Expert Guide

The Best AI Image to Video Generators in 2026

Eight tools that animate a still photo, compared on what the free plan gives you, the cheapest paid plan, commercial rights and how many clips a month of credits buys.

Louis CorneloupFounder, Dupple · 920,000+ readers · Updated Oct 2026

Product links may be affiliate links. How we rate 8 tools compared

TL;DR

The best AI image to video generator for most people in 2026 is Kling AI: paid plans start at $10 a month, commercial use is included from that first tier, and its Motion Control feature copies movement and facial expression onto your photo. Runway is the pick for editors who want a full suite, and Vidu is the cheapest yearly way in. Prices were verified on each vendor's pricing page in October 2026.

If you want to pay nothing, expect a small taste. Runway gives 125 credits once, Hailuo gives one-time trial credits, and Luma lists no free plan at all.

Key facts8 tools compared: Kling AI, Runway, Google Veo (Flow), Vidu, Hailuo AI, Luma Dream Machine…

Updated: October 8, 2026
Top pick: Kling AI (best for: Portraits and product shots that need realistic motion on a small budget)
Top pick price as of October 8, 2026: Kling AI: Basic plan free; Standard $10/mo (660 credits); Pro $37/mo (3,000 credits)

8 tools compared: Kling AI, Runway, Google Veo (Flow), Vidu, Hailuo AI, Luma Dream Machine, Pika, Adobe Firefly
Runway (best for: Editors who want generation and editing in one workspace): Free 125 credits once; Standard $12/mo billed yearly (625 credits)
Google Veo (Flow) (best for: People already paying for Google storage or Gemini who want video too): Free limited Flow access; AI Plus $4.99/mo; AI Pro $19.99/mo
Vidu (best for: Keeping the same character or object across several clips): Free plan; Standard $8.25/mo billed yearly as $99 (800 credits)

Picture two files on your desktop: a product shot on a white background and a headshot you want to bring to life. Both should become a five-second clip that looks like the photo, only moving.

What you get for $0 differs a lot by tool, and that gap is the real story of this category.

Most of the pages that rank for this query are the vendors' own tool pages, which tell you what a tool can do but never what it costs next to the others.

This ranking puts the free allowance, the entry price and the commercial-use rule side by side so you can pick before you spend a credit.

Aipresso data: Toolradar, the software directory we run, tracks 139 AI video generation tools as of October 2026, and we compared eight of them here.

Of those eight, two (Runway and Hailuo) hand out one-time trial credits that never refill, and Luma lists no free plan, so a genuinely free monthly allowance is the exception, not the rule.

For a wider view that includes text-to-video and editing suites, see our best AI video generators ranking. This page covers only the job of animating a picture you already have.

Top Picks

Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.

Best AI Image to Video Generators in 2026: 8 Tools Compared on Free Credits, Clip Length and Price: 8 tools compared, updated Oct 2026
Tool	Pricing	Best for
Kling AI	Basic plan free; Standard $10/mo (660 credits); Pro $37/mo (3,000 credits)	Portraits and product shots that need realistic motion on a small budget
Runway	Free 125 credits once; Standard $12/mo billed yearly (625 credits)	Editors who want generation and editing in one workspace
Google Veo (Flow)	Free limited Flow access; AI Plus $4.99/mo; AI Pro $19.99/mo	People already paying for Google storage or Gemini who want video too
Vidu	Free plan; Standard $8.25/mo billed yearly as $99 (800 credits)	Keeping the same character or object across several clips
Hailuo AI	Free trial credits once; Standard $14.99/mo ($8.40/mo billed yearly)	Testing several video models under one subscription
Luma Dream Machine	No free plan listed; Plus $30/mo (10,000 credits), commercial use	Teams that value volume and a shared credit pool
Pika	Free (credit packs only); Starter $10/mo; Creator $35/mo	Short social clips built from your own reference images
Adobe Firefly	Free daily generations; paid plans listed in euros, no US dollar price confirmed	Adobe users who want video credits inside a creative suite

Pricing read from each vendor's own published pricing page, checked Oct 2026. Every vendor here publishes a price.

Lowest monthly figure each vendor publishes, checked Oct 2026. A tilde marks a figure the vendor states approximately. Per-seat and usage charges can sit on top of it. 1 of 8 does not publish a comparable monthly price and is left out rather than estimated.

