Review

Hailuo AI Review

What MiniMax's H3 video model costs per second on the API, what Hailuo shows before you sign in, and how it compares with Runway, Pika, Kling and Luma.

Louis CorneloupFounder, Dupple · 25,000+ AIpresso subscribers · Updated Oct 2026

Product links may be affiliate links. How we rate 4 alternatives covered

TL;DR

Hailuo is worth testing in 2026 if you budget per clip, because MiniMax prices its H3 video model at $0.13 a second at 2K on the API, so a 15-second 2K clip comes to $1.95. The consumer site advertises plans from $9.99 a month, gives new accounts free credits, and charged 60 credits for a default 5-second 2K H3 clip in its generator on 18 October 2026.

The catch is visibility. Hailuo shows plan-by-plan prices and credit allowances only after you sign in, so you cannot compare its subscriptions with Runway's or Pika's from the public page. Developers get the clearer deal: a published per-second rate card with no plan to pick.

Key factsBest for: Short ads and social clips with sound, for buyers who…

Updated: October 23, 2026
Best for: Short ads and social clips with sound, for buyers who budget per clip or per second.
Price as of October 23, 2026: Plans from $9.99/mo shown on site; API billed per second by resolution.

MiniMax's H3 model in a consumer app, with a transparent API rate card and opaque subscription pricing.
15-second H3 clip at 2K on the API: $1.95 before retakes, from rates checked 18 October 2026
Longest single H3 generation: 15 seconds at 2K, per MiniMax's launch post
AI video tools tracked on Toolradar: 148, as of 18 October 2026
Hailuo's rank as a listed alternative: #10 of 148 AI video generation tools on Toolradar

Pros

H3 generates up to 15 seconds of 2K video with native stereo sound, per MiniMax's launch post.
The API's published per-second rates put a 15-second 2K clip at $1.95 before retakes.
The generator shows the credit cost of a clip, 60 credits for a default 5-second 2K H3 clip, before you run it.

Cons

Plan prices and credit allowances appear only after sign-in, so you cannot compare plans in advance.
Cancelled subscriptions are not refunded for the period already paid, according to Hailuo's FAQ.

Hailuo AI

15-second H3 clip at 2K on the API$1.95 before retakes, from rates checked 18 October 2026

Longest single H3 generation15 seconds at 2K, per MiniMax's launch post

AI video tools tracked on Toolradar148, as of 18 October 2026

Hailuo's rank as a listed alternative#10 of 148 AI video generation tools on Toolradar

Visit Hailuo AI →

Hailuo is MiniMax's consumer video app, and since July 2026 it runs H3, a model MiniMax says generates up to 15 seconds of 2K video with native stereo sound. That makes it a direct rival to Kling and Runway for short ads and social clips, and the buyer question is cost: what does a usable clip actually cost, and on which route?

Methodology: this review is built from Hailuo's own site and subscribe page, MiniMax's H3 launch post and MiniMax's API pricing page, all read on 18 October 2026, plus Toolradar's listing and category data. We generated no test clips, so nothing here grades footage. Where a claim is MiniMax's, we say so.

What is Hailuo AI?

Hailuo AI is a browser-based AI video, image and audio generator from MiniMax, the Chinese AI company that also builds the M-series language models. Toolradar lists it as Hailuo AI in AI video generation.

The same models are sold to developers through the MiniMax API, priced per second of output.

AIpresso data: Toolradar tracks 148 AI video generation tools as of 18 October 2026, and Hailuo ranks #10 among them as a listed alternative to other tools, so buyers already cross-shop it with the leaders.

In the same category, 72% of tools are free, freemium or open source, and the median cheapest paid plan is $19.95 a month across the 44 that publish one. Our best AI video generators roundup places Hailuo among those peers.

How Hailuo AI works

The workflow is a prompt plus up to 12 references (images, video or audio), then a choice of model, resolution, length and aspect ratio. On 18 October 2026 the generator defaulted to MiniMax H3 at 2K, 5 seconds and 21:9, and showed a 60-credit cost for that clip before you press Create.

