The cheapest way to run a faceless YouTube channel
Monthly costs, checked on each tool's own pricing page
Short answer: The cheapest way is $0 a month: write your own scripts, read them in your own voice, use free stock footage and edit in a free editor, paying in hours instead of dollars. The cheapest paid setup that also posts for you was about $19 to $20 a month on October 27, 2026: TallyReel Starter (ours, $19 at its launch price, $29 after 30 November) for about 67 stock Shorts or 33 AI picture Shorts, or Faceless.video Starter ($20) for up to 15. InVideo AI Basic is cheaper at $9, but you upload every video yourself.
TallyReel: the lowest cost per Short with posting included
InVideo AI: the lowest monthly bill if you post yourself
A faceless channel has four running costs: scripts, voice, visuals and the time it takes to put them together and post. YouTube itself is free, and so is uploading. Everything else can be free if you do it by hand, or bundled into one AI tool that charges monthly.
Below are the monthly prices of seven AI video tools as listed on their own pricing pages on October 27, 2026, what each one covers, and a rough cost per Short. We make TallyReel, which is one of them. Prices change often, so check before you pay.
Updated 27 October 2026 · by Danish, who makes TallyReel, one of the tools on this list · prices checked on 27 October 2026, each on the tool's own pricing page
4,000 credits, about 67 stock Shorts or 33 AI picture Shorts
About $0.28 stock, $0.58 AI pictures ($0.43 and $0.88 at $29)
Yes, 15 networks
2. InVideo AI
Basic
$9
190 credits
Varies by model
No
3. Faceless.video
Starter
$20
Up to 15
About $1.33
Yes, one account
4. AutoShorts.ai
Starter
$19
3 a week, about 13
About $1.46
Yes
5. Crayo
Hobby
$29
250
About $0.12
No
6. Revid
Growth
$39
About 25 to 50 (its estimate)
About $0.78 to $1.56
Yes, 4 networks
7. StoryShort
Starter
$39
About 26 thirty-second videos
About $1.50
Yes, 3 networks
Prices from each tool's pricing page on the dates shown below, monthly billing unless it says otherwise. Prices change, so check before you buy.
1. TallyReel
Best for: the lowest cost per Short with posting included
TallyReel writes, voices and builds each video, then schedules it to YouTube and 14 other networks. 100 credits are a minute of stock video, so Starter covers a Short a day with room to spare, and long 16:9 stock videos use 100 credits a minute. Credits come back if a video fails.
Price: Free plan (300 free credits once, about 3 videos). Starter $19 a month for 4,000 credits, about 67 stock Shorts or 33 AI picture Shorts (launch price to 30 November, then $29); yearly is 10 months' price. Or 2,000 credits for $12 once, no subscription. (all plans)
Good
Scheduling to 15 networks is in the price.
A one-time credit pack if you don't want a subscription.
Watch out for
Regular Starter price is $29 after the launch offer.
New, with no third-party reviews yet.
2. InVideo AI
Best for: the lowest monthly bill if you post yourself
InVideo AI turns a prompt into a video with stock and generated footage and gives you a real editor. Basic is the cheapest plan here. How many Shorts 190 credits make depends on which image and video models you use, and unused credits don't roll over.
Price: Basic $9 a month billed monthly, less billed yearly (190 credits). Pro $30 and Ultra $80 a month billed monthly. (checked 27 October 2026)
Faceless.video makes drafts on a schedule and posts them to one TikTok, YouTube or Instagram account per series. Starter is about one video every two days; Daily covers a Short a day.
Price: Starter $20 a month (up to 15 videos), Daily $35 (up to 30), Double $59, Studio $149; about 30% off yearly. (checked 27 October 2026)
AutoShorts.ai sells posting frequency: Starter posts three times a week, Daily once a day. Each plan runs one series that it makes and posts to your channel.
Price: Starter $19 a month (3 posts a week), Daily $39, Hardcore $69; yearly $190, $390, $690. (checked 27 October 2026)
Crayo's Hobby plan includes 250 AI-made videos a month, about 12 cents each if you use them all, with 30 voiceover minutes and 2 export hours as the real limits. It doesn't list posting.
Price: Hobby $29 a month (250 videos), Clipper $59, Pro $129; up to 48% off yearly. (checked 27 October 2026)
You can run a faceless channel without paying anything. Write the script yourself, record it on your phone in a quiet room, take footage from free stock libraries such as Pexels, and cut it together in a free editor with automatic captions. YouTube charges nothing to upload. The cost is time: a polished 45-second Short usually takes an hour or more by hand once you count writing, recording, finding clips and captioning.
That trade is worth it while you are learning what your viewers finish. It stops being worth it once you want to post daily, which is where most faceless channels start paying for a tool.
A realistic monthly budget
Testing a niche: $0 to $12. A free plan, or one $12 pack of 2,000 TallyReel credits with no subscription, is enough for two or three weeks of Shorts.
One Short a day: about $19 to $39 a month, depending on whether you want posting included and how many networks you post to.
Shorts plus long videos: budget more credits for long-form. On TallyReel a 10-minute stock video uses 1,000 credits, so Plus (10,000 credits) or Pro (22,000) fits a weekly long video alongside daily Shorts.
Extras most channels skip at first: paid music, a voice subscription, a thumbnail app. Most AI video tools include voice and music already.
Cheap isn't the only number that matters
The cost per Short in the table assumes you use the whole allowance. A tool that makes 250 videos a month only beats one that makes 40 if you actually post 250. Most faceless channels post one to three times a day, so compare plans at that volume.
Two other costs are easy to miss. A video that fails or comes out unusable can still use up credits on some tools; check what happens before you pay. And a channel that posts near-identical videos can be refused monetization under YouTube's inauthentic content policy, which costs far more than any subscription. The money you save on tools is best spent on time editing scripts.
Questions
How much does it cost to run a faceless YouTube channel?
From $0 if you do everything by hand, to about $19 to $39 a month for an AI tool that makes and posts a Short a day, based on prices checked on October 27, 2026.
What is the cheapest AI tool for a faceless channel?
InVideo AI Basic had the lowest monthly price at $9, without posting. Crayo Hobby had the lowest cost per video if you use all 250. TallyReel Starter had the lowest cost per Short among tools that also post for you.
Can I run a faceless channel without a subscription?
Yes. Do it by hand for free, or buy credits once: TallyReel sells 2,000 credits for $12 that last a year and never renew.
Do I need to pay for stock footage or music?
Not to start. Free libraries like Pexels cover stock footage, and most AI video tools include voiceover and music in the plan price.
When does a faceless channel start paying for itself?
Only after it joins the YouTube Partner Program: 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 watch hours in 12 months, or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days. Keep costs low until then.
Type the idea into TallyReel, read the script, and it makes the video for you: in the browser, on your phone, or in Studio on your own computer. Start on the free plan.