The best AI video generators, compared honestly

There is no single best AI video generator. There are a handful of strong models, each documented to do some things the others do not: longer clips, native sound, more reference inputs, HDR output, open weights. Which one is right depends on the shot in front of you, and most working filmmakers end up using several.

This guide covers eight models: Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0, Seedance 2.0, Runway Gen-4.5, Luma Ray 3.2, LTX-2.3, Pika and Wan 2.2. For each we say what its maker documents, who it suits, what to watch out for, and whether it runs on Pindow and at what credit cost. Every fact about a model comes from its maker’s own site or documentation, listed under the table. We do not rank them, because a ranking would need the same prompts run through every model, and that is what our model against model pages are for.

How we compared them

• What the maker documents. Clip length, resolution, audio, reference inputs and anything else stated on the maker’s own pages. If we could not find a figure there, we say so instead of borrowing one from a reseller.
• What you can actually set. Where a model runs on Pindow, the settings come from Pindow’s generator, which can differ from the maker’s limits.
• What it costs. Credits per clip on Pindow where our catalogue lists a price, and the vendor’s own plans where we checked them.
• Side-by-side output. For the head-to-head pairs, the same prompts through both models on Pindow: Seedance vs Veo, Runway vs Kling and Veo 3.1 vs Kling 3.0.

At a glance

Veo 3.1 (Google)

Google documents Veo 3.1 as generating audio natively with every video, in clips of 4, 6 or 8 seconds at 24 fps, in 16:9 or 9:16. It accepts up to three reference images and a first and last frame, and a Veo clip can be extended by up to 7 seconds at a time. 1080p and 4K are only available at 8 seconds.

• Best for: short shots where sound matters, such as a line of dialogue or a sound effect tied to the action, and shots blocked between a set start and end frame.
• Watch out for: the 8-second ceiling per generation, and only two aspect ratios. Google has since launched a separate video model, Gemini Omni Flash.
• On Pindow: Veo 3.1 Frames at 720p or 1080p, Standard or Fast. Pindow prices it at 275 credits per 5 seconds without audio and 550 with it, the same at either resolution, scaled to the clip length: an 8-second clip with audio is 880 credits.

Kling 3.0 (Kuaishou)

Kling’s guide for VIDEO 3.0 lists clips of 3 to 15 seconds, native audio with dialogue in Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean and Spanish, automatic and custom multi-shot generation, start and end frames, and image or video references it calls Elements. Its guide lists 720p and 1080p, while its feature page advertises 4K.

• Best for: scenes with dialogue in more than one language, and several shots inside one generation.
• Watch out for: resolution depends on where you run it, so check the platform rather than the headline. Kling 4.0 Flash entered early access in Kling’s own app on 28 September 2026, so Kling 3.0 is no longer Kling’s newest model.
• On Pindow: 720p, 1080p or 4K, 5, 10 or 15 seconds, audio on or off. A 5-second clip costs 155 credits at 1080p without audio and 232 with it. Kling Omni and Kling Motion Control are also available. More in Kling alternatives.

Seedance 2.0 (ByteDance)

ByteDance describes Seedance 2.0 as producing up to 15 seconds of multi-shot video with two-channel stereo sound, from a request that can combine up to nine images, three video clips and three audio clips with a text prompt.

• Best for: shots built from mixed references, for example a character image, a motion clip and a piece of music together.
• Watch out for: on Pindow the audio is always generated and priced in, and the cost climbs steeply with resolution.
• On Pindow: 480p to 4K, 4 to 15 seconds, seven aspect options including 21:9 and adaptive, in Standard, Fast and Mini tiers. A 5-second clip with audio costs 92 credits at 480p, 200 at 720p, 490 at 1080p and 1,019 at 4K. Seedance 2.5, with clips up to 30 seconds, is also on Pindow.

Runway Gen-4.5 (Runway)

Runway released Gen-4.5 on 1 December 2025 as its own video model, for text to video and image to video, on all paid Runway plans. Its API takes durations from 2 to 10 seconds and an image as the first frame. Runway itself is no longer a single-model product: its app also offers Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0 and Seedance 2.0.

• Best for: short clips in unusual frames such as 21:9 or 4:3, and anyone already working in Runway’s tools.
• Watch out for: on Pindow it runs at 720p only and has no audio setting.
• On Pindow: 720p, 2 to 10 seconds, six aspect ratios, at 165 credits for 5 seconds at any resolution. Runway Act-Two and Aleph 2.0 are also available. See Runway alternatives for the app itself.

