AI Video Generator Comparison 2026: Kling, Seedance, Gemini, Hailuo, Runway, Luma Pricing and Commercial Use

AI video generators, which turn text or images into video, have changed dramatically over the past year. Some services can now produce a 30-second clip with sound in a single generation, while OpenAI's Sora was shut down in 2026. This guide compares the main services available from Japan, based on official pricing pages, terms of service and help articles checked on November 9, 2026.

Pricing and features change often, and promotional prices are common, so always check each provider's latest information before you sign up. Sections labeled "CoAI's view" are the CoAI editorial team's assessment based on official information.

Five things to check when choosing

When comparing AI video generators, these five points make the differences easier to see.

Length and resolution: how many seconds you can generate at once and the maximum resolution. Check whether 4K is actually generated or produced by upscaling afterward
Audio: whether dialogue and sound effects are generated together with the video (native audio), and whether Japanese dialogue is supported
Free usage: how many free credits you get and whether outputs carry a watermark
Commercial use: whether free-plan outputs can be used for work. Many services allow commercial use only on paid plans
Data handling: whether your uploaded images and generated videos are used to train AI models, and whether you can opt out

The six main services at a glance

Here is a one-line summary of each service as of November 9, 2026. Prices are the listed monthly-billing prices and do not reflect differences due to tax or exchange rates.

Kling AI (Kuaishou): latest model is Kling 4.0. 3–30 seconds per generation, stereo audio including Japanese. Paid plans start with Standard at $8.80/month ($6.99 for the first month). Free outputs are watermarked and not for commercial use
Seedance (ByteDance, offered via Dreamina): latest model is Seedance 2.5. Up to 30 seconds per generation with audio, extendable to 180 seconds (beta). Daily free credits. The terms describe the service as being "in principle for personal, non-commercial use"
Google (Gemini and Flow): latest model is Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash. 3–15 seconds with audio. From ¥725/month for Google AI Plus (Japan pricing). Flow gives 50 credits a day even for free users
Hailuo AI (MiniMax): latest model is MiniMax H3. 5–15 seconds, 2K, stereo audio. Standard started at $10.50/month (discounted price) as of October 4
Runway: its own model is Gen-4.5 (2–10 seconds, 720p, no audio). Strengths are editing features and access to third-party models. From $15/month for Standard ($12/month billed annually)
Luma: latest model is Ray3.2. 5–10 seconds per generation (up to 20 seconds per the announcement), 1080p, HDR. Audio is added with a separate model. From $30/month for Plus ($25/month billed annually)

Service-by-service breakdown

Kling AI: long clips and fine-grained control

Kling AI is provided by China's Kuaishou group, and the international version is operated by Kling AI Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. A Japanese-language site is also available (Kling AI).

According to the official guide dated November 4, 2026, the latest Kling 4.0 can generate 3–30 seconds of video at a time. You can use up to 10 keyframes (images that define scenes) and up to 15 reference assets combining images, videos and voices. Audio is two-channel stereo, and supported dialogue languages include Japanese. There is also a cheaper, faster "Kling 4.0 Flash" (3–20 seconds, 720p) (Kling 4.0 Model User Guide). Note that the same official page lists 1080p and 4K for Kling 4.0 in its spec table, while the body text says they are "coming soon." The previous-generation Kling 3.0 supports native 4K generation.

On the pricing page (checked on November 9 while logged out), monthly-billing prices were as follows. Even the monthly prices are shown as discounts from list prices (Standard $10, Pro $37), with an additional first-month-only discount on top (pricing page).

Standard: $8.80/month ($6.99 for the first month), 660 credits per month
Pro: $32.56/month ($25.99 for the first month), 3,000 credits per month
Higher tiers, Premier and Ultra+, are also available
How many credits Kling 4.0 uses per second is not listed on the official pages when logged out

According to the pricing-page FAQ CoAI checked on October 4, free members can also claim free credits by logging in each month. Free members' outputs must carry the "Kling AI" label (watermark), and commercial use is not allowed without written permission. Paid members can remove the watermark and may use outputs commercially, except for developing competing products or services (Terms of Service 4.5 and 4.6, Terms of Paid Service 3.1.2). Every output contains an invisible watermark and metadata, and a public detection tool is available (AI Content Detection).

On data handling, your inputs may be used to train models, and to opt out you must email [email protected] (Terms of Service 4.7).

CoAI's view: 30 seconds per generation is among the longest of the major services (Seedance 2.5 also does 30 seconds), and up to 10 keyframes let you specify scenes in detail. It suits people who want longer videos for ads or social media that keep the same person or product consistent. For more, see our Kling AI guide and the Kling AI tool page.

Seedance (Dreamina): 30-second clips with audio and rich referencing

Seedance is a video generation model developed by the Seed team at ByteDance (the company behind TikTok). Users outside China can access it through ByteDance's creative tool "Dreamina." It is also offered to Pro and Ultra members in the desktop version of the video editor CapCut (CapCut).