Kling AI

Top Pick

Best for: Portraits and product shots that need realistic motion on a small budget

PricingBasic plan free; Standard $10/mo (660 credits); Pro $37/mo (3,000 credits)

+Commercial use and brand watermark removal start at the Standard plan

+Motion Control recreates complex movement and facial expression from a reference

+Pro adds 3,000 credits a month and a lower credit price than Standard

−The free Basic plan lists no monthly credits, so testing before you pay is limited

−Credit cost per clip depends on the model and is not fixed on the plan page

Visit Kling AI →

Runway

Best for: Editors who want generation and editing in one workspace

PricingFree 125 credits once; Standard $12/mo billed yearly (625 credits)

+Standard's 625 credits cover about ten five-second Gen-4.5 clips

+Paid plans list no watermarks and all video and image models

+Pro adds 2,250 credits and unlimited 4K upscaling

−The 125 free credits are one-time and cover about two clips

−Unused monthly credits do not carry over except on Max

Visit Runway →

Google Veo (Flow)

Best for: People already paying for Google storage or Gemini who want video too

PricingFree limited Flow access; AI Plus $4.99/mo; AI Pro $19.99/mo

+AI Plus at $4.99 includes 200 Google Flow credits and video generation

+AI Pro adds 1,000 Flow credits plus 5 TB of storage

+Free accounts get limited access to Flow to try the studio

−The plans page gives no credit cost per clip, so clips per month are hard to forecast

−Ultra starts at $99.99, a steep jump for heavy use

Visit Google Veo (Flow) →

Vidu

Best for: Keeping the same character or object across several clips

PricingFree plan; Standard $8.25/mo billed yearly as $99 (800 credits)

+Standard lists up to 200 videos from its 800 monthly credits

+Clips run 3 to 16 seconds on paid plans

+Commercial use is allowed from the Standard plan

−The free plan caps you at 10 references a month

−Watermark-free download is listed as a paid-plan feature

Visit Vidu →

Hailuo AI

Best for: Testing several video models under one subscription

PricingFree trial credits once; Standard $14.99/mo ($8.40/mo billed yearly)

+Standard gives 1,000 credits, about 143 seconds of 768p MiniMax H3 video

+Clip lengths run 4 to 15 seconds on the newest models

+Pro and above add unlimited image tools

−Free is a one-time trial on Hailuo models only

−Per-second pricing means long clips use credits quickly

Visit Hailuo AI →

Luma Dream Machine

Best for: Teams that value volume and a shared credit pool

PricingNo free plan listed; Plus $30/mo (10,000 credits), commercial use

+Plus includes commercial use and guest collaborator access

+Credit pool covers Luma's own models and third-party models like Veo 3.1 and Kling 3.0

+Pro at $90 quadruples usage with the Luma Agents

−The plans page lists no free plan

−A 1080p clip costs 80 to 400 credits, so heavy use burns credits fast

Visit Luma Dream Machine →

Pika

Best for: Short social clips built from your own reference images

PricingFree (credit packs only); Starter $10/mo; Creator $35/mo

+Starter gives 900 monthly credits and Creator gives 3,150

+Creator includes a commercial license

+Character Studio keeps a custom character reusable across creations

−The free plan has no monthly credits, only purchased packs

−Starter excludes the commercial license

Visit Pika →

Adobe Firefly

Best for: Adobe users who want video credits inside a creative suite

PricingFree daily generations; paid plans listed in euros, no US dollar price confirmed

+Free daily generations refresh every day, with models like Luma Ray3.14

+Standard lists up to 20 five-second videos a month

+Higher plans add partner models such as Kling and Veo 3.1 Fast

−The plan page we read showed euro prices, not US dollars

−Generative credits are shared across all Firefly features

Visit Adobe Firefly →

What it is

An AI image to video generator takes a still image, usually plus a short text instruction, and produces a clip in which the subject, camera or background moves.

The first frame is your photo, so the output stays closer to what you uploaded than a clip invented from text alone.

That matters for product shots, portraits and illustrations, where the thing you care about is that it still looks like your product, your face or your artwork after the motion starts.

Why it matters

Credits are the hidden price in this category. A plan that looks cheap can hold only a handful of clips once you pick the best model and the highest resolution, so the useful number is clips per month, not dollars per month.

Rights are the other trap.

Several free plans stamp a mark on the output or leave out commercial use, which makes the free clip fine for a mood board and unusable in an ad. Check both before you build a workflow around a tool.

Key features to look for

Credits per clipEssential

Every tool charges in credits, and the cost rises with model, length and resolution. Divide the monthly credits by the credit cost of one clip to see what the plan really buys.

Free plan typeEssential

Some tools refill a free allowance, some give trial credits once, and some give nothing. A one-time allowance is a test drive, not a workflow.

Commercial use and watermarksEssential

Look for the plan where commercial use starts and where brand watermarks come off. Using a free clip in a client ad can be a licensing problem.

Motion and consistency controls

Motion transfer, multi-image references and character tools help the subject keep its face and shape from frame to frame.

Clip length

Single generations still run in short bursts, so a longer story means stitching clips. Check the range a tool lists before you plan a sequence.

Pricing

Every price below was verified on the vendor's own pricing page in October 2026, in US dollars where the vendor shows them: Kling (Toolradar), Runway (Toolradar), Google AI plans (Veo on Toolradar), Vidu (Toolradar), Hailuo (Toolradar), Luma (Toolradar), Pika (Toolradar) and Adobe Firefly (Toolradar).

The cheapest paid way in is Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month, then Vidu's yearly plan at about $8.25 a month and Kling's Standard plan.

