---
title: "Choose your Cardboard plan"
description: "The Director is Cardboard’s AI editor, included with every plan. It uses Cardboard credits, which are separate from your GPT or Claude limits."
canonical: "https://www.cardboard.ai/learn/choose-your-cardboard-plan"
---

# Choose your Cardboard plan

The Director is Cardboard’s AI editor, included with every plan. It uses Cardboard credits, which are separate from your GPT or Claude limits.

Compare plans to see what’s included:

- **Credits: How much editing usage you get**
- **Tools: Which editing features you can use**
- **Exports:** Available resolutions and export limits

## Included in every plan

Every Cardboard plan includes the core editing toolkit:

Every plan includes the core editing tools: captions, reframing, video cleanup, voiceover and motion graphics.

## The four plans

Cardboard has four plans: Lite, Starter, Creator, and Pro.

### Monthly:

![Cardboard's pricing page with monthly billing, showing Lite, Starter, Creator and Pro](https://www.cardboard.ai/images/learn/plans-monthly.jpg)

### Annual:

![Cardboard's pricing page with annual billing, showing Lite, Starter, Creator and Pro](https://www.cardboard.ai/images/learn/plans-annual.jpg)

## What comes with each plan?

Each plan builds on the one before it. Here’s what’s included.

Lite includes the core tools and up to three watermarked 1080p exports. Starter adds unlimited watermark-free exports and NLE export. Creator adds 4K, voice cloning and premium features. Pro adds larger-file support. See the comparison tables below and [current pricing](https://www.cardboard.ai/pricing) for limits.

## What credits are for

### Usage credits

Cover the agent’s editing work of understanding and transcribing footage, cutting clips, adding captions and motion graphics, adjusting text and layers, and editing voiceovers and music. Every plan includes usage credits, with more on higher plans.

### Generative AI credits

Cover new content Cardboard creates, such as images, music and video shots. Available from Starter, with premium models on Creator and Pro. How much you can generate depends on your plan and model.

## Compare plans

| Credits               | Lite     | Starter                            | Creator                                 | Pro           |
| --------------------- | -------- | ---------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ------------- |
| Usage credits         | Standard | 2.5x                               | 10x                                     | 30x           |
| Generative AI credits | None     | 400                                | 1,500                                   | 5,000         |
| Generative models     | None     | Base                               | Base and premium                        | All models    |
| Export limit          | 3        | Unlimited                          | Unlimited                               | Unlimited     |
| Export resolution     | 1080p    | 1080p                              | 4K                                      | 4K            |
| Example models        | None     | Hailuo, Kling 2.5, image generation | Adds Kling 3, Seed Dance 2.5, Omni, Veo | All available |

## Monthly or annual?

You can pay monthly or annually. Lite is free on Cardboard for Mac, so the Lite prices below are for the web.

During launch, monthly prices are discounted and your first month costs less.

### Monthly

| Plan    | First month | Then, per month |
| ------- | ----------- | --------------- |
| Lite    | $5          | $8 ~~$10~~      |
| Starter | $9          | $29 ~~$40~~     |
| Creator | $30         | $59 ~~$100~~    |
| Pro     | $89         | $175 ~~$250~~   |

### Annual

Pay annually and Starter, Creator, and Pro cost less per month. Your first month is discounted either way.

| Plan    | First month | Then, per month, billed annually |
| ------- | ----------- | -------------------------------- |
| Lite    | $5          | $8                               |
| Starter | $9          | $20                              |
| Creator | $30         | $39                              |
| Pro     | $89         | $125                             |

## Which plan should I choose?

- **Lite** Start here if you only need a few exports and want to try the core tools. It's free on Mac.
- **Starter** Choose this if you edit regularly and want unlimited, watermark-free exports, plus generated images, music, and shots from base models.
- **Creator** Choose this if you need 4K, voice cloning, premium generative models, and more ways to source footage.
- **Pro** Choose this if you use Cardboard heavily and want the most usage, the largest generative allowance, and every available model.

## A few things to keep in mind

- Lite exports carry a watermark, and you get up to 3 exports at 1080p. Starter and up remove both limits.
- Lite is free on Cardboard for Mac. On the web, it's $5 for the first month, then $8 a month.
- Generative AI credits start on Starter, and premium models start on Creator. Lite doesn't include any.
- Usage grows with every plan, so a bigger plan gives you more room to edit as well as more features.
- Exports to other video editors start on Starter, while 4K, voice cloning, and web-sourced footage start on Creator.
- If you connect your own Claude Code or Codex in Cardboard for Mac, that subscription is separate from your Cardboard plan.
- Annual billing costs less per month than monthly on Starter, Creator, and Pro.