We've said it before, and we'll keep saying it until it isn't true: Video is too expensive.
One of my biggest crusades over my time at Mux has been building a video product that's actually affordable, at both low and high volumes — not just "affordable for enterprise customers" or "affordable if you're already huge", but genuinely accessible for everyone from solo developers to rapidly scaling startups. Every time I see a developer remove video features because of cost concerns or watch a startup founder's eyes widen at their first streaming bill, I know we've still got work to do. The internet is better with video, but only if developers can afford to use it without fear. That's why I couldn't be more excited about what we're announcing today.
Today, we’re thrilled to announce our newest initiative to make video more accessible: the Mux Video Free Plan — a new way to get started building real video features with Mux Video, no credit card required. This new plan is part of our ongoing commitment to reduce the barriers to entry for developers who want to build with video, regardless of their budget or scale.
Our journey to make video more affordable
Over the past few years, we've introduced a stream of pricing improvements designed to give you more control over your video costs:
In 2022, we launched resolution-based pricing, allowing you to pay based on both the resolution of the videos you upload and store, as well as the actual resolution viewers watch, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. This meant significant savings for content that's consumed on mobile devices or uploaded and stored at lower resolutions.
In 2023, we introduced basic video quality (which was originally called "baseline encoding"), offering free encoding for simpler video use cases. This was a game-changer for platforms with user-generated content or educational videos where top-tier quality wasn't always necessary.
Early the next year, in 2024, we launched Automatic Cold Storage, automatically moving your less-frequently viewed videos to lower-cost storage tiers. Earlier this year, we enhanced this feature to make videos move to cold storage immediately when uploaded and removed the performance penalty for viewers.
Shortly after, we added a new Starter Plan, which gives you access to $100 of video usage for only $10 a month, letting you scale up your video product without immediately scaling your Mux spend.
For those with premium content needs, we added the premium video quality level later in 2024, letting you use the highest perceptual quality for only your most important videos, without spending more on your whole catalog.
And now, with the Mux Video Free Plan, we're taking the next logical step — making it possible to start building video features at absolutely no cost.
What's included in the Mux Video Free Plan?
The Mux Video Free Plan gives you everything you need to start building with video, completely free, no credit card needed:
- Upload and store up to 10 on-demand video assets of any duration, using any video quality level (basic, plus, and premium)
- 100,000 free delivery minutes (up to 1080p) each month to get your videos to your viewers
- Mux Player, our optimised customisable video player, with easy integrations, no matter if you're building a React app, simple web page, just want an iframe embed, or anything in between
- Mux Data with Engagement analytics to understand your viewers' experience
- All the power of Mux Video, including Auto-generated captions, MP4 support, instant clipping, multi-track audio, 4K support, and much more
Videos on the Free Plan will display a small, unobtrusive "Mux" badge in the corner of Mux Player. This can be removed by simply adding a credit card to your account, no need to re-upload your videos.
With these features, you can build a fully functional video experience without reaching for your credit card. Whether you're putting a product demo on your home page with captions in several languages, creating a portfolio site, adding some videos to your documentation, or just experimenting with video for the first time, the Free Plan has you covered.
What if you need more?
As your video needs grow, we've made it easy to move from the Free Plan to one of our paid tiers. Simply add a credit card to unlock additional features:
- Unlimited assets: For larger video libraries
- Live streaming: Build interactive live video experiences that scale to huge audiences
- Removal of the "Mux" badge from Mux Player
- $20 of usage credits every month
- Access to paid add-on features like DRM and Live Simulcasting
- Usage over credits billed at usage-based rates
The best part? Even after adding a card, you'll continue to receive those 100,000 free monthly delivery minutes 🎉. This makes the transition from experimenting to scaling much smoother and more predictable.
And once you're spending $10 or more a month, you should also check out the Starter plan, which gives you $100 of usage for just $10 a month… and you guessed it, you also get to keep those 100,000 free monthly delivery minutes!
So what's the catch?
For those curious about the technical side and wondering where the catch is, good news, there isn't one. The Free Plan is powered by the same infrastructure that you get on our paid plans, including:
- Just-in-time (JIT) video processing for lightning-fast availability
- AI-powered per-title encoding, with three quality levels to match your video use case, and playback in up to 4K resolution
- Adaptive bitrate streaming for optimal viewing on any device or connection
- Global multi-CDN delivery for reliable playback worldwide
- Advanced analytics to measure both viewer experience and user engagement, powered by Mux Data, the same tool that customers like Warner Bros. Discovery use to monitor their products
- APIs and SDKs for seamless integration with your existing tech stack
Hang on, didn't you already have a free plan?
Ah, well spotted, you're right. Mux Video has had a test mode since 2019. The test mode was designed to make it easy for developers to try out Mux Video without needing a paid account. In Test Mode, you could upload videos, stream them, and generally get a feel for our APIs and services — but there were limitations, including prominent watermarking, a duration limit, and deletion of test assets after 24 hours.
Think of it this way: Test Mode was about helping you evaluate Mux without spending money. The Free Plan is about helping you build real products with Mux without spending money. If your account is still using the old test mode and you fancy an upgrade, you can opt into the new Free Plan at any time from your billing dashboard.
Finally, if you're using the test mode flag directly on assets or live streams, don't worry, they aren't going anywhere, regardless of what plan you're using.
What's next?
The Free Plan is the latest pricing improvement we're releasing this year, but it certainly isn't the last. We're continuing to work on ways to make video more accessible, more powerful, and more delightful to work with. We have an exciting roadmap of features and pricing improvements planned for the coming months that will make Mux even more valuable and affordable for developers at every stage.
Whether you're building a prototype, launching a new project, or just curious about adding video to your application, the Free Plan gives you the tools to get started immediately.
Sign up for the Mux Video Free Plan today and start building with video in minutes.
We can't wait to see what you build with the Free Plan. As always, we'd love to hear your feedback – drop us a note with your thoughts and questions.