Kling is the only one of the three that lists commercial use and brand watermark removal on that first paid tier, which is why it ranks first.

Adobe shows Firefly prices in euros to the visitor we checked, so we do not convert them into dollars. Check Adobe's plan page for the US figure before you buy.

Plan	Price	Best for
Kling Basic	Free	No monthly credits listed; commercial use starts at Standard
Kling Standard	$10/mo	660 credits, commercial use and brand watermark removal
Kling Pro	$37/mo	3,000 credits and priority access to new features
Runway Free	Free	125 credits, one time, basic generative models, 5 GB storage
Runway Standard	$12/mo billed yearly	625 credits a month, all video and image models, no watermark
Google AI Plus	$4.99/mo	200 Flow credits, video generation and 400 GB storage
Google AI Pro	$19.99/mo	1,000 Flow credits and 5 TB storage
Vidu Standard	$99/year	800 credits a month, 3 to 16 second clips, commercial use
Hailuo Standard	$14.99/mo	1,000 credits a month; $100.80 a year if billed yearly
Luma Plus	$30/mo	10,000 credits, commercial use, guest collaborators
Pika Starter	$10/mo	900 credits a month; commercial license not included
Pika Creator	$35/mo	3,150 credits a month and a commercial license
Adobe Firefly Standard	Not confirmed in USD	2,000 credits and up to 20 five-second videos a month

Mistakes to avoid

×Judging a tool by its free trial alone. Runway's 125 credits cover about two clips, so a good first test tells you little about month-three costs.

×Using a free-plan clip in a client ad. Kling lists commercial use only from Standard, and Pika's Starter plan excludes the license.

×Comparing monthly prices instead of clips. Luma's 10,000 credits stretch from 25 to 125 clips depending on the model, which is a five-fold gap inside one plan.

×Buying yearly before testing. Vidu's $99 a year looks cheap, but you pay in full up front, so try the free plan with your own photos first.

Expert tips

→Test the same photo on two free plans before paying. A single portrait shows you quickly which tool keeps the face steady.

→Draft on the cheapest model, then spend on the best one. Hailuo lists per-second prices for each model, so you can plan the split.

→Keep clips short and stitch them. Most plans list 3 to 16 second generations, so a longer story is a sequence of shots.

→Match the tool to the photo. Use motion transfer for portraits, multi-reference tools for a repeat character and a suite like Runway for edited cuts.

The bottom line

For most people the answer is Kling AI: its first paid tier buys commercial use, and its Motion Control feature suits portraits.

Pick Runway if you cut and edit in the same place, and Google AI Plus if you already live in Google's apps and want video on top.

Vidu is the better yearly deal for repeat characters, and Luma fits teams who value a large shared credit pool.

For a paid-pricing deep dive see our Kling AI pricing guide and Kling vs Runway vs Luma comparison, and for the same ranking from another angle read Toolradar's best AI image to video generators post.

If the photo does not exist yet, start with our best free AI image generators and best AI image generators guides.

For cutting the clips afterwards, see best AI video editors, and for a Sora replacement see Sora alternatives.

Methodology. We picked eight tools from the 139 in Toolradar's AI video generation category, read each vendor's pricing page in October 2026 and compared free allowance, entry price, commercial rights and clip math.

We did not run hands-on tests, and credit costs can change, so re-check before paying.

Cite this: Aipresso, "Best AI Image to Video Generators in 2026", October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Can I turn a photo into a video for free?

Yes, but the allowance is small. Runway gives 125 credits once, Hailuo gives one-time trial credits and Adobe Firefly refreshes free daily generations. Luma lists no free plan, and Kling's free Basic plan lists no monthly credits, so treat free as a test, not a workflow.

What is the best AI image to video generator in 2026?

Kling AI is the best pick for most people because its Standard plan includes commercial use and brand watermark removal. Runway suits editors at $12 a month billed yearly, and Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month is the cheapest bundled entry.

Which tool keeps the face consistent?

Kling's Motion Control is designed to recreate movement and facial expression, and Vidu is built around multi-reference consistency. Both vendors describe these features on their own pages, but we ran no side-by-side face test, so try your own portrait on a free plan first.

How much does it cost to animate a photo?

Entry plans range from Google AI Plus to Luma Plus at $30 a month. The real cost is credits: a Runway Standard month covers about ten five-second clips, while Luma's 10,000 credits cover 25 to 125.

Can I use the videos commercially?

On paid plans of several tools, yes. Kling lists commercial use from Standard, Luma Plus lists it, Vidu allows it on paid plans and Pika includes a license on Creator. Free plans generally do not, so check the plan page before using a clip in an ad.

How long can the clips be?

Vidu lists 3 to 16 second generations on paid plans and Hailuo lists 4 to 15 seconds on its newest models. Runway prices its Gen-4.5 model per five seconds, so longer stories mean stitching several short clips together.

Sources

Prices and plan details come from each vendor's own pricing page, re-checked by the Toolradar pricing tracker.