H3 is a single model for several jobs. MiniMax's launch post says it handles text-to-video, image and video references, editing and jointly generated audio, so you describe the relationship between your inputs in words rather than picking a separate tool.

MiniMax also says it plans to open the model weights, which matters to teams that may want to self-host later.

The API route skips credits entirely. MiniMax bills H3 per second at a rate set by resolution, adds a charge for extra reference images past a free allowance, and offers a cheaper regeneration step that turns a 768P draft into 2K.

For voice work alongside video, our ElevenLabs pricing page covers the audio side.

Hailuo AI key features

Up to 15 seconds at 2K with stereo soundEssential

MiniMax's H3 launch post says one generation runs up to 15 seconds at 2K with native stereo audio. A 30-second ad is still two or more clips joined in an editor.

Multimodal referencesEssential

The generator accepts up to 12 references, and H3 can take image, video and audio inputs in one prompt. That suits brand work where a product shot and a voice must match.

Draft at 768P, regenerate at 2K

On the API, a 768P draft costs less per second than 2K and the regeneration step is cheaper still, so you can test cheaply and upscale only the keeper.

Open weights planned

MiniMax says it plans to release H3's weights, subject to applicable laws. Until that ships, treat self-hosting as a promise, not a feature.

Older Hailuo models on the API

Hailuo 2.3 and Hailuo 02 stay on the API at a fixed price per clip, from $0.28 for a 6-second 768P video. They are the cheaper choice when 2K is not needed.

Hailuo AI pricing

MiniMax's API pricing page, read on 18 October 2026, bills MiniMax H3 at $0.08 a second at 768P and $0.13 a second at 2K. H3-Max costs $0.05 a second at 480P and the same as H3 at 768P.

Audio inputs are free, the first 5 reference images are free on H3, and each extra image costs $0.04.

On those rates, a 15-second clip, the longest one generation allows, comes to $1.20 at 768P and $1.95 at 2K. Drafting at 768P and regenerating only the final take to 2K adds $0.75 for 15 seconds at the $0.05 regeneration rate, though the original inputs are billed again.

These are our multiplications of the published rates, not invoices, and they leave out the takes you throw away.

The older models are priced per clip: Hailuo 2.3 costs $0.28 for a 6-second 768P video, $0.56 for 10 seconds and $0.49 for a 6-second 1080P clip, and Hailuo 2.3 Fast costs $0.19 for 6 seconds at 768P.

The consumer site is less transparent. Its header advertises a starting monthly price, but plan names, prices and credit allowances appear only after sign-in, so check the current price on Hailuo's subscribe page before you compare.

Its subscription FAQ says a cancelled subscription is not refunded for the period already paid.

Plan	Price	Best for
Hailuo subscription	From $9.99/mo	Plan names and credit allowances shown after sign-in
MiniMax H3, 768P (API)	$0.08 per second	Draft resolution, billed per second of output
MiniMax H3, 2K (API)	$0.13 per second	Default resolution, up to 15 seconds with stereo audio
MiniMax H3-Max, 480P (API)	$0.05 per second	Lowest per-second video rate on the card
H3 regeneration, 768P to 2K (API)	$0.05 per second	Upscales a finished draft; original inputs billed again
Hailuo 2.3, 6s 768P (API)	$0.28 per clip	Older model, fixed price per clip
Hailuo 2.3 Fast, 6s 768P (API)	$0.19 per clip	Faster variant of the older model

Try Hailuo AI →

Hailuo AI pros and cons

What we like

H3 generates up to 15 seconds of 2K video with native stereo sound, per MiniMax's launch post.
The API's published per-second rates put a 15-second 2K clip at $1.95 before retakes.
The generator shows the credit cost of a clip, 60 credits for a default 5-second 2K H3 clip, before you run it.

What could be better

Plan prices and credit allowances appear only after sign-in, so you cannot compare plans in advance.
Cancelled subscriptions are not refunded for the period already paid, according to Hailuo's FAQ.

Explore Hailuo AI →

Who Hailuo AI is for

Hailuo fits marketers and small studios that make short product, brand and social clips and want sound and video from one prompt. The API suits developers and agencies that can budget per second and would rather pay a known price for each finished 2K clip than manage a credit pool.

