Text to video AI generator reviews
Text to video is the hardest thing to review honestly, because output varies more between two prompts on the same model than between two models on the same prompt.
So rather than rank models by a vibe, this page compares the things that do not move: what each one costs for the same clip, how long it will run, and whether it produces audio. Those figures come from the live model registry, and every model listed runs on the same account.
Cost per 5-second clip, cheapest first
Same job, every model. The spread is wider than most people expect.
| 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.
How to read a text to video comparison
Ignore sample reels. Vendors publish their best output from many attempts, which tells you the ceiling, not the average. The average is what you will live with.
Prompt adherence matters more than raw beauty. A gorgeous clip of the wrong thing is a failed generation you still paid for, which is why cost per attempt belongs in the comparison as much as quality.
Audio changes the economics. A model that generates sound removes an editing pass; one that does not means every clip needs a soundtrack before it is usable.
On watermarks: output here has no watermark on any plan, free included. Paid plans add a commercial licence; free-tier results are for personal use and appear in the public gallery.
How long each model will run
Maximum single generation. Longer videos are chained from multiple clips.
| Model | Max length, one generation | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| Vidu Q3 | 16s | Yes |
| Grok Imagine | 15s | Yes |
| PixVerse v6 | 15s | Yes |
| Seedance 2.0 Mini | 15s | Yes |
| MiniMax H3 | 15s | — |
| Kling 3.0 | 15s | Yes |
| Seedance 2.0 Fast | 15s | Yes |
| HappyHorse | 15s | Yes |
| Seedance 2.0 | 15s | Yes |
| Kling 2.6 | 10s | Yes |
| LTX-2 | 10s | Yes |
| Wan 3.0 | 10s | Yes |
| Seedance 2.5 | 10s | Yes |
| Veo 3.1 Lite | 8s | Yes |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | 8s | Yes |
| Veo 3.1 | 8s | Yes |
| Hailuo 2.3 Fast | Not published | — |
| Hailuo 2.3 | Not published | — |
Read from the live model registry. “Not published” means the provider does not expose a fixed ceiling for that model in our configuration.
Questions
- What is the best text to video AI generator?
- Veo 3.1 leads on cinematic fidelity and native audio; Seedance 2.0 leads on holding a subject consistent across shots. For everyday volume the cheap end of the table is usually sufficient.
- What is the cheapest text to video AI?
- PixVerse v6, at 35 credits for 5 seconds. The table is generated from live pricing so it stays current.
- Is there a text to video AI with no watermark?
- Yes — output carries no watermark on any plan, free included. Paid plans also include a commercial licence.
- Are there open source alternatives to Sora?
- LTX-2 from Lightricks is the open model in this catalog, and Wan from Alibaba comes from an open lineage. Both are considerably cheaper than the closed frontier models.