Tutorial · Evidence checked 2026-08-30
How to Calculate Long-Video Repurposing Cost per Approved Short
A practical, evidence-led decision guide. Product capabilities and limits are separated from anything that would require hands-on testing.
The cheapest AI clipping plan can become the most expensive workflow when it processes every source minute but produces few clips that an editor can approve. The defensible unit is cost per approved published short.
Start with the source calendar
List every monthly source by duration and type. A team publishing four 60-minute podcasts, two 45-minute webinars and ten 12-minute demos processes 450 source minutes. Add only the intervals submitted; some tools let the buyer limit the range.
Then define the required outputs by channel, aspect ratio and language. One approved moment exported three ways is one editorial selection and three deliverables. Track both.
Normalize vendor meters
Source-minute tools such as OpusClip and Vizard can map closely to input duration. Wisecut charges one credit per Editor minute and two per Autopilot minute. Submagic counts base short videos and separates Magic Clips. Riverside packages clipping with recording. Captions consumes feature-specific credits.
Create one row per workflow:
| Cost | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Subscription allocation | actual invoice and billing cadence |
| Source processing | minute/credit/video meter |
| Add-ons | long-form clipper, API, seats, storage |
| Selection review | reviewer hours |
| Caption and crop repair | editor hours |
| Claim/legal approval | reviewer hours |
| Publication | scheduling and QA hours |
Calculate yield before price per clip
`selection yield = moments approved / moments suggested`
`source yield = clips approved / source minutes processed`
`published yield = clips published without post-export correction / clips approved`
Then:
`cost per published short = (software + add-ons + labour) / published shorts`
Example: 300 source minutes cost $29 in allocated software. The tool suggests 40 clips; 12 are approved and 10 publish. Six review/edit hours at $50 add $300. Total is $329, or $32.90 per published short, not $0.097 per source minute.
Account for context failures
A misleading clip can cost more than all software. Record rejection reasons: incomplete thought, missing qualification, incorrect caption, wrong speaker crop, brand mismatch, duplicate moment or destination issue. The distribution reveals what automation actually fails.
If claims require legal review, count that time. If a platform posts directly, retain a final human release step and audit errors.
Compare annual pools carefully
Annual credits may arrive as one pool or monthly allowances. Model the actual delivery and expiry. A seasonal show can benefit from a yearly pool; a cancelled series can strand it. Do not divide by 12 unless that represents the contract and operating pattern.
Report capacity with uncertainty
Use at least three representative sources before forecasting. Provide a base acceptance rate and a conservative rate. If approved yield ranges from two to eight clips per hour across formats, publish the range rather than one false average.
The calculator should finish with the first binding constraint: source credits, output slots, reviewer time, seats, API limit or approval risk.
Primary next step: run one month of source footage through the sheet before buying annual capacity.