Skip it if you need to compare subscription prices before signing up, if your brief needs one long continuous take, or if a client asks for a written commercial license up front. Read MiniMax's terms and privacy policy before uploading client footage.

Toolradar's listing notes that pricing details are not immediately clear on the landing page, which matches what the public site shows. If you want a plan you can price in advance, our Runway pricing guide and Runway review are the comparison.

Best Hailuo AI alternatives

If Hailuo AI is not the right fit, these are the closest options.

Tool	Best for	Starts at
Hailuo AI	Short ads and social clips with sound, for buyers who budget per clip or per second.	Plans from $9.99/mo shown on site	Visit →
Runway	Creators who want a priced plan, an editor workspace and several video models in one place.	Free (125 one-time credits)	Visit →
Pika	Social creators who want cheap monthly credits and can live without a commercial license on Starter.	Free (credit packs only)	Visit →
Kling AI	Motion-heavy short clips with native audio, for buyers who will read the license first.	Credit plans and a per-second API	Visit →
Luma AI	Creators who want a published credit cost per clip and commercial use on paid plans.	Credit plans	Visit →

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. 2 of 5 do not publish a comparable monthly price and are left out rather than estimated.

Runway

A published plan ladder where each tier states how many seconds of Gen-4.5 its credits buy.

Visit →

Pika

Low entry pricing with credit packs, but the commercial license starts on Creator.

Visit →

Kling AI

The closest like-for-like rival to Hailuo: short clips with sound, sold by credits and by the second.

Visit →

Luma AI

Publishes a per-clip credit table for its Ray3.2 model, from draft to 1080p.

Visit →

The bottom line

Hailuo is worth testing for short clips with sound, and the API is the honest way to buy it. MiniMax publishes one of the clearest per-second rate cards in AI video, and a draft-then-regenerate workflow keeps retakes cheap.

Start with the new-user credits, count how many takes you discard, then decide between a subscription and the API.

Skip the subscription if you need to compare plan prices before signing up, because Hailuo shows them only after sign-in and does not refund a cancelled period.

For a priced plan ladder, read our Runway pricing guide; for the closest rival, our Kling AI review and Kling AI pricing guide; for a three-way test, Kling vs Runway vs Luma.

Google's model is covered in Veo pricing, and free options in our best free AI video generators.

Toolradar's listings for Runway, Kling AI, Luma AI and Pika Labs sit beside Hailuo's.

Cite this: AIpresso, "Hailuo AI Review 2026: MiniMax Video Pricing, Pros, Cons", prices checked 18 October 2026.

Get started with Hailuo AI →

Frequently asked questions

Is Hailuo AI worth it in 2026?

For short clips with sound, yes, especially through the MiniMax API, which bills H3 by the second at a published rate for each resolution. The subscription is harder to judge, because plan prices appear only after sign-in. Use the new-user credits first and count your discarded takes.

How much does Hailuo AI cost?

Hailuo's site advertises plans from $9.99 a month, with plan-by-plan prices shown after sign-in. On the MiniMax API, checked 18 October 2026, H3 costs $0.08 a second at 768P and $0.13 a second at 2K, and Hailuo 2.3 costs $0.28 for a 6-second 768P clip.

Is Hailuo AI free?

New accounts get free credits, and the generator showed a cost of 60 credits for a default 5-second 2K H3 clip on 18 October 2026, so free credits cover only a few test clips. Hailuo's FAQ lists faster processing and commercial rights among the benefits of a paid membership.

What is MiniMax H3?

H3 is MiniMax's video model, launched on 31 July 2026. MiniMax says it generates up to 15 seconds of 2K video with native stereo sound from text, image, video and audio inputs, and that it plans to release the model weights.

Hailuo vs Runway: which is cheaper?

Per second of top-quality video, Hailuo's API is cheaper: H3 at 2K costs less than half of about $0.29 a second of Gen-4.5 on Runway Standard at its $15 monthly price. Runway's advantage is a published plan ladder, an editor workspace and other models in one subscription.

Sources

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