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FAQ
The questions studios ask most often before they start, with the pages of the guide that explain each answer in full.
Trying Animanager
Can we try it first?
Yes. Every new studio starts on the Free plan. It is for one person, with the same tools as Pro and the limits of the Free plan: one member, a small amount of storage and a limited number of projects, spaces and items. The first studio you create also gets welcome AI tokens, once, to try the AI models.
There is no free trial of Pro. When your team joins, move the studio to Pro in Settings → Studio → Billing. Nothing you made on Free is lost. See Plans, seats and storage.
Can I start for free?
Yes. The Free plan costs nothing. Each person can have up to two Free studios, and only the first one you create gets the welcome tokens. After those, AI generations are paid with token packs, which you can buy on Free too.
The exact limits of Free and how many welcome tokens you get are in Plans, seats and storage and AI models and token costs. To set up your studio, see Create a studio and invite people.
Do we need to install anything?
No. The production tree and grid, the chat, the canvas, Review mode, the timeline and the video editor all run in the browser.
You install something only for work on your own computer:
- Desktop Helper, for work files, the Blender pipeline and a few other tasks. See the next question.
- The Blender add-on, to save and publish from Blender. See Save in Blender and publish the revision.
- A connector for your AI agent, if you use Claude, Codex or another MCP client. See Connect Claude, Codex or another MCP client.
Do I need Desktop Helper?
Only for what happens on your computer:
- Downloading work files into a folder per stage, and publishing work files with a revision.
- The Blender pipeline: bringing in the inputs of a stage with Get files, and the Blender add-on.
- Exporting a video from the video editor.
- Connecting an AI agent such as Claude or Codex.
- Rendering on the studio's machines with the render farm.
Everything else runs in the browser, and you can still download a revision's files in the browser without it. See Work locally with Desktop Helper.
AI models and tokens
Which AI models can we use?
Image models such as GPT Image, Nano Banana and Seedream. Video models such as Seedance, MiniMax, Kling and Veo. And tools to clean and upscale images and clips, add sound effects to a clip, turn an image into a 3D model and remove backgrounds. You use them from generators on the canvas.
A generator shows what its next run costs, in tokens, on its Generate button, before anything is spent. A few, such as the Veo generator, show no cost on the button: check the price list first. See Choose a model and see what it costs. Every model and its price is in AI models and token costs.
How is a generation counted?
Each model has a price in tokens: per image, per second of video, per 3D model or per run. When you press Generate, Animanager sets aside the tokens of the run. When the result arrives, the run is charged what it really cost, and a generation that fails is not charged. When a GPT Image model is on Auto quality or size, the button says · variable: the model decides how much to spend.
An AI agent that generates for you pays the same prices, and tells you the cost of a batch before it starts. See Choose a model and see what it costs and What an agent can and can't do.
Who can use the tokens?
Everyone in the studio. Tokens belong to the studio, not to a person: every member, and every AI agent working for a member, spends from the same balance. Studios billed on the same account share their tokens too.
Everyone sees the studio's usage in the header. Buying tokens needs the permission to manage billing. See Buy token packs and follow usage.
Do tokens expire?
No. Tokens you buy stay in the studio's balance until you use them. If your studio ever gets tokens with a plan or as a courtesy from Animanager, those renew each period and are spent first. See Where tokens come from.
Who owns what we make?
You and your studio keep your rights in what you upload to Animanager. Animanager only uses it to run the features you ask for, to share it the way you choose and to back it up. That permission ends when you delete it, except for backup copies kept for a limited time.
Generated results can contain mistakes and can look like other material. Check them, and the conditions of the model's provider, before you publish or deliver them. The full wording is in the Terms of Service.
What happens to what we send to an AI model?
When you generate, Animanager sends the prompt, the settings and the references wired into the generator to the service that runs the model you chose. Each provider has its own terms, and they can differ from model to model.
Only send material you are allowed to share. Before you upload confidential material, write to Animanager from the Support page and ask how the provider of that model handles it.
Plans and billing
Which plan is for a team?
Pro. It is paid per active seat, every month or every year, online by card. A seat is one active person, counted once across the studios billed on the same account. Archived members, Anibot and the guests of review links take no seat.
There is no seat count to set: the subscription follows as members join and leave. Pro also adds storage for each seat and removes the limits on projects, spaces and items. See Plans, seats and storage.
What happens if we need more storage?
On Pro, add extra storage blocks under Extra storage in Settings → Studio → Billing. They are charged with the subscription, monthly or yearly like the seats, and you can remove them when you no longer need the space, as long as the studio's files don't use it.
When a Free studio runs out of storage, Animanager says Storage limit reached: nothing is removed, only new uploads are paused. For much larger volumes, talk to Animanager. See Storage.
What can we discuss for Enterprise?
Enterprise is not a plan you buy in Billing: it is on request, for studios with needs beyond Pro, such as high-volume storage. Write to Animanager from the Support page to talk about your team's onboarding, security requirements, procurement and support terms.
Are the render farm, finances and Publisher available on request?
Yes. They are not part of a plan and don't appear in Features: Animanager turns them on for a studio when it asks. Write to Animanager from the Support page. Once on, members still need their role's permission to use them. See Modules managed by Animanager and Render Farm.
Clients and reviews
Can clients review without an account?
Yes. Send a review link to one revision. Your client watches it, draws on the frame and sends notes without an Animanager account, and never takes a seat. Their notes arrive in the chat of the stage. A link can expire, stay open or ask for a password, and you can revoke it at any time.
See Invite a client to review and what your client sees in For clients and reviewers. To send files instead, see Share files by link, and what the recipient sees in Download files a studio shared with you.