Donatello AI Benchmark / Protocol & evidence

Creator Value: what fits the brief and budget?

Explore five platforms at $0, $5, $10 and $20. This is a dated documentation simulation—not a measured claim that any service has completed the project.

Published 2026-09-11Version 2026-09-11-v1Operated by Donatello

Initial release: protocols and documentation estimates only. No comparative generation results, public votes or quality winners have been published.

Choose a brief, then inspect the gaps.

The source snapshot was checked on September 11, 2026. The same three briefs apply to every platform. We separate a documented feature, access under a selected plan, a cost estimate and a verified deliverable.

Cash budget (USD, before tax)

Creator brief

Requested: 10 images · 30 seconds of video · 300 seconds of voice · 300 seconds of music. These are requirements, not completed assets.

Documentation simulation · first month or one-time purchase · no actual generations
Platform	Option within $10	Cash commitment	Subscription for this option	Commercial conditions
Donatello	Optional prepaid credits 5,000 prepaid credits	$10 $0 unspent; no invented top-up	No mandatory subscription	Current routes permit monetization under Terms; inputs and third-party rights remain your responsibility.
ElevenLabs	Starter 30,000 monthly credits	$6 $4 unspent; no invented top-up	Yes, recurring monthly plan	Paid, non-beta outputs under applicable terms. Do not extend that licence automatically to beta visuals or every music use.
Krea	Free 100 compute units/day; limited tools and concurrency.	$0 $10 unspent; no invented top-up	No mandatory subscription	Not verified for Free. The official commercial-licence FAQ names paid plans; confirm permission before commercial use.
Runway	Free 125 one-time credits; limited model selection, not a recurring allowance.	$0 $10 unspent; no invented top-up	No mandatory subscription	Yes; commercial permission is not the same as unlimited credits or watermark removal.
Suno	Pro 2,500 monthly credits; 20 song downloads/month	$10 $0 unspent; no invented top-up	Yes, recurring monthly plan	Paid-period songs retain commercial rights after cancellation; upgrading does not normally license earlier free songs.

Annual-equivalent prices and promotions are excluded. Entry plans are not guaranteed to complete this brief. Krea's signed-in pack prices are unverified. Donatello free access depends on activities or Relax eligibility, not a guaranteed instant allowance for any project.

Documented modalities, across each product's plans

Image, video, music and voice count equally here. This is a capability inventory, not a quality ranking, free-plan entitlement or workflow completion percentage. Missing evidence is not an absent feature.

Donatello4/4 documented · 0 unverified

ElevenLabs4/4 documented · 0 unverified

Krea2/4 documented · 2 unverified

Runway4/4 documented · 0 unverified

Suno1/4 documented · 3 unverified

What can actually be calculated now?

For Donatello only, 10 image requests at 1–8 credits each plus 30 total Fast video seconds at 10 credits/second give a visual-only subtotal of 310–380 credits. At 500 credits per USD, that is $0.62–$0.76 of prepaid-credit value—not a checkout quote or the total project cost.

Split video into supported clips (Fast permits 1–10 seconds); stitch them in an editor. Voice is text-dependent and music duration is automatic. We cannot infer 300 seconds of usable background music from a single song charge. Audio, editing, retries, time spent earning credits and output review are excluded from the subtotal.

Execution evidence required for all five platforms
Measure	Current result	Why
Full workflow cash cost	Not measured	No executed brief, complete audio quote, failed-attempt charges or final edit.
Remaining credits after completion	Unknown	Unused cash is not the same as unused credits.
Workflow completion	Not measured	Zero evaluated deliverables; do not substitute feature coverage.
Cost per usable output	Not measured	No complete set of charges and independent usability reviews.

Access, expiry and additional tools

Donatello

Credit expiry: Not verified in the reviewed sources.

Extra credits: $5 → 2,500 credits; $10 → 5,000 credits.

After the free allowance: No fixed creation-count cap. Requires insufficient credits and no eligible activity; queues, fair use and availability apply.

Workflow planning: One generation account for all four ingredients, plus an editor to assemble them. For 30 seconds, plan several clips rather than one 30-second generation. Download within 72 hours.

Sources: Donatello · Product Facts Donatello · Pricing Donatello · Terms

ElevenLabs

Credit expiry: Paid allowance can roll over for two months while eligible subscription stays active; Free has no rollover.

Extra credits: Not verified in the reviewed sources.

After the free allowance: Continued free generation was not established by the reviewed sources; check the plan's renewal or upgrade conditions.

Workflow planning: One paid account offers the four generation ingredients and Studio assembly. This is a feature-coverage estimate, not clearance for beta visuals or every music licence; resolve those before monetizing the full edit.

Sources: ElevenLabs · Monthly pricing and credit rollover ElevenLabs · Image & Video documentation ElevenLabs · Publishing and commercial licences ElevenLabs · Beta Services Addendum ElevenLabs · Music Terms ElevenLabs · Studio

Krea

Credit expiry: Pro/Max monthly units do not roll over. One-time compute packs expire in 90 days.

Extra credits: Not verified in the reviewed sources.

After the free allowance: Supported in-house image models have relaxed generation on eligible paid plans; not universal unlimited video.

Workflow planning: Plan Krea for visuals, plus an audio suite and an editor: approximately two generation accounts if the audio suite covers narration and music. Audio completeness inside Krea was not verified.

Sources: Krea · Pricing, licences and credit FAQ (monthly selector checked)

Runway

Credit expiry: Standard monthly credits expire at renewal. Purchased and one-time Free credits do not expire.

Extra credits: Creator top-ups require a paid plan; API billing is separate.

After the free allowance: Continued free generation was not established by the reviewed sources; check the plan's renewal or upgrade conditions.

Workflow planning: One Standard account lists visuals, music and voice. Allow an editor for assembly and verify the chosen voice/music tool's controls; this review did not execute an end-to-end project.

Sources: Runway · Free plan details Runway · Credits and expiration Runway · Usage rights Runway · Pricing

Suno

Credit expiry: Included credits do not roll over. Top-ups do not expire but require an active subscription to use.

Extra credits: Free cannot buy add-ons; top-ups require subscription.

After the free allowance: Continued free generation was not established by the reviewed sources; check the plan's renewal or upgrade conditions.

Workflow planning: Use Suno for the soundtrack and another suite for images, motion and narration, then assemble in an editor: approximately two generation accounts. Singing is not evidence of a general TTS workflow.

Sources: Suno · Plans and download limits Suno · Commercial rights and earlier free songs

No all-in-one winner by arithmetic

Four documented modalities do not establish the best quality or cheapest finished video. A specialist may produce a better voice or song, and an editor may still be needed. Comparisons of time, usability and real workflow friction will require balanced generation runs and independent review.

Download the 60 scenario records and source snapshot →