You can get a quick estimate using our cost calculator. Remember though, it’s only an approximation and it only works for animations.
To get a more accurate estimate for animations, we recommend running a few frame test job using a step on the farm. For example, if you have 400 frames in your sequence, and set the frame range to 1to400s20, you will get 20 frames rendered in total. Our system will then calculate the cost estimate for the full range based on those frames rendered.
One thing to keep in mind is that the more frames you render from the range, the more accurate the estimated cost is.
For stills, please render the image in 1/5 resolution or any other smaller resolution. In the case of 1/5 resolution test, the cost of full resolution render will be 25 times bigger than the cost of a test. For example, if you want to render an image in resolution 5000x6000, run a test in 1000x1200 res first. If your test costs $1, then the estimated cost for the full res image should be around $25 (5 x 5 = 25). For a 1/4 test it would be $16 (4 x 4 = 16) and so on.
To dive deeper into the topic of testing we recommend giving this guide a read