Image to video AI free and paid: real test clips, prices checked

Most image to video AI free plans are small, so it pays to see what each tool does before you spend credits. We animated the same 5 licensed photos with the same motion prompts in every tool we could reach and show every clip below.

Updated October 25, 2026

Short answer

Tested on October 25, 2026: we ran the same standard prompts through 3 image to video tools. Hailuo AI, Seedance, and Wan passed every prompt. Prices were checked on the official pages on October 25, 2026.

Not in search engines yet

This page goes into search engines only when at least 5 tools have a checked price and at least 5 graded prompts. Right now 3 qualify. The tools still missing a test are listed below with the reason.

Comparison

Swipe the table sideways to see more columns

Price = cheapest paid plan on the official pricing page. Click a source link to see the page we checked. Test results are dated results of the route named on each card, not a judgement of the company.
Tool	Starting price	Free plan	Indonesian	Our test
Hailuo AI	$100.80/yrStandardsourcechecked October 25, 2026	Yes	Not confirmed	5 of 5 passed
Seedance	$5.60 usage-baseddreamina-seedance-2-0-fast (online inference, input without video)sourcechecked October 25, 2026	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	5 of 5 passed
Wan	$5/moProsourcechecked October 25, 2026	Yes	Not confirmed	5 of 5 passed
CapCut	IDR 86,500/moTeamssourcechecked October 25, 2026	Yes	Indonesian interfacesource	Not tested yet
Google Gemini (Gemini Omni video)	$4.99/moGoogle AI Plussourcechecked October 25, 2026	Yes	Indonesian interfacesource	Not tested yet
Hedra	$20/moBasicsourcechecked October 25, 2026	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not tested yet
HeyGen	$29/moCreatorsourcechecked October 25, 2026	Yes	Indonesian interfacesource	Not tested yet
invideo AI	$4/moBasicsourcechecked October 25, 2026	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not tested yet
Kling AI	$8.80/moStandardsourcechecked October 25, 2026	Yes	Not confirmed	Not tested yet
Luma (Dream Machine)	$30/moPlussourcechecked October 25, 2026	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Not tested yet
Pika	$10/moStartersourcechecked October 25, 2026	Yes	Not confirmed	Not tested yet
PixVerse	$96/yrStandardsourcechecked October 25, 2026	Yes	Not confirmed	Not tested yet
Runway	$15/moStandardsourcechecked October 25, 2026	Yes	Not confirmed	Not tested yet
Vidu	$99/yrStandardsourcechecked October 25, 2026	Yes	Indonesian interfacesource	Not tested yet

Test results, prompt by prompt

Every output below is the real, unedited result of one run (in text answers only long dashes are normalized to a plain dash). Pass means every required checklist item was met.

Hailuo AI

5 of 5 passed

Model: minimax/hailuo-3-max · Run through: OpenRouter video API (minimax/hailuo-3-max) · Tested October 25, 2026

product orbitPass

Orbit around the mug to the far side; handle geometry stays plausible.

Prompt

Slow, smooth camera orbit around the ceramic mug on the wooden table. Keep the mug shape, colour and the table unchanged. Soft natural light. No text.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same mug, table, framing).
✓ The mug keeps its shape and handle while the camera moves.
✓ Visible camera movement around the mug. (nice to have)

Input photo: Ceramic mug wooden table by creator not listed, CC0 1.0

minimax/hailuo-3-max · Tested October 25, 2026

food steamPass

Faithful to the photo; little steam, slow push-in mainly in the second half (first/last frame motion check).

Prompt

Gentle steam rises from the bowl of noodle soup, the broth surface ripples slightly, very slow camera push-in. No hands, no people.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same bowl, noodles, meatballs).
✓ No hands, utensils held by a person, or people appear.
✓ Steam or broth movement is visible; food keeps its look. (nice to have)

Input photo: A bowl of soup with noodles and meatballs by Faisal Ahammad, CC0 1.0

minimax/hailuo-3-max · Tested October 25, 2026

room dollyPass

Furniture stable; slow push-in mainly in the second half (first/last frame motion check).

Prompt

Slow cinematic dolly forward into the living room, sheer curtains moving gently in a light breeze, daylight. Furniture stays still and unchanged. No people.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same sofa, chairs, windows).
✓ Furniture keeps its geometry (no bending sofas or chairs morphing).
✓ Forward camera motion is visible; no people appear. (nice to have)

Input photo: Free minimalist living room interior by creator not listed, CC0 1.0

minimax/hailuo-3-max · Tested October 25, 2026

landscape motionPass

Gentle cloud and water motion with a slight pan; scene stable.

