Last checked: 29 September 2026. Prices as listed on the vendors’ pages on that day.
The strongest AI video generators in autumn 2026 are Seedance 2.0, Google Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0, Happy Horse and Runway Gen-4.5 for cinematic clips, HeyGen and Synthesia for avatar presenter videos, and LTX if you want to run a model on your own hardware. OpenAI’s Sora is no longer an option: the app closed in April 2026 and the API on 24 September 2026.
AI video tools 2026 compared
| Tool | Best for | Paid plans from (per month) | Free tier | Text-to-video | Image-to-video | Avatars | Native audio | Max quality per clip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Flow / Veo 3.1 | Cinematic clips with dialogue and sound | €4.99 (Google AI Plus, 200 Flow credits); Pro €21.99 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4K, 4 to 8 s |
| Kling 3.0 | Realistic motion at a low price | $8.80 ($6.99 first month; $6.60 billed yearly) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly (lip sync) | Yes | 4K, up to 15 s |
| Runway Gen-4.5 | Creative control and editing workflows | $15 ($12 billed yearly) | 125 one-time credits | Yes | Yes | Partly (Act-Two) | Yes | 720p (4K upscale), 2 to 10 s |
| Seedance 2.0 (Dreamina) | Scenes built from several reference images | €13.99 | Sign-up credits | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Up to 4K (720p on Basic) |
| Happy Horse 1.0 / 1.1 (Alibaba) | Picture and sound in one pass, lip sync in 7 languages incl. German | API only: $0.14 per second (720p), $0.28 (1080p) via fal.ai | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 1080p, 3 to 15 s |
| MiniMax Hailuo H3 | High-quality clips on a small budget | $14.99 ($8.40 billed yearly) | Trial credits | Yes | Yes | Partly (lip sync) | Yes | 2K, 4 to 15 s |
| Higgsfield | Many models in one app, presets for social and UGC ads | €19 (excl. VAT) | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Up to 4K, depending on model |
| HeyGen | Avatar presenters and video translation | $29 ($24 billed yearly) | Yes (1-min videos) | Yes (script) | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1080p (4K on Pro), up to 30 min |
| Synthesia | Training and corporate videos with avatars | $29 ($18 billed yearly) | Yes (10 min/month) | Yes (script) | Yes (via Veo 3.1) | Yes | Yes | 1080p |
| Pictory | Turning scripts and blog posts into stock-footage videos | $25 billed yearly | Yes (trial) | Yes (script) | Yes (AI Studio, via Veo 3.1) | Yes | Yes | 1080p, up to 30 min |
| LTX-2.3 / 2.5 (Lightricks) | Running locally on your own GPU, open weights | Free locally for companies under $10M revenue; API for Pro models | Yes (local) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Up to 4K, up to 20 s |
Prices exclude promotions and may exclude VAT. Vendors change plans often, so check the pricing page before you buy.
Best AI video generator for text-to-video
Google Veo 3.1 in Flow
Veo 3.1 generates clips with synchronised dialogue, sound effects and music, up to 4K. You use it in Google’s Flow app, which is included in the Google AI plans, or through the Gemini API. In May 2026 Google added Gemini Omni Flash, a faster model with an avatar mode.
Kling 3.0
Kling 3.0 produces up to 15 seconds per generation in up to 4K and is known for natural motion at a low price. Kling 4.0 is in early access for the top plan.
Seedance 2.0
ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 ranks fifth for text-to-video in the Artificial Analysis blind-test leaderboard, ahead of Kling 3.0 and Veo 3.1. It works with several reference images at once and is available in Dreamina (CapCut) and in apps such as Higgsfield.
Happy Horse
Alibaba’s Happy Horse took first place in the same leaderboard for text-to-video and image-to-video when it appeared in April 2026, and it still ranks in the top ten. It generates picture and sound in one pass, with lip sync in seven languages including German, and it can also edit existing video. Happy Horse is a closed model: you use it through the fal.ai API and pay per second of video.
MiniMax Hailuo H3
Released in July 2026, Hailuo H3 ranks among the leading models in independent comparisons and costs less than most rivals. MiniMax has also published H3 with open weights.
Image-to-video and video-to-video
Professional AI productions rarely start from a text prompt alone. Image-to-video (img2video) turns a still, such as a product photo, a key visual or a generated frame, into a moving shot. Video-to-video (video2video) starts from real footage and changes its style, setting or details while keeping the movement. Both keep products, places and people recognisable, which a text prompt alone cannot guarantee. We explain the workflow in Video2Video production with AI.
For product and brand work, where the first frame must match a real product, these stand out:
- Kling 3.0 for realistic movement of people and objects.
- Seedance 2.0 for scenes built from several reference images, useful when a character or product has to look the same across shots.
- Runway Gen-4.5 when you want to control the camera and edit the result in the same tool.
- Happy Horse when picture and sound should come from one generation, and for editing existing footage by text instruction.
Best tools for avatar and presenter videos
HeyGen
HeyGen creates talking avatar videos from a script in more than 175 languages and can translate existing videos. Avatar V, released in April 2026, is its latest avatar model. See our guide on how to create AI avatars.
Synthesia
Synthesia focuses on training and internal communication, with more than 240 stock avatars and 160 languages. It now also generates B-roll with Veo 3.1.
Best for turning text into videos quickly
Pictory turns scripts, blog posts or URLs into videos built from stock footage, with ElevenLabs voices. It suits social media and content marketing more than brand films. Higgsfield bundles several of the models above, including Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0 and Seedance, in one app with ready-made presets for ads.
