AI video generators

Everything below links to the page it comes from, and says when we checked it.

Work out the seconds, not the price

Every tool here sells credits (Leonardo.Ai calls them tokens), and what a clip costs in credits depends on the model, the length and the resolution. So the useful number is how many seconds of video a plan buys for each dollar. On the plans we rank, using each company's own per-clip prices:

• Google Flow: Google AI Plus is $4.99 a month for 200 monthly Flow credits, which make 112 seconds of Gemini Omni Flash at 720p. That is about 22 seconds a dollar.
• Luma Dream Machine: Plus is $25 a month billed yearly for 10,000 credits, which make 500 seconds of Ray3.2 at 720p, or 20 seconds a dollar. At 1080p the same credits make 125 seconds.
• Kling AI: Standard is $79.20 a year ($6.60 a month) for 660 credits a month, which make 110 seconds of VIDEO 3.0 at 720p without native audio, about 17 seconds a dollar. With native audio at 1080p it is 55 seconds.
• The others buy much less per dollar: Pika Creator makes 125 seconds for $28, Hailuo AI Standard about 83 seconds for $14.99, Higgsfield Starter 75 seconds for $19, Invideo AI Starter 65 seconds for $20 a seat, Runway Standard 52 seconds for $12, and Adobe Firefly Standard 20 seconds at 1080p for $9.99.
• Leonardo.Ai and Hedra show what a clip costs only in the app, before you generate.

Of the nine that publish a clip cost, Google Flow buys the most seconds per dollar, but read the next section before you choose it for that. Where a company's own pages give two figures, we use the lower one: Higgsfield's pricing page counts 105 seconds, and Adobe's plans page counts 20 five-second videos, which only holds at 540p. Every tool's figures sit side by side in AI video credit costs compared. Checked Sep 25 and Sep 27, 2026.

Check the licence before the price

We rank each tool on its cheapest paid plan whose licence allows commercial use. That is not always the cheapest plan.

• Pika's Starter, $8 a month billed annually, has no commercial licence. The plan that has one is Creator, at $28.
• Kling AI's paid terms say members' commercial use is not restricted, but its general Terms of Service bar commercial use without written permission. We read that as commercial use with limits.
• Google Flow's help pages don't say whether you can use its output commercially. They say only that Google won't claim ownership of it.
• Adobe Firefly says output from its own Firefly models is safe for commercial use. For partner models, it leaves you to decide whether their output suits your project.
• Luma lists commercial use on Plus, but its terms cover only output made during an active paid subscription, and output from third-party models is left out of Luma's ownership assignment.

Checked Sep 25 and Sep 27, 2026.

Know the price after the first month

Kling AI's Standard is $6.99 for the first month, once, then $8.80 a month; the yearly $79.20 is its regular price and renews at that. Hailuo AI shows Standard at $10.50 a month or $8.40 billed yearly, both marked down from $14.99 with no end date; its terms give $14.99 as the price, and that is the one we use. Higgsfield Starter ($19) and Invideo AI Starter ($20 a seat) cost the same billed monthly or yearly. On four others, paying monthly costs more: Runway $15 against $12, Luma $30 against $25, Pika Creator $35 against $28, Leonardo.Ai $12 against $10. Checked Sep 25 and Sep 27, 2026.

What you keep when you stop paying

Invideo AI's licence to your outputs survives cancelling. Hedra says that after you cancel you keep only limited watermarked generations. Credits you buy on top of a plan have their own expiry: Runway's never expire, Kling AI's last 2 years and Pika's top-ups 365 days. Checked Sep 25 and Sep 27, 2026.

How the ranking weighs them

The entry plan's price and the video it buys per dollar count for 25% of the score each, commercial use 20%, and no watermark, resolution and a free plan or trial 10% each. We have not scored output quality. The formula behind each criterion is on how we score AI video generators.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an AI video generator cost?

Entry plans: Google Flow $4.99 a month; Kling AI $79.20 a year; Adobe Firefly $9.99 a month; Leonardo.Ai $10 a month billed yearly; Runway $12 billed annually; Hailuo AI $14.99 at list price; Higgsfield $19; Invideo AI $20 a seat; Hedra $20; Luma $25 billed yearly; Pika Creator $28 billed annually. Checked Sep 25 and Sep 27, 2026.

Is there a free AI video generator?

Most have a free way in, with limits. Runway gives 125 one-time credits, Leonardo.Ai 150 fast tokens a day with public generations, Invideo AI limited credits reset weekly, and Adobe Firefly free daily generations. Hailuo AI gives one-time trial credits; Pika's free plan has no monthly credits, only packs you buy. Google Flow's help centre says you need a Google AI plan, although its about page offers 50 daily credits without one, so we count no free plan. Checked Sep 25 and Sep 27, 2026.

Which ones make 4K video on the entry plan?

Kling AI's Standard card lists 1080p/4K. Runway Standard includes 4K upscaling, with native video up to 1080p. Luma, Adobe Firefly and Leonardo.Ai reach 4K through partner models. Hailuo AI's default model makes 2K; Higgsfield Starter and Pika's default model go to 1080p; Google Flow Plus upscales to 1080p; Invideo AI Starter's AI video is 720p. We didn't find which resolutions Hedra's Basic plan gets. Checked Sep 25 and Sep 27, 2026.

Will my videos carry a watermark?

Runway, Kling AI, Hailuo AI, Higgsfield, Leonardo.Ai and Invideo AI say paid plans export without one. Pika's pricing table says no plan has one, but an older help FAQ says videos shared straight from Pika carry one. On Google Flow the visible watermark is a setting you can switch off in the US, and every output carries an invisible SynthID mark. We didn't find an answer for Luma, Adobe Firefly or Hedra. Checked Sep 25 and Sep 27, 2026.

Can my team share one plan?

Yes, on some. Runway's Team is $55 a seat billed yearly for 2 to 9 seats, and Higgsfield's Team $79 a seat billed monthly for 2 to 9, or $65 billed annually under an 18% off tag. Kling AI's Team Plan is $59 a seat billed yearly, with at least 3 members. Invideo AI sells Starter itself per seat, up to 5. Our best for social video teams page ranks the tools on their team plans. Checked Sep 25 and Sep 27, 2026.

Do unused credits roll over?

Not on the entry plans that say. Monthly credits don't roll over on Runway Standard, Higgsfield Starter, Invideo AI Starter or Hedra Basic, and Luma's expire at the end of each billing cycle. Runway's Max plan rolls over up to one month of unused credits. Checked Sep 25 and Sep 27, 2026.