Veo 3.1 Lite clip in the gallery

Veo 3.1 Lite · 4 s · no sound track

Static medium two-shot. A woman in her early thirties with loose dark hair, wearing a soft beige sweater, and a man in his late twenties in a dark green knit sweater sit close together on a worn sofa … Setting: a cozy evening living room, candlelight flickering on a low coffee table.

Credits for these settings on imaginary.app today: 1 at 720p, 2 at 1080p.

Watch this Veo 3.1 Lite clip in the gallery

Veo 3.1 Fast

Veo 3.1 Fast · 8 s · with sound

Wide macro shot of a miniature full human body anatomical model, transparent resin shell revealing every major organ in cross-section at once … Tabletop diorama scale, soft studio lighting, slow orbiting camera reveal, tactile miniature-model realism.

Credits for these settings on imaginary.app today: 10 at 720p or 1080p, 22 at 4K.

Watch this Veo 3.1 Fast clip in the gallery

Veo 3.1 Fast · 6 s · no sound track

A clean, elegant motion graphics timeline animation on a soft dark background (deep navy or charcoal, not pure black). A thin, smooth horizontal line stretches across the frame in a warm gold or soft teal color. Exactly four small circular dots are evenly placed along the line …

Credits for these settings on imaginary.app today: 5 at 720p or 1080p, 15 at 4K.

Watch this Veo 3.1 Fast clip in the gallery

Veo 3.1 (Quality)

Veo 3.1 (Quality) · 6 s · no sound track

Vertical 9:16 smartphone video, UGC style. POV shot: a foot in a white sock slides into a damp running shoe by the front door, early morning light. The person pulls the foot back out immediately in discomfort. … Audio: the damp fabric sound, a disgusted "ugh" grunt, birds chirping faintly outside.

Credits for these settings on imaginary.app today: 10 at 720p or 1080p, 20 at 4K.

Watch this Veo 3.1 (Quality) clip in the gallery

Veo 3.1 (Quality) · 6 s · no sound track

Cinematic wide shot of a deep, photorealistic night sky. In the center, a breathtaking supernova slowly expands, radiating deep purple, cyan, and gold cosmic dust. A bright comet with a glowing tail falls diagonally across the frame. … slow and smooth forward camera movement, dark background, suitable for a website hero section.

Credits for these settings on imaginary.app today: 10 at 720p or 1080p, 20 at 4K.

Watch this Veo 3.1 (Quality) clip in the gallery

The two smartphone-style clips (wet hiking boots on Lite, the damp shoe on Quality) are a fair pairing for the picture: similar UGC prompts, one on the cheapest variant and one on the dearest. Both prompts write out sound cues, but neither shared file has a sound track, so judge the image only. More clips are in the public gallery.