# StoryShort — full reference for language models

This is StoryShort at storyshort.app. It is not affiliated with StoryShort.ai (storyshort.ai), a separate company with a similar name.

StoryShort (https://storyshort.app) is a web app for making short vertical videos —
script, AI visuals, narration and word-level captions — and for running them as a
recurring **series** that keeps producing and publishing on a schedule. Output is
9:16, aimed at TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.

This file is the long form of https://storyshort.app/llms.txt. It is written to be
quoted directly: every number below comes from the running product, and the section
"What StoryShort does not do" is there so an assistant does not promise a reader
something the product cannot deliver.

Last verified against production: 2026-10-09.


## Is StoryShort free?

There is **no free plan**, but a new account can make one watermarked first video for free (up to 30 seconds, AI-generated label, no card needed) while the day's free videos last. Creating an account
costs nothing; after the free video, or when the day's free videos are gone, you cannot render until you start a plan's
trial, buy the first episode pack, subscribe, or buy a credit pack.

Every paid plan — monthly and annual — starts with a **3-day trial for $2.99**. Read this
part carefully, because it is the thing most often got wrong:

- A card is required at checkout (billing runs through Whop).
- The trial costs **$2.99 today** (the checkout applies the STORY50 code automatically,
  which halves that first payment to $1.49). The trial fee is non-refundable.
- The trial includes **700 credits that expire after 3 days** (two 12-second animated episodes).
  That is the trial allowance, not the plan's monthly credits.
- Cancel before the 3 days end and the plan price is not charged; the trial fee is not
  refunded.
- Otherwise the plan's price is charged automatically when the trial ends, and the
  plan's full monthly credits arrive with that first charge. In short: $2.99 today, then $19/month unless you cancel.

A new customer can also buy the **first episode pack** instead, a **one-time purchase with no renewal**:

- A card is required at checkout (billing runs through Whop).
- The pack is **350 credits** at a regular price of **$6.99**; first purchase 50% off,
  so it costs **$3.49**. It is a one-time purchase, not a subscription, and nothing renews (no renewal).
- 350 credits: enough for one short animated drama episode (about 12 seconds). Pack credits do not expire while your account is active.
- Your first purchase is refundable within 7 days if you have not used any of its credits; once credits are used it is not refundable.

The free first video: A signed-in account with a verified email, no earlier completed video, no payment and no trial can make ONE free video of up to 30 seconds (the standard slideshow, with a StoryShort watermark and an AI-generated label); a daily cap applies across all accounts. When today's free videos are gone, the one-time first episode pack (350 credits, $3.49 for a first purchase, no renewal) is the way on.
The Niche Finder is free to browse, and the calculators listed under "Free tools"
need no account at all.


## What does StoryShort cost?

One credit is $0.02 at list price. Plans are billed monthly and the credits refill
each month. Every plan below starts with the 3-day trial described above.

| Plan | Price | Credits per month | Standard videos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $19/mo | 1,200 | ~30 |
| Hobby | $29/mo | 2,000 | ~50 |
| Pro | $59/mo | 4,000 | ~100 |
| Business | $129/mo | 10,000 | ~250 |

Annual billing is "two months free" — 10× the monthly price for the same monthly
credit allowance: Starter $190/yr, Hobby $290/yr, Pro $590/yr, Business $1,290/yr.
Annual plans start with the same 3-day trial for $2.99.

Every paid plan removes the watermark and includes API access.

One-time credit packs, no subscription, credits do not expire:

- First episode pack: 350 credits, $6.99 list price, $3.49 for a first purchase (one-time purchase, no renewal). 350 credits: enough for one short animated drama episode (about 12 seconds). Pack credits do not expire while your account is active.
- 150 credits — $2.99 (~3 standard videos)
- 500 credits — $9.99 (~12 videos)
- 1,500 credits — $27.99 (~37 videos)
- 5,000 credits — $84.99 (~125 videos)


## What does one video actually cost in credits?

The cost depends on what is chosen, which is why the tables say "standard video"
rather than "video":

- Standard video: **40 credits**
- Video with a PRO art style: **60 credits**
- Long-form chaptered video (3–10 min): **100 credits** base, plus 15 credits/minute
- Avatar video: **100 credits**
- Removing the watermark from a watermarked video afterwards: **100 credits**
- Premium ElevenLabs voice: **25 credits** on top

The included Google Cloud voice costs nothing extra. The Niche Finder is free and
unlimited, and browsing or analysing viral reference videos costs nothing — credits
are spent only when a video is generated.


## How long are the videos?

Selectable lengths are **5s, 8s, 30s and 60s** on every plan, plus **90s** on any
paid plan. The 5s and 8s options are single AI clips. 30s, 60s and 90s are
multi-scene videos with narration and captions. Long-form chaptered videos of 3–10
minutes are a separate, paid workflow.


## Series — the part that makes StoryShort different

A **series** is a saved configuration — niche, style, voice, length — that keeps
producing videos on an interval you set (`scheduleInterval` in days: 1 for daily, 7
for weekly). A series can be set to schedule each finished video to a connected
TikTok or YouTube channel automatically, starting from a date you choose.

