Is Wan 2.6 free? The credit math, and when to use 2.7 or Wan 3.0

Short answer: Wan 2.6 is not free on this site, and anyone telling you a video model is simply "free" is usually leaving out the credits. On wan-ai.app you can run Wan 2.6 and Wan 2.7 for 1 credit a clip, and new accounts do not start with a free balance at the moment — the first clip already spends paid credits. This guide shows the actual math from this site's code, and when to step up to Wan 3.0.

What Wan 2.6 and Wan 2.7 cost here

The version pages run a simple playground: text or a starting image, 5 or 10 seconds, 720P, and a 16:9, 9:16, or 1:1 frame. Every run of the Wan 2.6 playground or the Wan 2.7 playground deducts exactly 1 credit, whatever the length you picked. There is no resolution dial to run up the bill — 720P is what the playground submits.

There is no free balance waiting at sign-up right now: the signup credit setting on this site is currently zero, with anti-abuse rules on top for when that changes. Credits come from the credit packs — the smallest one-time pack is 20 credits for $24.90, which puts a 1-credit clip at roughly $1.25 in pack terms. If a submission itself fails, the reserved credit goes back to your balance.

Wan 3.0 is priced per second, and per tier

Wan 3.0 is the bigger model on this site, and it is metered instead of flat. Standard rounds up with a minimum of 1 credit:

• 480P: 1 credit per 4 seconds. A 5-second draft is 2 credits.
• 720P: 1 credit per 2 seconds. A 5-second clip is 3, a 10-second clip is 5.
• 1080P: 1 credit per 1 second. A 30-second clip is 30.

Prime is the faster tier on the same form, priced about 1.5–1.6 times Standard per second and rounded the same way. A 5-second 720P clip is 4 credits on Prime; a 30-second 1080P clip is 48. The full side-by-side is on the Standard vs Prime page. Failed submissions and failed generations refund the credits for that job.

So which one do you spend on?

• Sketching an idea: a 1-credit Wan 2.6 or 2.7 clip at 720P. Cheapest way to see if an idea has legs.
• Animating a photo you already like: same playground, image mode, still 1 credit.
• Social-ready verticals with audio: Wan 3.0. It runs 2 to 30 seconds, up to 1080P, all six aspect ratios, native audio, and reference photos.
• Reference photos of people: only Wan 3.0, through the templates or the reference tab. The 2.6/2.7 playgrounds take a starting image, not identity references.
• The final pass: Wan 3.0 Prime, when a take is locked and you want the faster model on the render that matters.

How to think about older Wan versions generally

Model numbers age like camera bodies. Each Wan generation brought better motion, better audio sync, and longer supported lengths — that is why the newest model carries the per-second price and the flexible inputs here, while the older playgrounds stay at a flat credit for a fixed-size clip. If you see a Wan 2.6 or 2.5 offer on another site with numbers attached, read them as that site's pricing, not the model's: credit prices are set by the host. The numbers in this article are this site's, and they are the ones your balance actually uses.

One practical order: draft at 1 credit on Wan 2.6 or Wan 2.7, then re-run the winning idea on Wan 3.0 Standard at the length and resolution you will post. Two stages, one credit wasted at most on an idea that dies early. The 30-second guide covers the long end of that second stage.