Local and open-weight models: LTX
You don’t have to send your material to a cloud service. Lightricks released LTX-2 with open weights in January 2026, and its free LTX Desktop app (since March 2026) runs LTX-2.3 and LTX-2.5 locally on an NVIDIA graphics card with at least 16 GB of video memory, or on an Apple Silicon Mac. Companies with less than $10 million in annual revenue may use the models commercially without a licence fee. That matters when footage is confidential or unreleased, and there are no credits to pay per clip.
The trade-off is quality: in the Artificial Analysis blind test, the best LTX model ranks around 25th, well behind the cloud leaders. For client work, a local model is a complement for drafts, previews and sensitive material rather than a replacement.
What happened to Sora?
OpenAI discontinued Sora. The Sora app and web version closed on 26 April 2026, and the API followed on 24 September 2026. Some aggregator apps still list Sora 2 on their pricing pages, so check before you rely on it.
How to choose an AI video tool
- Output: cinematic scenes (Veo, Kling, Runway, Seedance, Hailuo) or a presenter talking to camera (HeyGen, Synthesia).
- Input: starting from text, from a product photo, or from existing footage. For footage, see video2video production with AI.
- Cloud or local: cloud tools deliver the best quality; open models like LTX run on your own hardware and keep confidential material in-house.
- Sound: most tools now generate audio. For professional voice-overs, compare the AI voice-over tools.
- Budget and credits: entry plans cost €5 to $29 a month, but credits run out fast at 4K.
- Commercial use in the EU: realistic AI content in ads must be disclosed under the EU AI Act since 2 August 2026.
Generating clips is not the same as producing a film
Anyone can generate a good-looking five-second clip. A film needs the same people, products and light across dozens of shots, a story that holds together, and editing, sound and colour that turn single clips into one piece. Without that, the result is AI slop: impressive shots that don’t add up to anything.
For the AI image film for Hotel Fontane, we created a character sheet for every person before the first scene, so that one family stays the same across 19 shots, and built the real hotel as a reference library. That preparation, plus classic editing and sound design, is where most of the work in a professional AI production goes.
Want to see what these tools produce in real campaigns? Our overview of the best AI commercials of 2026 shows eight spots and the tools behind them.
What we use ourselves: for the Birdie Birdie social ad we generated the visuals in Midjourney and animated them in Runway, from concept to delivery in under 72 hours. In our event films, Higgsfield, Runway and Kling handle motion, with Midjourney, Flux and Firefly for stills and Suno for the music.
Need a finished video instead of a tool? See our AI video production.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI video generation tool in 2026?
For cinematic clips with sound, Seedance 2.0 and Happy Horse rank ahead of Kling 3.0 and Google Veo 3.1 in blind tests, and Runway Gen-4.5 is strongest for creative control. For presenter videos, HeyGen and Synthesia. The best choice depends on whether you need scenes or a talking avatar.
Which AI tool is best for image-to-video?
Kling 3.0 for realistic motion, Seedance 2.0 when several reference images must stay consistent, and Runway Gen-4.5 for camera control.
What is the best text-to-video AI?
Seedance 2.0 and Happy Horse rank highest in blind tests; Google Veo 3.1 is strong on native audio, and Kling 3.0 and MiniMax Hailuo H3 deliver strong results at a lower price.
Can I run an AI video model locally?
Yes. LTX from Lightricks has open weights and runs in the free LTX Desktop app on an NVIDIA graphics card with at least 16 GB of video memory or on an Apple Silicon Mac. Companies under $10 million in annual revenue may use it commercially without a licence fee.
What is Happy Horse?
An AI video model from Alibaba that generates picture and sound together, with lip sync in seven languages including German. It topped the Artificial Analysis leaderboard in April 2026 and is available through the fal.ai API.
Is Sora still available?
No. OpenAI shut down the Sora app in April 2026 and the API on 24 September 2026.
Are there free AI video generators?
Kling, HeyGen, Synthesia and Pictory offer free tiers, and Runway, Hailuo and Dreamina give free credits to start. Free plans are limited, for example in video length, resolution or credits.
Sources (accessed 29 September 2026)
- Google AI plans: https://one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans/ · Veo 3.1 documentation: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/veo · Gemini Omni: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-omni/
- Runway pricing: https://runway.com/pricing · Gen-4.5: https://help.runwayml.com/hc/en-us/articles/46974685288467-Creating-with-Gen-4-5 · native audio: https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/11/runway-releases-its-first-world-model-adds-native-audio-to-latest-video-model
- Kling plans: https://kling.ai/app/membership/membership-plan
- Sora discontinuation: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001152-what-to-know-about-the-sora-discontinuation
- Higgsfield pricing: https://higgsfield.ai/de/pricing
- HeyGen pricing: https://heygen.com/pricing · Synthesia pricing: https://synthesia.io/pricing · Pictory pricing: https://pictory.ai/pricing
- Hailuo: https://hailuoai.video/subscribe · Dreamina / Seedance: https://dreamina.capcut.com/pricing/dreamina-price
- Model rankings: https://artificialanalysis.ai/video/leaderboard/text-to-video
- Happy Horse: https://fal.ai/happyhorse-1.0
- LTX Desktop (system requirements): https://github.com/Lightricks/LTX-Desktop · LTX-2 licence: https://github.com/Lightricks/LTX-2/blob/main/LICENSE · LTX-2 release: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/06/3213304/0/en/Lightricks-Open-Sources-LTX-2-the-First-Production-Ready-Audio-and-Video-Generation-Model-With-Truly-Open-Weights.html
