You’ve probably heard about popular AI video generators like Sora or Veo 3. While they’re undoubtedly powerful, they come with a hefty price tag and no free trial.
This can be a major barrier if you’re just starting to experiment with this technology and don’t have a big budget.
Not to worry, though. Some AI video generators may not be famous, but they’re just as impressive, and you can try or use them for free. No credit card, no commitment.
I know this because I tested them myself. In this article, I’ll share my experience with each tool—from how easy it is to create an account and get started, to the limitations of the free version.
AI video generation is evolving fast, and you don’t want to be left out. Keep on reading to learn about these six platforms so you can start creating in no time.
6 AI Video Generators to Try Today
Be sure to review the prices, terms, and conditions carefully before signing up for any trial, as these may have changed since this article was written.
Runway
You’ll receive 125 free credits to explore and experiment with Runway AI and discover its potential.
These credits are shared across different tools, including AI photo generation. Keep in mind that you won’t get separate free credits for video and image generation, so use them wisely.
When asked for a video, it will first generate an image and then animate it into a video. The image generation costs five credits.
Here you can ask for modifications if you’re not satisfied. If you are, tell it to proceed with the animation.
Runway can create five or 10-second videos, and it can’t add voices or music to them.
However, the quality is excellent and I found it very fast. The default resolution is 720p HD, but it can upscale your video to 4K. The animation used 50 credits.
You can interact with Runway as a chat. So, you can ask it why it didn’t make it longer or tell it to change the ambience of the scene or anything else in natural language. This is something I really appreciated.
You can also upload photos as a reference, so it can incorporate the lighting, mood, and color palette into the video it’s generating.
It can also animate an image uploaded by you and create a video. It can’t create a video that transitions between two images, though.
Videos created with free credits have a watermark, but they can be downloaded. To save them without a watermark, you need to upgrade to one of the four available memberships.
Prices start at US$12/month billed annually. The difference between plans is related to the AI models you can use and the actions you can perform on each of them.
The asset storage capacity also changes, so consider all the factors before making a decision.
Vidu
Vidu offers you three free trials, during which you can generate a video at 1080 resolution without using any credits or subscribing.
After that, you’ll need to earn the necessary credits to generate videos using your free account or upgrade to a paid membership.
Upon registration, you’ll get 80 free credits. Then, you can get 20 more each day that you log in. Downloading the app also gives you credits. So, your workflow will be slower, but you’ll be able to keep generating videos for free.
Do keep in mind that you don’t get commercial rights for these videos and that some features aren’t available. You’ll need to upgrade to generate for free at off-peak hours, generate up to four videos per prompt, and other perks.
Also, freely generated videos have a watermark. However, you’ll be able to share or download them.
The subscriptions start at US$8/mo on a yearly plan, and there are three tiers. You can also get monthly subscriptions, which makes the cost per month higher, but you don’t need to commit long term.
To make the best use of your plan or credits, I suggest you check out their user guide. It’s very easy to follow and gives you prompt examples with the results. It’s a handy way to get an overview of all the functionalities and how to get the best videos from them.
Currently, you can generate videos at a maximum resolution of 1080. If you need a higher resolution on a video you’ve already created, don’t worry – you can upscale it to a 4k resolution inside Vidu.
At the moment, Vidu can only generate 5-second videos, regardless of whether you’re on a free or a paid account. I’m not sure if this will increase in the near future.
You can also capture frames for reference or try the AI sound effects to add to your videos.
On top of the most popular AI text-to-video generation, there’s also image-to-video or reference-to-video.
You can also upload a photo to one of the available templates and animate the picture in the same way as the example image. To generate with a template costs 16 credits.
While you may not get priority generation if you’re on a free account, I never had to wait more than a few minutes to get my video. However, if you don’t want to be put in a queue, you need to upgrade.
All-in-all, I was really satisfied with Vidu’s performance and the quality of the results. Your creations are saved in a gallery, and you can also save your references. This is very useful if you need to stay on-brand.
The platform has a social aspect. You can see and like the work of other creators or visit their profiles to see what else they’ve published. Of course, you can also publish your videos.
