Both Zencastr Editing and Zencastr Clips operate on postproduction credits. Editing enhances and combines your separate recorded audio and video files into a polished mixed file. Clips transforms longer-form content into several shorter video clips optimized for a variety of social media platforms.
In this article:
Credits Allowance by Plan
Both Editing and Clips operate on postproduction credits. All of Zencastr’s paid subscription plans come with a monthly allowance of credits. These credits refresh on users’ accounts on the 1st of each month at 00:00 UTC. The number of monthly credits varies by plan and is listed below and on our pricing page. Should users need more credits beyond their plan’s monthly allocation, additional credits can be purchased.
Plan | Number of Monthly Credits |
Standard | 10 |
Grow | 15 |
Scale | 30 |
Business | Unlimited |
Additionally, the legacy Creator+ plan includes 1 credit per month, whereas the legacy Hobbyist plan doesn’t include any credits.
Credits Usage by Content Output
A 1-hour credit equals 1 hour of overall recording time processed. The number of credits used depends on the type of content output you are getting.
Credit Deduction Calculations
Audio and 720p/1080p Video Postproductions:
Credits are deducted at the rate of Length of Recording x Number of Aspect Ratio Videos.
Example: Producing a 1-hour video into a 1080p landscape video costs 1 credit.
4k Video Postproductions:
Credits are deducted at the rate of Length of Recording x Number of Aspect Ratio Videos x 2.
Example: Producing a 1-hour video into a 4k portrait video costs 2 credits.
AI-Generated Clips:
Credits are deducted at the rate of Length of the Recording x Number of Social Platform Sets x 4, in addition to the Produce cost.
Example: Clipping a 1-hour 1080p video on a Growth plan costs 5 credits (4 for the clips and 1 for the 1080p video postproduction).
Credits are deducted after the postproduction and/or clips finish processing.
Terms
Length of Recording:
The overall recording time. For instance, if you and 3 guests (4 participants total) record audio and video for 1 hour, the length of the recording is 1 hour.
Number of Aspect Ratio Videos:
The number of video postproductions obtained from a single run in Editing. You can receive up to 3 videos in one run, each with a different aspect ratio (16:9, 9:16, and 1:1).
Number of Social Platform Sets
In the Clips feature, social media platforms are grouped into two sets. Short-form clips are created for Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. These are available to users on the Grow plan and above. Social feed clips are created for Facebook and LinkedIn. These are available to users on the Scale plan and above, in addition to the short-form clips. The Business plan and above are the only plans that support social feed clips on X (formerly Twitter).
Checking Credits Balance
You can check the number of credits you have available on your account from any Produce page.
To check your credits balance:
Log into your Zencastr account.
From your Dashboard, click the Sessions tab.
Under the ‘My Sessions’ list, click the name any session that has been recorded in.
Locate a recording and click the Preview button next to its name.
On the Preview Page, click the Next button at the top right.
On the Review & Confirm insert, scroll down to the bottom to see a 'Summary' section that displays your credit balance.
Buying Additional Credits
Should you need to buy additional credits, you can do so from the following options.
To buy postproduction credits:
Log into your Zencastr account.
On your Dashboard, click your avatar on the bottom of the left sidebar menu.
Select Add Credits from the menu.
In the Buy Postproduction Credits modal, select the number of credits you want to buy.
Click Purchase.
Note: If you do not have a credit card already linked to your Zencastr account, you will need to add one to complete the purchase.
Result: The card is charged and the credits are added to your account immediately.
The cost of additional postproduction credits depends on how many you are buying, with a discount for higher quantities. These additional credits are available on your account forever until they are used.
Number of Credits | Price | Discount |
1 | $3.00 | - |
5 | $12.75 | 15% |
10 | $24.00 | 20% |
20 | $42.00 | 30% |
50 | $82.50 | 45% |
Related Questions
Do unused postproduction credits expire?
For plans with a monthly allowance of credits, any unused credits of that allowance do not roll over to the next month. However, any credits you buy separately do not expire and are available forever until used.
I don’t need the video mix, can I turn this off?
At this time, it is not possible to turn off the video mix. However, you get a separate audio mix and video mix so that you can use only the mix(es) you need. Also, credits are deducted based on the overall recording time and output, not based on the number of files processed.
Why do I need credits if I already have a paid plan?
Credits keep our subscription plans affordable. Each plan comes with more credits than the typical usage in a month. Should you need more credits, you can always purchase them.
How are credits distributed on Yearly plans?
Just like Monthly plans, users on Yearly plans get a monthly credit allocation with credits refreshing on the 1st of each month.
Do I get credits if I am trailing a paid plan?
Yes, you get the full monthly credit allowance of the plan you are trailing.
I have credits, now how do I create my podcast/run my postproduction?
To run a postproduction for a recording done in the 'Record Audio, No Video' or 'Record Audio, Show Video' modes, see this guide. To run a postproduction for a recording done in the 'Record Audio and Video' mode, see this guide.
I have credits, now how do I get clips?
To get clips, see this guide.