The latest Seedance 2.5 was officially released on July 31, 2026. It generates audio and video together and accepts up to 30 images, 10 videos and 10 audio clips as references. It produces up to 30 seconds per generation, and up to 180 seconds with extension using a Dreamina beta feature (Seed official blog, Dreamina). Prompts in Japanese are supported. Official sources disagree on resolution: Dreamina advertises 4K output, while BytePlus, the enterprise offering, lists 480p and 720p. Cheaper draft-oriented options, "Seedance 2.5 Draft" and "Seedance 2.5 Flash," are also available.

Dreamina offers daily free credits, which you can use to try Seedance 2.5. The paid Basic plan is $15/month with 1,575 credits per month (Dreamina October offer FAQ). When we opened it from Japan on November 9, promotional prices were shown in yen. Prices vary by region and promotion, so check what is displayed after you log in.

The terms deserve attention. Dreamina's Terms of Service state that outputs belong to the user, but also grant ByteDance, its affiliates and even other users a perpetual license to use them for any purpose. They also say the service is "in principle for personal, non-commercial use" (Dreamina Terms of Service sections 1 and 8). There are additional terms for users in Japan.

CoAI's view: being able to make long videos with audio at low cost is a big draw, but if you plan to use it for work, always confirm through the terms and plan description shown after login that your plan allows commercial use. See the Seedance tool page.

Google (Gemini and Flow): easy to start, billed in yen in Japan

Google's video generation is available in the Gemini app, its AI assistant, and in Google Flow, its filmmaking tool. On November 5, 2026, the latest "Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash" became generally available. It creates 3–15 second videos with audio and syncs dialogue with lip movements. However, 15 seconds is available only on Flow's paid plans and, in the Gemini app, on Ultra (rolling out gradually); the standard limit in the Gemini app is 10 seconds. It generates at 360p and 720p, with 1080p and 4K produced by upscaling (Google official blog).

To create videos in the Gemini app, you need a paid Google AI plan. Monthly prices in Japan are as follows (Google AI plans).

Google AI Plus: ¥725/month in Japan (200 Flow credits per month)
Google AI Pro: ¥2,900/month in Japan (1,000 credits per month)
Google AI Ultra: from ¥14,500/month in Japan (from 10,000 credits per month)

Flow gives you 50 credits a day even on the free tier. Since November 5, 2026, Google Vids also lets you create up to three 15-second videos a month for free (availability in Japan unconfirmed; Google official blog). Omni 1.2 Flash at 720p costs 3 credits per second, so that is about one 10-second video a day. However, during peak hours (roughly 23:00–02:00 Japan time, around 14:00–17:00 UTC), free users may be unable to generate videos. Additional credits also cannot be purchased in Japan (Flow Help). Flow's help pages recommend writing prompts in English (Flow availability and policies).

All generated videos contain Google's invisible "SynthID" watermark. Google's terms state that it does not claim ownership of generated content. How generated videos are handled is summarized in the Flow FAQ. Flow cannot generate videos of well-known people (Flow availability and policies). You can turn off use of your data for training in the Gemini app and Flow settings.

CoAI's view: its strength is ease of entry: in Japan, a flat-rate plan billed in yen includes video generation from ¥725/month. If you already subscribe to Google AI Pro, trying Flow first is the quickest route. See the Google Flow tool page.

Hailuo AI: try short clips cheaply

Hailuo AI is a video generation service built on models from China's MiniMax, operated by Nanonoble Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. Its menus also support Japanese (Hailuo AI).

The latest MiniMax H3 (released July 31, 2026) generates 5–15 second videos with stereo audio. Resolution goes up to 2K; there is no 4K. You can use up to 12 reference files combining images, videos and audio, and it supports edits that swap people, backgrounds or dialogue (MiniMax H3). The developer API is inexpensive, starting at $0.025 per second (H3-Lite at 480p) (MiniMax API pricing).

We could not load the pricing page during this check. When CoAI checked on October 4, 2026, Standard was $10.50/month (1,000 credits per month) and Pro was $38/month (4,500 credits per month), both shown as discounted prices (Standard's list price was $14.99). The free plan provides one-time trial credits only, and downloads are watermarked (Payment Policy).

Videos made on a paid plan are stated to belong to the user, including for commercial purposes (Payment Policy). On the other hand, the Terms of Service grant the operator a perpetual, irrevocable license and prohibit removing watermarks or labels that indicate AI generation (Terms of Service).

CoAI's view: it suits people who want to make short videos of up to 15 seconds at a reasonable cost while iterating through edits. For more, see our Hailuo AI guide and the Hailuo AI tool page.

Runway: editing and finishing in one place

Runway is a video production tool from US-based Runway AI. Its latest in-house model, Gen-4.5 (announced December 2025), produces 2–10 seconds at 720p without audio (Runway API docs). In exchange, it offers strong finishing features: the editing model "Aleph 2.0," which transforms existing footage from instructions, integration with Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve, and export in ProRes and HDR. Plans also include third-party models such as Kling 4.0 and Seedance 2.5 (Runway changelog).

Pricing is as follows (pricing page).

