Photo to video AI
Photo to video AI takes a still you already have — a portrait, a product shot, a landscape — and generates motion from it. It is the most reliable way to get usable AI video, because the model is not inventing the subject, only how it moves.
Below is what each model charges for the same job and what you give up at each price, generated from the live registry rather than quoted from vendors.
What each model charges for a 5-second clip
All of these accept a photo as the starting frame.
| Model | Credits / 5s | ≈ USD (Pro) | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite | 70 | $0.18 | Yes |
| Grok Imagine | 100 | $0.25 | Yes |
| PixVerse v6 | 120 | $0.30 | Yes |
| Hailuo 2.3 Fast | 125 | $0.31 | — |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | 140 | $0.35 | Yes |
| Kling 2.6 | 185 | $0.46 | Yes |
| Seedance 2.0 Mini | 200 | $0.50 | Yes |
| Hailuo 2.3 | 245 | $0.61 | — |
| MiniMax H3 | 290 | $0.72 | — |
| LTX-2 | 300 | $0.75 | Yes |
| Wan 3.0 | 330 | $0.83 | Yes |
| Kling 3.0 | 340 | $0.85 | Yes |
| Seedance 2.0 Fast | 430 | $1.07 | Yes |
| HappyHorse | 650 | $1.63 | Yes |
| Seedance 2.0 | 710 | $1.78 | Yes |
| Vidu Q3 | 770 | $1.93 | Yes |
| Veo 3.1 | 1000 | $2.50 | Yes |
| Seedance 2.5 | 1080 | $2.70 | Yes |
Credits are the cost of a 5-second clip and scale with duration. USD is calculated at the Pro plan rate ($0.0025 per credit) — Ultra is cheaper per credit, Starter is dearer. Figures are read from the live model registry, not typed by hand.
Turning a photo into a video
- 1Upload the photo
A sharp, well-lit image gives the model the most to work with. Motion is generated from what is visible, so detail that is missing in the still cannot appear in the video.
- 2Describe the motion, not the scene
The subject is already fixed by your photo. Spend the prompt on what should move and how the camera should behave — a slow push, a pan, wind in the hair.
- 3Pick a model and generate
Start on a cheap model to check the motion reads correctly, then re-run the same setup on a frontier model if the clip is going to be seen up close.
What makes a photo work badly
Motion blur in the source. The model treats blur as detail and smears it further once things move.
Very low resolution. Upscale first; generating motion from a soft image produces a soft video.
Crowded group shots. The more subjects in frame, the more places for the model to lose coherence. Single-subject photos animate far more reliably.
Questions
- What is the cheapest photo to video AI?
- PixVerse v6 at 35 credits for 5 seconds, per the table above.
- Can I try photo to video AI free?
- Signup includes 25 credits that never expire. That is enough to try image tools; a video clip costs more than that on most models.
- How long can the video be?
- Up to 16 seconds in a single generation, depending on the model. Longer videos are made by chaining clips.
- Will it keep my subject looking the same?
- Within one clip, yes. Across several clips, use a model with reference-image support — that is what keeps a face or product consistent shot to shot.