Prompt

Clouds drift slowly over the mountains, the lake water ripples gently and reflections shimmer, slow pan to the right. Calm, natural, no people.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (mountains, lake, boathouse).
✓ Landscape stays stable (mountains and boathouse do not warp).
✓ Clouds or water visibly move; gentle pan. (nice to have)

Input photo: File:Boathouse on a mountain lake (Unsplash).jpg by Luca Bravo lucabravo, CC0 1.0

minimax/hailuo-3-max · Tested October 25, 2026

pet motionPass

Cat opens eyes and turns head; identity holds.

Prompt

The ginger cat slowly blinks, raises its head and looks around calmly, whiskers twitch slightly. Soft indoor light, shallow depth of field.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same ginger cat).
✓ The cat keeps a plausible anatomy and identity while it moves.
✓ Blink or head movement is visible. (nice to have)

Input photo: European shorthair cat, Portrait (2); by creator not listed, CC0 1.0

minimax/hailuo-3-max · Tested October 25, 2026

Seedance

5 of 5 passed

Model: bytedance/seedance-2.0-mini · Run through: OpenRouter video API (bytedance/seedance-2.0-mini) · Tested October 25, 2026

product orbitPass

Keeps the photo; slow drift and slight orbit, background reveals a wall corner.

Prompt

Slow, smooth camera orbit around the ceramic mug on the wooden table. Keep the mug shape, colour and the table unchanged. Soft natural light. No text.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same mug, table, framing).
✓ The mug keeps its shape and handle while the camera moves.
✓ Visible camera movement around the mug. (nice to have)

Input photo: Ceramic mug wooden table by creator not listed, CC0 1.0

bytedance/seedance-2.0-mini · Tested October 25, 2026

food steamPass

Slow push-in with visible steam; food unchanged; no hands.

Prompt

Gentle steam rises from the bowl of noodle soup, the broth surface ripples slightly, very slow camera push-in. No hands, no people.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same bowl, noodles, meatballs).
✓ No hands, utensils held by a person, or people appear.
✓ Steam or broth movement is visible; food keeps its look. (nice to have)

Input photo: A bowl of soup with noodles and meatballs by Faisal Ahammad, CC0 1.0

bytedance/seedance-2.0-mini · Tested October 25, 2026

room dollyPass

Clear forward dolly, sofa and chairs keep their shape.

Prompt

Slow cinematic dolly forward into the living room, sheer curtains moving gently in a light breeze, daylight. Furniture stays still and unchanged. No people.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same sofa, chairs, windows).
✓ Furniture keeps its geometry (no bending sofas or chairs morphing).
✓ Forward camera motion is visible; no people appear. (nice to have)

Input photo: Free minimalist living room interior by creator not listed, CC0 1.0

bytedance/seedance-2.0-mini · Tested October 25, 2026

landscape motionPass

Pan to the right with drifting clouds; boathouse stable.

Prompt

Clouds drift slowly over the mountains, the lake water ripples gently and reflections shimmer, slow pan to the right. Calm, natural, no people.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (mountains, lake, boathouse).
✓ Landscape stays stable (mountains and boathouse do not warp).
✓ Clouds or water visibly move; gentle pan. (nice to have)

Input photo: File:Boathouse on a mountain lake (Unsplash).jpg by Luca Bravo lucabravo, CC0 1.0

bytedance/seedance-2.0-mini · Tested October 25, 2026

pet motionPass

Cat yawns, then lifts its head and looks up; anatomy plausible. Yawn was not asked for.

Prompt

The ginger cat slowly blinks, raises its head and looks around calmly, whiskers twitch slightly. Soft indoor light, shallow depth of field.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same ginger cat).
✓ The cat keeps a plausible anatomy and identity while it moves.
✓ Blink or head movement is visible. (nice to have)

Input photo: European shorthair cat, Portrait (2); by creator not listed, CC0 1.0

bytedance/seedance-2.0-mini · Tested October 25, 2026

Wan

5 of 5 passed

Model: alibaba/wan-3.0 · Run through: OpenRouter video API (alibaba/wan-3.0) · Tested October 25, 2026

product orbitPass

Starts on the input photo, camera orbits, mug and table keep their look.

Prompt

Slow, smooth camera orbit around the ceramic mug on the wooden table. Keep the mug shape, colour and the table unchanged. Soft natural light. No text.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same mug, table, framing).
✓ The mug keeps its shape and handle while the camera moves.
✓ Visible camera movement around the mug. (nice to have)

Input photo: Ceramic mug wooden table by creator not listed, CC0 1.0

alibaba/wan-3.0 · Tested October 25, 2026

food steamPass

Strong push-in with steam rising; bowl, noodles and meatballs unchanged; no hands.