Luma Ray 3.2 (Luma)

Luma documents Ray3.2 as delivering clips up to 20 seconds long at 1080p, with native HDR generation, 16-bit EXR export and up to 16 keyframes in a single clip. It is also available through Luma’s API.

• Best for: work that goes on to a colourist or a compositor, where HDR and EXR frames matter, and shots paced with many keyframes.
• Watch out for: Luma’s pages we checked say nothing about generated sound, so plan audio separately.
• On Pindow: 360p to 1080p, 5 or 10 seconds, six aspect ratios. More in Luma alternatives.

LTX-2.3 (Lightricks)

Lightricks publishes the LTX-2.3 checkpoints on Hugging Face, each a single file bundling the transformer with its video and audio components, so you can run it on your own hardware. Its repository notes that LTX-2.3 and the newer LTX-2.5 use different files, and a LoRA trained for one does not work with the other.

• Best for: longer clips at high resolution and high frame rates, and teams who want to self-host or fine-tune.
• Watch out for: Lightricks has moved on to LTX-2.5; Pindow runs 2.3.
• On Pindow: LTX-2.3 Fast at 1080p, 1440p or 4K for 6 to 20 seconds, and LTX-2.3 Pro for 6, 8 or 10 seconds, both at 24, 25, 48 or 50 fps.

Pika

Pika is now an app that runs several models: its own Pika 2.5 alongside Seedance 2.5, Wan 3.0, MiniMax H3 and Google’s Gemini Omni Flash, plus tools such as Extend Video, Pika Soundtrack for scoring a clip, and Character Studio. Its free plan comes with no monthly credits, only paid packs; Starter is $10 a month for 900 credits and Creator $35 for 3,150. Commercial use is licensed on Creator and above.

• Best for: quick social clips and effects, with image and audio tools in the same app.
• Watch out for: no commercial licence on the Free and Starter plans.
• On Pindow: not available. See Pika alternatives.

Wan 2.2 (Alibaba)

Wan 2.2 is released under the Apache 2.0 licence, with text-to-video and image-to-video models at 480p and 720p, a speech-to-video model, and a smaller 5B model that generates 720p at 24 fps on a consumer graphics card such as an RTX 4090.

• Best for: open, permissively licensed video you can run and modify yourself.
• Watch out for: a 720p ceiling. Alibaba has since released Wan 3.0 through Alibaba Cloud Model Studio, with clips up to 30 seconds at up to 1080p; Pindow runs 2.2.
• On Pindow: 480p, 580p or 720p, from text, an image or a video.

How to choose

Start from the shot, not the model. A few questions narrow the field quickly:

1. 1

   Does the model need to make the sound?

   Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0 and Seedance 2.0 all document native audio. If you are scoring and mixing the film yourself, silent output is cheaper where the model offers it.

2. 2

   How long is the shot?

   Up to 8 seconds, most of these models fit. Past 10 seconds, look at Kling 3.0, Seedance 2.0, Luma Ray 3.2 or LTX-2.3. For up to 30 seconds in one generation, Seedance 2.5 and Wan 3.0 are documented to do it.

3. 3

   What do you have to feed it?

   A start and end frame, a set of reference images, a reference video or audio clip. Check that the model, and the platform you run it on, accepts that input.

4. 4

   Where does the footage go next?

   For a grade or a composite, HDR and EXR from Luma Ray 3.2 may matter more than anything else. For social delivery, 9:16 support and cost per clip matter more.

5. 5

   Test before you commit.

   Run two or three of your own prompts through the candidates at the same settings. Our head-to-head pages show one way to set that up.

Whichever model you use, a structured prompt helps more than switching models.

Where Pindow fits

Pindow is not a model. It is an infinite canvas where you place image, video and audio generators next to your results, running about 16 video models, including every model above except Pika, and six image models from one credit balance. Models are not locked by plan; resolution is, with 4K from the Expert plan up. It is in closed beta with no free tier, and plans start at $36 a month for 3,500 credits. It suits people who want to switch models shot by shot without juggling accounts. If you would rather commit to one vendor’s app, the AI filmmaking tools comparison covers those, and the models page and pricing have Pindow’s current list and costs.