Hailuo AI
To use Hailuo, you need to sign in – you can do so with Google or Apple.
I don’t particularly like that they don’t offer an email sign-in, but most of us have at least a Google account.
The current promo states that you’ll enjoy 1000 free credits valid for three days. Upon sign-in, I only received 500 credits – I’m not sure why, but it does have the end date clearly stated.
The first thing you’ll see is a text bar where you can type a prompt to use the text-to-video generator. If you click on ‘Video’ in the left-hand panel, you’ll unlock the full AI video generator tool.
Here, you can also upload an image to generate a video or add a character as a visual reference.
If you click on the Reference feature, a pop-up window appears stating the terms and conditions. I really appreciate this because I don’t think most users are aware of the legal implications of uploading someone’s portrait to create AI videos.
Back in the text-to-video feature, you can type up to 2000 characters in the prompt.
In the text space, you’ll see that it’s recommended to provide instructions on camera movements. It even includes a link that takes you to a user guide for you to learn how to do it.
You’ll also notice a camera icon at the bottom where you can find presets – both text and video. Just click on the ones you like, and they’ll be added to your prompt automatically. I have to admit, I really loved this feature.
There’s also an AI prompt enhancer that helps you ensure the highest quality of the results. You can disable this tool if you’re using a character reference.
Currently, there are three AI models to choose from. I opted for the newest, but you can use whichever you prefer, even with the free credits.
You can generate up to three videos each time, but you should consider that each video costs 25 credits.
If you’re using the free credits, you can only generate 6-second videos at a 768p resolution. If you subscribe, you’ll unlock the option of 10 seconds and 1080p.
Once you submit the prompt, your video will be added to the queue, and you’ll receive a time estimate. If you have a subscription, you’ll enjoy the fast-track generation.
The estimated time varies according to how much traffic there is at the time. I’ve been lucky, and it’s only taken me a few minutes per video.
The quality of the video is amazing, although it didn’t always recreate the camera movements as I had expected from the cinematic shots I added to the prompt.
Overall, though, I’m very satisfied with the results. You can download the videos with a watermark if you’re using the free trial.
If you subscribe, you can remove the watermark on previously generated videos, and of course, generate new ones to download without watermarks.
You can also share the video directly from the generator to popular social media channels, email, or generate a link that grants access.
It’s also possible to post the video in the Hailuo gallery for other users to see. Any video in the gallery can be liked or shared by other users, including sharing outside of the Hailuo platform.
All the posted videos can also be used as templates to generate new ones. You’ll be asked to upload a photo to be animated, recreating the chosen video. This will include a description of the type of photo you need to upload.
Image-to-video generation also costs 25 credits, and it allows you to upload a photo to be animated as a video. You’ll also have space to add a text prompt and access to the same camera movement and prompt enhancement tools.
If you choose to subscribe after the free trial, there are four different tiers starting at US$14.90 per month.
Canva
Canva’s video generator is one of the newest additions to the Magic Studio – the AI section of the platform. You can use it to generate stand-alone videos or to incorporate them into a project.
AI video generation is a Pro feature. However, you get five free credits with a free account to try this tool.
I’ve sometimes encountered errors or notifications telling me their server is too busy – this may happen to you too, but it’s not related to what type of account you have. The only solution is to wait and try again later.
If you want to generate a video, simply go to Canva.com. On the home page, above the prompt bar, choose Canva AI. You’ll see the options on the prompt bar change – now choose Create a Video Clip.
You can then choose the style, aspect ratio, duration, framing, and lighting.
Now type your prompt describing what you want to happen in your video—you can also attach an image if you’d like.
Please note that, being a new feature, the only aspect ratio available is 16:9, and the duration is fixed to 8 seconds. You can see that 9:16 and custom duration are features that will be coming soon.
Alternatively, if you’re working on a project and you want to generate a video for it, click on Magic Media on the left-side panel. Then, select Videos from the top menu.
This version of the tool is more limited—you can only type a prompt and won’t have access to the styles, lighting, and other options available when you access the video generator from the home page.