Prompt

Gentle steam rises from the bowl of noodle soup, the broth surface ripples slightly, very slow camera push-in. No hands, no people.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same bowl, noodles, meatballs).
✓ No hands, utensils held by a person, or people appear.
✓ Steam or broth movement is visible; food keeps its look. (nice to have)

Input photo: A bowl of soup with noodles and meatballs by Faisal Ahammad, CC0 1.0

alibaba/wan-3.0 · Tested October 25, 2026

room dollyPass

Dolly forward; furniture stable; it replaced the window blinds with sheer curtains, which the prompt asked to move.

Prompt

Slow cinematic dolly forward into the living room, sheer curtains moving gently in a light breeze, daylight. Furniture stays still and unchanged. No people.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same sofa, chairs, windows).
✓ Furniture keeps its geometry (no bending sofas or chairs morphing).
✓ Forward camera motion is visible; no people appear. (nice to have)

Input photo: Free minimalist living room interior by creator not listed, CC0 1.0

alibaba/wan-3.0 · Tested October 25, 2026

landscape motionPass

Clouds move over the peaks, boathouse and mountains stable.

Prompt

Clouds drift slowly over the mountains, the lake water ripples gently and reflections shimmer, slow pan to the right. Calm, natural, no people.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (mountains, lake, boathouse).
✓ Landscape stays stable (mountains and boathouse do not warp).
✓ Clouds or water visibly move; gentle pan. (nice to have)

Input photo: File:Boathouse on a mountain lake (Unsplash).jpg by Luca Bravo lucabravo, CC0 1.0

alibaba/wan-3.0 · Tested October 25, 2026

pet motionPass

Cat blinks and looks around; identity holds.

Prompt

The ginger cat slowly blinks, raises its head and looks around calmly, whiskers twitch slightly. Soft indoor light, shallow depth of field.

Checklist

✓ The request returns a playable video file.
✓ No severe temporal breakdown: subject does not melt, split, duplicate or flicker into something else.
✓ No garbled pseudo-text or fake watermark appears on screen. (nice to have)
✓ First frame matches the input photo (same ginger cat).
✓ The cat keeps a plausible anatomy and identity while it moves.
✓ Blink or head movement is visible. (nice to have)

Input photo: European shorthair cat, Portrait (2); by creator not listed, CC0 1.0

alibaba/wan-3.0 · Tested October 25, 2026

Not tested yet

These tools are listed with checked prices, but we have no practical test for them yet. They do not count toward the ranking.

CapCut Not tested yet: it has no public API we can run our standard prompts through, and we only publish results from runs we did ourselves.
Google Gemini (Gemini Omni video) Not tested yet: the Gemini API project was over its monthly spending cap on 25 Oct 2026.
Hedra Not tested yet: it has no public API we can run our standard prompts through, and we only publish results from runs we did ourselves.
HeyGen Skipped by design: it is an avatar video tool.
invideo AI Not tested yet: it has no public API we can run our standard prompts through, and we only publish results from runs we did ourselves.
Kling AI Not tested yet for image to video: the remaining budget went to its Indonesian text to video set.
Luma (Dream Machine) Not tested yet: the only API route we can use for it (fal.ai) refused all calls on 25 Oct 2026 because the account balance ran out.
Pika Not tested yet: it has no public API we can run our standard prompts through, and we only publish results from runs we did ourselves.
PixVerse Not tested yet: the only API route we can use for it (fal.ai) refused all calls on 25 Oct 2026 because the account balance ran out.
Runway Not tested yet: at $0.12 per second (720p, OpenRouter) a full prompt set did not fit this month's test budget.
Vidu Not tested yet: the only API route we can use for it (fal.ai) refused all calls on 25 Oct 2026 because the account balance ran out.

How we test

The prompts and the pass or fail checklist were written on October 25, 2026, before any tool was run. Each tool got the same prompts and settings. A prompt passes only when every required checklist item is met; the notes say what was off. Results come from the API model behind each product, not from its app.

Questions

Which photos did you use?

Five CC0 photos (a mug, a bowl of soup, a living room, a mountain lake and a pet) so anyone can repeat the test. The source and license of each photo are shown next to the clip.

How were the clips judged?

Four frames from each clip were checked against a checklist written before the run: the first frame matches the photo, the subject keeps its shape, and the asked motion is visible.

Which tool did best in your test?

Hailuo AI, Seedance, and Wan passed every prompt in our run of October 25, 2026. The full results, including failures, are in the gallery above.

Which of these have a free plan?

According to the official pricing pages (checked October 25, 2026): Hailuo AI, Wan, CapCut, Google Gemini (Gemini Omni video), HeyGen, Kling AI, Pika, PixVerse, Runway, and Vidu.

Why might this page say it is not in search engines?

We only ask search engines to index a list once at least 5 tools have a fresh price check and 5 graded prompts. Until then the page stays visible to visitors but out of search results.