ZUQ pricing: monthly minutes and top-ups
ZUQ prices a course on one number: minutes of finished video. Every plan builds unlimited videos, of any length from 30 seconds to 30 hours, with no cap on how many modules a course has. The plans and figures on this page are generated from the same catalogue the product runs on.
Each plan grants a monthly allowance in minutes: Free is free at 30 minutes a month, watermarked, no card needed. Lab and Institute are the plans whose monthly allowance covers a 30-hour course outright. Minutes bought as a top-up are spent only after the month's allowance runs out, and they never expire.
StatusEarly build: we save your request and plan the course. No course video is generated yet - a finished build hands you a sample file, not your course - and we will tell you the day that changes.
ZUQ charges for video on minutes only: a monthly allowance per plan, plus top-up minutes that never expire. There are 4 plans: Free ($0, 30 minutes a month), Scholar ($19, 300 minutes a month), Lab ($59, 1,800 minutes a month) and Institute ($199, 9,000 minutes a month).
How minutes work
A build costs exactly the runtime it produces: a 10-minute video spends 10 minutes of your allowance, at any skill level and on any track. The minutes are held the moment you submit, before anything is built, so a build you have queued has already been counted against the month. If a build fails, the worker refunds the hold to your balance and writes the refunded figure onto the build itself as the receipt.
Usage is counted against the current calendar month; the monthly allowance renews each period, does not carry over unused, and never converts to or from a second currency.
Every length on the ladder is available at every plan, from 30 seconds to 30 hours: 30 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 15 hours, 30 hours.
The plans
There are 4 plans. Each buys minutes at a better rate than the one below it, and every plan gets every track, every skill level and every length on the ladder.
Free: $0 a month, 30 minutes (30 min), watermarked exports, 1 seat. Build something real and see whether it lands.
Scholar: $19 a month, 300 minutes (5 hours), no watermark, 1 seat. For one person working through a subject.
Lab: $59 a month, 1,800 minutes (30 hours), no watermark, 3 seats. For a research group, or one person taking on a whole field.
Institute: $199 a month, 9,000 minutes (150 hours), no watermark, 5 seats. For a department sharing one library and one pool of minutes.
A seat count is the size of the team including the owner, so one seat is a solo account.
- Free: Unlimited videos - only minutes count; Every length from 30 seconds to 30 hours, if your minutes cover it; Build from your own documents, decks, contracts and papers; Ask for changes by prompt - a new build, minutes again, sample file for now; Top up minutes any time, on any plan
- Scholar: Everything in Free; Share privately, with named people
- Lab: Everything in Scholar; Three seats on one account, spending one pool of minutes; Everyone on the account sees every build in the library
- Institute: Everything in Lab; Five seats on one account, spending one pool of minutes
Top-up minutes, bought outright
Running low before the month resets? Buy minutes outright and they are added to your balance, spent only after the monthly allowance is gone, and never expiring. A top-up is a one-time charge, not a subscription.
- 60 minutes for $6, added to your balance and never expiring
- 300 minutes for $27, added to your balance and never expiring
- 1200 minutes for $96, added to your balance and never expiring
What an update to a finished build costs
Asking for a change to a finished build starts a new build. It is not an edit of the file you already have. You type the change in plain words and it is quoted at the full runtime of the video you are changing: a change to a 10-minute video spends 10 minutes again, and a change to a 30-hour course spends 1800 minutes again, which is the whole of a Lab month.
The build you already have is kept exactly as it is, with its own plan and its own event log, and the update arrives beside it as a second build rather than replacing it.
Early build: an update request spends real minutes and hands back another sample file, not your rendered course. The video you have now is kept exactly as it is, and we will tell you the day real rendering begins.
What does not change the price, and what is never rationed
The skill level - beginner, intermediate, advanced or expert - changes how the course is pitched, never what it costs. The track - one concept, a whole subject, or your own content - does not change the rate either. Runtime is the only variable.
Build as many videos as you like, with as many modules as the runtime needs. The reference files you hand over are capped, and attaching them costs no minutes: up to 5 files, 10 MB each at most, and at most 20,000 characters are read from a PDF or text file. Minutes are the only thing that runs out, and they can always be topped up.
What is live today, and what is not
Early build: minutes, plans and your saved briefs are real today. Rendered video is not - a finished build hands you a sample file, and we will tell you the day that changes.
Payments are processed by Stripe. A plan is a recurring monthly subscription: Stripe charges the card each month until the subscription is cancelled, and cancellation is handled by Stripe in its own billing portal. A top-up is a one-time charge for the minutes in that pack, and nothing recurs. Card details are entered on Stripe's own checkout page and never reach ZUQ - this product never sees, stores or transmits a card number, and the amount is resolved on our server from the catalogue rather than sent up from your browser.
| Plan | Price | Minutes a month | As hours | Seats | Watermark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 30 | 30 min | 1 | Yes |
| Scholar | $19 | 300 | 5 hours | 1 | No |
| Lab | $59 | 1,800 | 30 hours | 3 | No |
| Institute | $199 | 9,000 | 150 hours | 5 | No |
Questions
How much does a 10 minute course cost on ZUQ?
10 minutes of your monthly allowance or top-up balance, at any skill level. The Free plan's 30 free minutes a month cover that several times over.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. The Free plan grants 30 minutes of video a month, watermarked, and no card is needed. It renews every month rather than being a one-time grant.
How do I pay, and who takes the card?
Stripe. A plan is a recurring monthly subscription and a top-up is a one-time charge; both are paid on Stripe's own checkout page, so card details never reach ZUQ. Cancellation is handled by Stripe in its billing portal. Early build: minutes, plans and your saved briefs are real today. Rendered video is not - a finished build hands you a sample file, and we will tell you the day that changes.
Does asking for a change to a finished video cost minutes?
Yes - the full runtime of the video you are changing, because the change is a new build rather than an edit. Early build: an update request spends real minutes and hands back another sample file, not your rendered course. The video you have now is kept exactly as it is, and we will tell you the day real rendering begins.
What happens when I run out of minutes?
Buy a top-up pack, which never expires, or wait for the monthly allowance to renew. Minutes are the only meter: there is no second balance to track.
Does the skill level change the price?
No. The level changes how the course is pitched - beginner assumes nothing, expert assumes the literature - and never what it costs. Runtime is the only thing priced.
Which plan do I need for a 30 hour course?
A 30-hour course is 1800 minutes. Lab (1,800 minutes a month) and Institute (9,000 minutes a month) are the plans whose monthly allowance covers it on its own. Free (30) and Scholar (300) do not, on the monthly allowance alone: Free grants 30 minutes; Scholar grants 300 minutes (5 hours) - a top-up covers the rest, and top-up minutes never expire.
Do minutes expire or renew monthly?
The monthly allowance renews every period and does not carry over unused. Minutes bought as a top-up are different: they are added to your balance once and never expire, and are spent only after that period's allowance is used up.