I hope this issue is solved soon. Until then, I recommend you do the video on the home page and start the project from that asset.
The quality is good—though it still has some issues morphing things—and it’s quite fast. It was the only one from the tested platforms that had the capacity to include the background music I asked for in the prompt.
Another good thing is that after generating it, you can use all the available Canva tools for video and audio editing. This way, you won’t need other software to finish your project.
Among these tools, you’ll find an AI voiceover generator, a background remover, a highlight generator, and traditional editing tools to trim and adjust color and lighting.
If you decide to get a membership, you can choose between Canva Pro or Canva Teams, depending on whether you’re a solopreneur or if you work with others.
You can subscribe for either a month or yearly with a discount.
Pictory
Pictory is an AI video creation tool that differs from the other options in this article because it can’t generate content.
Instead, it’s based on the use of stock media, which its AI model selects based on the idea you input.
The input can be a text you type directly into their platform, a URL, photos, or a presentation. The idea behind Pictory is that businesses can transform their long-form content, such as articles and webinars, into engaging videos using AI.
You can also use its powerful features for your creative projects – although you might have to rethink how you present them. The usual type of prompt you would use in other AI video generators doesn’t work here.
The good thing is that upon signing in, you get a 14-day free trial. So, you’re not limited by a specific number of attempts to get things right.
Instead of trying to adapt the prompt I’ve been using to try other video generators, I decided to change altogether so I could use Pictory for its original intent – this way, I could give it a fair chance to showcase its potential.
So, I decided to turn one of my photography tutorials into a video using Pictory. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. At first, I had trouble imagining how a photographer could use this type of tool.
However, now that I’ve seen the final result, I can see how useful it can be for my website or social media. Let me walk you through my process.
When you go to the text-to-video generator, you’ll see a template with the ideal form to present your idea. You can also use the AI script generator to do this, or use the URL-to-video if you’ve already published the text.
Once you start typing, you’ll see some features at the bottom to help you polish the text, such as Rephrase, Optimize, Change Tone, or Ask AI.
First, it will generate a storyboard. Then, you can enhance the video by replacing stock footage, styling the scenes, adding a voice-over, and more.
I chose to disable the CC and instead add a voiceover. There are plenty of voices to choose from, and you can hear a sample of them before generating.
Then, I reviewed scene by scene to see if I liked the media it chose or if I wanted to change it. Whenever I didn’t like it, I simply typed a keyword of what I wanted and selected a new video – super easy.
You can upload your own media if you prefer not to use stock material.
It’s also possible to create brand kits. I didn’t have use for this feature, but if you’re a creator that works with multiple clients, you can keep the videos on-brand by telling the AI generator to consider which brand it’s creating the material for.
This also allows you to include logos and any other branding media in the video.
Keep in mind that while you’re on the trial period, all your videos will have a watermark.
To upgrade, you can choose one of the two available tiers, starting at US$19, the team subscription, or ask for a custom quote for the Enterprise plan.
Videos can have a 720 or 1080 resolution and last up to 5 minutes. The available formats are 19:6, 6:19, or 1:1.
Colossyan
Colossyan is another video generator aimed at businesses. The difference between it and Pictory is that it doesn’t use stock media. Instead, it allows you to generate Avatars that can talk to the viewer or interact with each other in the video.
One of the perks of Colossyan is that you can create videos in over 80 languages. You can use this AI video generator for internal communications, training videos, onboarding new clients, and more.
You can customize your videos with B-roll videos or background images. This type of media is ideal if you want a consistent look for your professional video but don’t want to appear on camera because you’re shy or prefer not to do so for privacy reasons.
You can choose from one of the preset formats, 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, or make it with custom dimensions. The free plan allows you 3-minute videos with a maximum of 15 scenes.
You get commercial rights to these videos, but consider that they will be watermarked. To remove all the limitations and the watermark, you can subscribe to the Starter or Business plan starting at $19. You can also ask for a custom plan with the Enterprise choice.
It’s tricky to use at first, but there are plenty of instructional videos on the website and on YouTube to get you started.
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