Google DeepMind officially launched its most cost-effective video generation model to date, Veo3.1Lite, on March 31, 2026. The model maintains the same generation speed as Veo3.1Fast while reducing operational costs by more than half. According to the official pricing plan, Veo3.1Lite starts at $0.05 per second for 720p resolution and $0.08 per second for 1080p. This release means that Google has achieved a higher commercial efficiency ratio by using model distillation or architectural optimization while ensuring efficient output.

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Veo3.1Lite is now integrated into Gemini API and Google AI Studio. In terms of functionality, the model supports video clip generation ranging from 4 to 8 seconds, covering both text-to-video and image-to-video pathways, and is compatible with various aspect ratios such as vertical and horizontal. To support the launch of the new model, Google also announced that it will reduce the overall price of Veo3.1Fast starting April 7, for example, the cost of generating 4K resolution videos will be reduced to $0.30 per second.

This strategic move comes at a time when OpenAI announced the shutdown of the Sora project, creating a market vacuum. In the context of intensified competition in the global video generation field, Google's move aims to respond to strong challenges from the Chinese market. Although models like Alibaba's Seedance2.0