Free: 125 credits at the start (one time only)
Standard: $15/month ($12/month billed annually), 625 credits per month (52 seconds with Gen-4.5), no watermark
Pro: $35/month ($28/month billed annually), 2,250 credits per month

The Terms of Use do not restrict commercial use of outputs on any plan. However, inputs and outputs may be used to train Runway's models. Only the Enterprise plan for businesses explicitly states that data is not used for training (Terms of Use 4.4, Runway Enterprise). C2PA provenance information is also supported.

CoAI's view: it suits video creators and production companies that want to handle not just generation but also editing and export in a single tool. See the Runway tool page.

Luma: for high image quality and detailed direction

Luma is a service from US-based Luma AI. The former "Dream Machine" has become "Luma Agents," a creative workspace where you can use multiple models. The latest Ray3.2 (announced June 2026) was announced as generating up to 20 seconds at 1080p; in the pricing table, text- and image-to-video generations are 5 or 10 seconds each, and transforming existing video goes up to 20 seconds. It supports up to 16 keyframes and offers HDR and 16-bit EXR export. It does not generate audio, so you pair it with a separate audio model (Ray3.2 announcement).

Plus costs $30/month ($25/month billed annually) with 10,000 credits per month, and Pro costs $90/month. Ray3.2 at 1080p costs 400 credits per 5 seconds (plus 30 credits when not using keyframes), so Plus covers about 23–25 five-second 1080p videos a month (pricing page). No free plan appears in the pricing table. We could not find a Japanese-language site.

Commercial use is limited to outputs created while on a paid plan that permits commercial use. If you use outputs that resemble a real person, you must disclose that they are AI-generated. Even on paid plans, inputs and outputs may be used for training (Terms of Service 4.6 and 4.9).

CoAI's view: it is on the pricey side, but suits people who need high-quality footage for professional production or want to specify camera movement in detail. See the Luma tool page.

Other options

Beyond the six main services, there are also options such as these.

Vidu (ShengShu, Hong Kong): the latest Vidu Q4 goes up to 4K and 16 seconds. With 15 reference images and 3 voices, it makes characters easy to keep consistent. Japanese-language site available. Commercial use for paid members only (Vidu Q4, Terms of Service)
PixVerse (Singapore): its own V6 does 15 seconds at 1080p with audio. Standard is $10/month. Commercial use is limited to paid plans and outputs from PixVerse's own models (PixVerse, Terms of Service)
Pika (US): a multi-model platform that also offers Kling 4.0 and Seedance 2.5. No watermark on any plan. Starter is $10/month, and commercial use requires Starter or above (Pika)
Higgsfield (US): brings together models such as Kling, Seedance and Gemini with its own character-consistency features. Added a Japanese interface in August 2026. Free outputs are watermarked (Higgsfield changelog, watermark help)

More and more services, like Runway, Pika and Higgsfield, let you use models from multiple companies under a single subscription. Be careful, though: commercial use of videos made with third-party models may be subject to that model provider's rules (as in PixVerse's terms, for example).

OpenAI's Sora has been discontinued

OpenAI shut down the Sora app and web version in April 2026, and the Sora 2 model and API for developers were also retired on September 24, 2026. There is no one-to-one replacement API (OpenAI developer docs). The app shutdown was announced through news reports and OpenAI help articles. As of November 9, OpenAI has not launched a new video generation service. If you are looking for a Sora replacement, you will need to choose from the services in this guide.

Recommendations by use case

Here are our picks for each goal, as CoAI's view.

Try it cheaply first: Google AI Plus (¥725/month in Japan) or Flow's free credits. Dreamina's daily free credits are another option
Make roughly 30-second videos with audio for ads or social media: a paid Kling AI plan, or Seedance (after checking its commercial-use terms)
Make many videos that keep the same person or product consistent: Seedance (the most reference inputs), Kling AI (10 keyframes), Vidu
Make short videos cheaply while iterating through edits: Hailuo AI
Handle generation, editing and export in one tool: Runway
Direct high-quality footage in detail: Luma
Try many different models under one subscription: Pika, Higgsfield, Runway

What to check before using it for work

Before using AI-generated videos for work, it is worth confirming the following.

Many services do not allow commercial use of free-plan outputs. Even if you upgrade to a paid plan, the status of videos made during the free period may not change
Many terms prohibit removing watermarks or hiding the fact that content is AI-generated. Many services also embed invisible watermarks or C2PA provenance information
Using a real person's face or voice requires that person's consent. Some services restrict generating videos of well-known people
Uploaded images and videos are often used for training. Do not upload confidential material or material whose rights you cannot confirm
Many services charge in US dollars, so the billed amount varies with exchange rates and taxes. Promotional prices often apply to the first month only

Summary

As of November 2026, many major AI video services support 15–30 second videos with audio, and the differences between providers have shifted to "length and degree of control," "affordability," "editing and finishing features" and "commercial-use and data terms." In Japan, Google is the easy way to start paying in yen; Kling AI and Seedance are strong for long videos with audio and detailed control; and Runway is the leading choice for handling everything through to finishing. We recommend trying the same prompt within each free tier first, checking both the results and the terms, and then choosing a paid plan.