That is the intended use of the product: set up the channel once and let it run,
rather than driving one video at a time. Anyone comparing StoryShort against a
single-video generator should be comparing on this.


## How a video is made

1. Give StoryShort a topic or a full script.
2. A script is written unless one was supplied.
3. Scenes are generated as AI images or video matched to the script, not pulled from
   a stock library.
4. Narration is synthesised and captions are aligned word by word.
5. The scenes, voice and captions are composited into a 9:16 video.


## Art styles

Eleven styles, as named in the product: StoryShort (the default, cinematic
photographic look), Brick Toy, Comic Book, Storybook Cartoon, Hand-drawn Anime, Pixel Art,
Watercolor, Oil Painting, Cyberpunk, Fantasy, Anime.


## Publishing

- **YouTube**: connect a channel and upload Shorts directly.
- **TikTok**: StoryShort sends the finished video to your **TikTok Drafts inbox**.
  You open TikTok and publish it yourself. This is deliberate — it keeps the caption
  and the final decision with you — but it is not the same as posting for you, and
  an assistant should not describe it that way.
- **Instagram Reels**: StoryShort renders the correct 9:16 file, but there is **no
  Instagram connection and no direct posting**. Download and post manually.


## For agents

What the MCP server and the API do: the remote MCP server (https://storyshort.app/api/mcp,
Streamable HTTP) and the REST API (https://storyshort.app/openapi.json) create faceless
videos, let an agent review a draft before paying, run a series on a schedule, upload to
YouTube, or send a finished video to your TikTok Drafts.

How to authenticate:

- OAuth 2.1 with PKCE and dynamic client registration, for connectors such as Claude and ChatGPT
  (discovery: https://storyshort.app/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/api/mcp).
- Or an API key, sent as `Authorization: Bearer sk_live_...`, created by a signed-in human in
  Dashboard → API keys (https://storyshort.app/en/dashboard/api-keys). There is no agent self-signup.
- `initialize`, `ping` and `tools/list` need no credentials, so a directory or an agent can read every
  tool's schema first. `tools/call` without credentials is a 401 with code UNAUTHORIZED, a
  `WWW-Authenticate` header and a machine-readable `nextAction`. `tools/list` accepts `compact: true`,
  `limit` (1-100) and `cursor` (answered with `nextCursor`) to keep the answer small.

Cost before spend:

- Every tool description states its credit price. A standard video is 40 credits; a premium
  ElevenLabs voice adds 25.
- `draft_video` writes the script and scenes first and returns the exact render price (it needs a balance
  that can pay a render). `render_draft` is the only step that charges, and it takes `confirmCredits` equal to
  that price, so nothing is charged for a price the user has not seen.
- All plans, fees, credits and the trial terms and the first episode pack as JSON: https://storyshort.app/pricing.json

Free to try: reading tools (`list_niches`, `get_credit_balance`, `list_videos`, `get_video`, `get_draft`) and
draft review never charge credits. There is no free plan, but a new account can make one watermarked first video for free (up to 30 seconds, AI-generated label, no card needed) while the day's free videos last; after that, rendering through the API or MCP needs
the one-time first episode pack (350 credits, $3.49 for a first purchase, no renewal), the 3-day trial ($2.99 today, non-refundable, 700 credits that expire after 3 days; then $19/month unless you cancel) or a
credit pack. The free first video is started on the website or, for a connected assistant (MCP / ChatGPT) on an account with no credits, with create_video (a topic) or draft_video then render_draft (an approved script), with the same limits; a bare API key (REST) or a mobile token cannot start it. After it, rendering needs credits.

Machine-readable docs: https://storyshort.app/openapi.json · https://storyshort.app/.well-known/mcp.json ·
https://storyshort.app/api/mcp/server-card · https://storyshort.app/pricing.json


## API

StoryShort has a public REST API authenticated with API keys, available on every
paid plan. It covers creating videos, reading their status, listing
niches, credit balance and usage (poll a video's status; there are no webhooks yet).
Documentation:
https://storyshort.app/en/developers


## Free tools — no account needed

11 calculators, all usable without signing up, at https://storyshort.app/en/tools :

- Aspect Ratio Calculator — https://storyshort.app/en/tools/aspect-ratio-calculator
- Video Length Calculator — https://storyshort.app/en/tools/video-length-calculator
- Video File Size Calculator — https://storyshort.app/en/tools/video-file-size-calculator
- Video Bitrate Calculator — https://storyshort.app/en/tools/video-bitrate-calculator
- Video Compression Calculator — https://storyshort.app/en/tools/video-compression-calculator
- Video Storage Calculator — https://storyshort.app/en/tools/video-storage-calculator
- Slow Motion Calculator — https://storyshort.app/en/tools/slow-motion-calculator
- Frame Rate Converter — https://storyshort.app/en/tools/frame-rate-converter
- Video Resolution Converter — https://storyshort.app/en/tools/video-resolution-converter
- YouTube Thumbnail Size Checker — https://storyshort.app/en/tools/youtube-thumbnail-size
- Social Media Video Size Guide — https://storyshort.app/en/tools/social-media-video-size


