Avatar Quality Tiers
VideoMule renders AI avatar clips in three quality tiers — Normal, Standard, and High Quality. Here is what each tier costs in avatar credits for each kind of avatar, why a tier can be unavailable for a specific avatar, and where your credits come from.
When you add an AI avatar to a video, you also pick a quality tier. The tier controls which avatar rendering engine generates your clips. How many avatar credits a minute of that video consumes depends on both the tier and the kind of avatar you picked.
The three tiers
| Tier | Stock studio avatar | Photo avatar | Digital twin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 1 | 2.6 | — | Fastest and cheapest |
| Standard | 4 | 3 | 4 | The default |
| High Quality | 4 | 4 | 4 | The most lifelike rendering |
Credits per minute of avatar video. Digital twins always render at High Quality, and always cost 4 credits per minute.
Every tier renders at 1080p — the difference between tiers is the rendering engine, not the resolution. Higher tiers produce more natural motion, expressions, and lip-sync.
You choose the tier in the quality selector wherever you pick an avatar: the AI Avatar Presenter card when creating a project, and the avatar selector on the script page. Once an avatar is selected, the selector shows that avatar's exact rate for each tier (for example, Normal (2.6x) for a photo avatar); before you've picked one it shows the range each tier can cost, plus roughly how many minutes you have left at that quality.
How credits are burned
Avatar credits are counted in minutes: clip minutes × the rate for your avatar type and tier. A 2-minute clip of a stock studio avatar costs 2 credits at Normal and 8 at Standard; the same clip from a photo avatar costs 5.2 at Normal and 6 at Standard.
You are always billed for what actually renders. If a clip has to fall back to a different tier (see below), you're charged that tier's rate — never the higher one you requested.
Why a tier may be unavailable
Not every avatar supports every tier. Each avatar look advertises which rendering engines it supports, and the quality selector disables tiers the selected look can't render — most commonly High Quality, which only some avatars support.
Two fallback rules apply automatically:
- If a previously saved tier is no longer available for the selected look, the clip renders at Standard instead (or Normal, if Standard isn't supported either).
- High Quality clips are capped at 3 minutes. A longer clip renders at Standard instead, and is billed at Standard's rate for that avatar — 3 credits per minute for a photo avatar, 4 for a studio avatar or digital twin.
In the Avatar Library you can filter avatars by supported quality, and each avatar shows chips for the tiers it can render — useful when High Quality is a must-have for your project.
Where avatar credits come from
Your available avatar minutes are the sum of:
- Your plan's monthly allowance — 3 credits on Creator, 8 on Team, 20 on Agency. These reset every billing cycle.
- Credit packs — one-time bundles that include avatar minutes (5, 15, or 25 depending on the pack). Pack minutes don't reset monthly; they last until you use them. See Credit Packs.
- The Avatar Minutes Pack add-on — adds 10 extra avatar minutes to your current billing cycle.
Your plan allowance is consumed first; only the overflow draws from your credit pack.
The free trial does not include AI avatars. Avatar generation unlocks when your paid plan starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is High Quality a higher resolution?
No — all avatar clips render at 1080p regardless of tier. Higher tiers use newer rendering engines that produce more lifelike motion and expressions.
Why is High Quality greyed out for my avatar?
The selected avatar look doesn't support the High Quality engine. Pick a different look or avatar (the library's quality filter helps), or use Standard.
Why did two clips at the same tier cost different amounts?
Because the rate depends on the kind of avatar as well as the tier. A photo avatar costs 2.6 credits per minute at Normal where a stock studio avatar costs 1, and 3 at Standard where a studio avatar costs 4. Digital twins are always 4.
I picked High Quality but was charged a lower rate. Why?
Your clip was longer than the 3-minute High Quality cap, or the avatar stopped supporting High Quality, so it rendered at Standard — which for a photo avatar is 3 credits per minute instead of 4. You always pay for the tier that actually rendered.
Do unused avatar credits roll over?
Plan credits reset each billing cycle. Credit-pack minutes don't reset — they remain until used.
