How to read this page
We separate what we ran from what we only read. A pick marked ours comes from a test you can inspect on this site. A row marked vendor page comes from the vendor’s pricing or help page on 2 November 2026 and we have not tested it. No quality scores appear here, because we have not applied a scoring rubric across enough runs for a number to mean anything.
Best AI video generator by job
| Job | Start with | Price per 5 s | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best quality for the lowest price, new shots | Wan 3.0 | $1.00 on fal | Ours. The take we accepted for One Prompt Studio was its first run. |
| Editing existing footage | Kling 4.0 Edit | $1.41 on fal, input plus output | Ours. It kept the motion and made the strongest location swap. |
| Keeping a real person recognisable | Seedance 2.5 Video Edit | ≈ $2.84 on BytePlus, ≈ $5.69 on fal | Ours. The only route that kept the face while changing the room and clothes. |
| Cheap drafts | MiniMax H3 turbo | Runs on a Hugging Face plan | Ours. Fine for blocking, weak when a face is large in the frame. |
| Script-to-presenter video at volume | HeyGen or Synthesia | Plan based, see below | Vendor page. Not tested by us. |
| Editor-first, for people already in that editor | CapCut, Canva, InVideo | Plan based, see below | Vendor page. Not tested by us. |
Prices move quickly. Higgsfield’s quote for Kling 4.0 more than tripled between 24 October and 2 November, so check the dated price note before you budget. The price also ignores how many takes a shot needs, and the 30-second estimator accounts for that.
Best free AI video generators: what free really gets you
Here is what each free offer included when we read the vendor’s page. Free plans change often, and allowances can differ by country and account.
| Tool | Free offer | Catch | First paid plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Firefly | Free daily generations across image, video and audio | No number published; includes models such as Luma Ray3.14 | $9.99 a month, up to 20 five-second videos |
| Runway | 125 credits, once | A one-off deposit that does not renew; a selection of models | $15 a month, 625 credits |
| HeyGen | 3 videos a month, up to 1 minute | Watermarked; presenter-led videos | $29 a month |
| Synthesia | 10 minutes a month | Watermarked; presenter videos | $19 a month ($9 first month) |
| Kling | Limited credits for selected features | Kling says free exports generally carry a watermark | Plan price varies by offer, see the price note |
| CapCut | 7-day trial of the AI video generator | Credits vary by account and region; regional rollout | €34.99 a month from Europe, 100 s of Seedance 2.5 at 720p |
| Canva | Image to Video while your monthly AI allowance lasts | Clips are short. Its Veo clip tool launched on paid plans only, with a monthly cap | Not checked; the pricing page blocked our reader |
| Pika | Free account, no monthly credits | You still buy credit packs; no commercial licence on free | $10 a month, 900 credits |
| Google Gemini | Not listed among free-plan features | Video starts on paid tiers; Pro names a limited Veo 3.1 Lite trial | €4.99 a month (AI Plus) |
| Luma | No free plan listed | $30 a month, 10,000 credits | |
| InVideo | No free plan listed | €10 a month billed annually, 400 credits, from Europe |
From our own use: Google Flow’s free daily credits were enough for two 8-second tests, and neither take was usable for that demanding shot. For a first experiment, Firefly’s and Flow’s daily allowances are the easiest place to start. Before posting anything commercially, read the licence for the plan you are on: Pika and Kling both reserve commercial use for paid tiers.
A free plan also has a hidden cost in time. Daily caps turn a two-hour job into a three-day one, and our quota measurements show a crashed run can burn the same allowance as a good one.
The tools, one by one
Kling AI
Kuaishou’s video model, now at 4.0. We use it for edits and location swaps. On fal it generates 3 to 30 seconds at 720p or 1080p for $0.157 and $0.235 a second. It adds stereo sound in the same pass. Our first 30-second take for One Prompt Studio was rejected, on an earlier version of the prompt. Full comparison.
Google Veo
Veo 3.1 generates native sound and dialogue and outputs up to 4K.
You can use it in the Gemini app, in Google Flow or through an API.
According to Google’s developer documentation, the preview models were shut down on 22 October 2026. Generally available Veo models and Omni Flash replace them.
In our one causal-chain test, Veo 3.1 Lite in Flow had a ship rise from the water before the crane’s hook reached it, while a paid Seedance run on the same frames and prompt kept the order right. One test is not a verdict.
Runway AI
Runway’s pricing page lists Gen-4.5 and Aleph 2.0 next to partner models such as Kling 4.0 and Seedance 2.0 Pro, which makes it part generator and part reseller. We have not run its generator. Aleph 2.0 is one of the six tools in our object-editing note, described there from Runway’s own pages.
Sora
You can no longer use it. OpenAI discontinued the Sora web and app experiences on 26 April 2026 and the API on 24 September 2026.
Its deprecation list names no replacement. Sites still ranking a “Sora AI video generator” are out of date, or are selling something else under the name.
Luma AI and Dream Machine
Ray 3.2 is $0.20 a second at 720p and $0.40 at 1080p on fal. Our only run was a reframe, stretching a vertical shot to 16:9, and it blew out one side and smeared the other. That says little about its new-shot quality, which we have not tested.
Pika AI
The current plan lists all models on every tier, with credits from $10 a month, and shows Seedance 2.5 among them at 122 credits for 5 seconds at 720p. We have not tested it.
HeyGen and Synthesia
Both make presenter videos from a script, using stock or custom avatars, and suit training and internal communication. They compete with a different part of the market from Kling or Veo, so comparing them on cinematic shots misses the point. We have not tested either. For our own measured avatar results, see the dialogue guide.
Adobe Firefly video
Firefly’s plans combine Adobe’s own video model with partner models from Runway, Kling and Luma, drawn from one credit balance. The appeal is staying inside Adobe’s tools. Not tested by us.
CapCut, Canva and InVideo
These put generation inside an editor. CapCut’s tool centres on Seedance 2.5, with a script-led web flow. Canva’s help pages describe short clips from Magic Media and 60-second vertical videos from your own footage with Magic Video. InVideo’s plans offer Seedance models and its own agents. If you already edit there, that convenience may matter more than the model. Not tested by us.
Which one should you start with?
- You have never made one: try Firefly’s or Flow’s daily allowance with one photo, then read the image-to-video guide.
- You want a repeatable result: use a pay-as-you-go API with Wan 3.0 at 720p for drafts, and move to 1080p for finals.
- You need a brand film this month: talk to us about production.
One workspace above the models
Picking a tool per shot is a job in itself. I am building easyai.video to help choose the model for the quality and cost you need, from references through to the finished cut. It is in final development.
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