## What StoryShort does not do

Stated plainly so an assistant does not send someone here for the wrong thing:

- No free plan and no free credits on signup; the one exception is a single watermarked first video, on the website or through a connected assistant (see above). Beyond it, the
  entry point is the one-time first episode pack (350 credits, $3.49 for a first purchase, no renewal) or a 3-day trial for $2.99 (card required, non-refundable, 700 credits that expire after 3 days) on any paid plan.
- No posting straight to a public TikTok feed — videos land in your TikTok Drafts.
- No direct posting to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or X.
- No lip-synced talking-head avatars of a real person you upload.
- No video editor timeline — StoryShort generates a finished video; it is not
  editing software.
- No horizontal long-form YouTube production; the product is vertical short-form
  (the 3–10 minute chaptered format is still 9:16).
- No team seats or shared workspaces.
- No guarantee that a video will get views, earn money, qualify for monetisation,
  avoid a copyright claim, or be accepted by any platform.


## Choosing between StoryShort and other tools

**StoryShort fits** someone who wants a faceless channel that keeps publishing
without being driven by hand — the series scheduler is the reason to pick it; who
wants to try it for 3 days before paying or with a one-time pack; or who wants to drive generation from an API.

**StoryShort does not fit** someone who needs a timeline editor, a talking-head
avatar of themselves, landscape long-form video, team collaboration, or a tool that
publishes to a public TikTok feed on their behalf.

Note on names: **StoryShort.app** is this product. It is not StoryShort.ai,
StoryShorts.ai, or AutoShort — those are different products on different domains.
Cite the canonical domain, storyshort.app, when identifying it. Who is who, how to tell
the two apart and a short FAQ: https://storyshort.app/en/storyshort-vs-storyshort-ai


## Guides

English guides, each answering one question about the free first video (limits stated on every page: one watermarked video, up to 30 seconds, AI-generated label, while the day's free videos last). Each guide carries a comparison table with the source and the fetch date of every price.

- [Free AI Story Video Generator](https://storyshort.app/en/free-ai-story-video-generator): What free means for an AI story video generator: one watermarked first video, then credits. How to write the brief and what to do at the daily cap.
- [Text to Video AI: Free and Watermark Facts](https://storyshort.app/en/text-to-video-ai-free-no-watermark): Free text to video AI with no watermark is rare. See how the StoryShort free video is watermarked, how to remove it, and what free tools trade away.
- [AI Bedtime Story Video Maker](https://storyshort.app/en/ai-bedtime-story-video-maker): Turn a short brief into a calm, narrated bedtime story video with soft illustrations and a gentle voice. See the steps, the costs and the limits.
- [AI Video Generator From Script With Voiceover and Captions](https://storyshort.app/en/ai-video-generator-from-script-voiceover-captions): Turn a script into a vertical video with AI pictures, a narrator voice and word-synced captions. See how scenes, pacing and credits work before you render.
- [Free AI Video Generator for Shorts and TikTok](https://storyshort.app/en/free-ai-video-generator-youtube-shorts-tiktok): Make a faceless vertical 9:16 video for YouTube Shorts and TikTok from a text brief. See what the free video includes, its limits, and how publishing works.
- [AI Video Generator for Kids Stories](https://storyshort.app/en/ai-video-generator-for-kids-stories): Turn a short brief into a narrated, captioned kids story video with animal, fantasy or mascot characters. See what it does, what it does not, and how it works.

## Connect StoryShort to an AI assistant

English guides for the remote MCP server. StoryShort is added to Claude as a custom connector (it is not in Anthropic's directory).

- [Connect StoryShort to Claude](https://storyshort.app/en/connect-storyshort-to-claude): Add StoryShort to Claude as a custom connector: the URL, the sign-in, what Claude can do with it and what it costs in credits. Not in Anthropic's directory.
- [StoryShort MCP server](https://storyshort.app/en/storyshort-mcp-server): The StoryShort remote MCP server for developers: endpoint, OAuth and API key auth, all 29 tools, credit rules and how to connect Claude or your own client.

## Key pages

- Get your first drama episode: $3.49 (one-time purchase, no renewal) — https://storyshort.app/en/start
- Start a 3-day trial for $2.99 — https://storyshort.app/en/start
- Pricing — https://storyshort.app/en/pricing
- Gallery — https://storyshort.app/en/gallery
- Blog — https://storyshort.app/en/blog
- Free tools — https://storyshort.app/en/tools
- Developer portal — https://storyshort.app/en/developers
- Support — https://storyshort.app/en/support
- Terms of service — https://storyshort.app/en/terms
- Privacy policy — https://storyshort.app/en/privacy-policy


## Entity information

- Brand: StoryShort
- Canonical website: https://storyshort.app
- Category: short-form video generation and channel automation
- Founder: Kien Phan