Hailuo AI is MiniMax's text-to-video and image-to-video generator. Its MiniMax H3 model makes 4 to 15 second clips in up to 2K with native stereo sound, and a 5-second 2K clip costs 60 credits. New accounts get 150 credits once; Standard costs $10.50 a month ($8.40 billed yearly). It is the cheapest good way to experiment with AI video.
Reviewed by EdGrows·Updated Oct 18, 2026Affiliate link — we may earn a commission
Hailuo AI is the AI video generator I use most often, and the reason is simple: it is cheap enough to experiment with. MiniMax's current model, MiniMax H3, turns a prompt or an image into a 4 to 15 second clip in up to 2K with native stereo sound. A 5-second 2K clip costs 60 credits, new accounts get 150 credits once, and Standard costs $10.50 a month for 1,000 credits ($8.40 billed yearly), per Hailuo's pricing page on October 6, 2026.
The catch is predictability: the same prompt can come back with different motion and detail each time, so budget for a few runs per shot you keep.
Here is one I made in October 2026: MiniMax H3, 2K, 5 seconds, from a text prompt asking for an epic fantasy shot of an elven city with dragons.
The opening frame of my test clip. The hooded figure in the foreground starts out of focus while the camera holds on the city.
The same clip a few seconds later. Within five seconds H3 moved from a wide establishing shot to a close-up of the hand and the ring, with the focus shifting from the background to the foreground.
The clip in Hailuo's Assets library, tagged with the model, resolution and length. At these settings Hailuo's prompt box shows a cost of 60 credits.
What I like about Hailuo is exactly this: a scene that would need a set, actors and a VFX budget comes back from one paragraph of text, and I can try different camera movement in the next run. What I've learned to expect is that a generation is a draw, not a guarantee. Motion and fine detail vary from one run to the next, and some come back different from what I had in mind. The MiniMax and Hailuo AI watermark in the corner is what free-trial output looks like; paid plans remove it.
Two clips at the settings above, or about four at 768P. Hailuo gives new accounts 150 credits once, not every day, and they work only on Hailuo's own models, one task at a time, with watermarked output. Older guides that promise daily free credits describe a plan Hailuo no longer advertises.
That is still enough to judge whether H3 suits your kind of shot, and it's how I'd start. Subscriptions aren't refundable, so test your own prompts before you pay. One thing makes the trial go further than on most competitors: Hailuo's FAQ says failed generations cost no credits, while Kling's web app and Vidu bill for them.
Picking the wrong model is the most common reason Hailuo output disappoints.
| Model | Clip length | Resolution | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| MiniMax H3 | 4 to 15 sec (5 by default) | 768P or 2K, 24 fps | Final renders with native sound |
| H3 Max | 5 to 15 sec | 480P or 768P | Cheap drafts of the same prompt |
| Hailuo 2.3 | 6 sec, 10 on Pro and above | Up to 1080p | Stylised character motion: anime, ink wash, game CG |
| Hailuo 02 | 6 sec, 10 on Pro and above | Native 1080p | Cinematic, deliberate-looking shots |
Per Hailuo's model descriptions and pricing page, October 6, 2026.
MiniMax H3, released on July 31, 2026, was the first Hailuo model to generate sound with the picture: MiniMax lists dialogue in 11 languages plus effects and music from the same pass. Its Omni Reference mode takes up to 12 files per prompt (up to nine images, three video clips and three audio clips), which is what keeps a recurring character recognisable across shots.
The workflow that saves the most credits: draft on H3 Max at 480P, where a second of video costs about a third of 2K, then render only the keeper on H3 at 2K.
The yearly view on October 6, 2026. Standard, at $8.40 a month billed yearly, sits to the left of the carousel; monthly billing costs $10.50, $38, $89 and $216.
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly (per month) | Credits / month | MiniMax H3 at 2K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | n/a | 150 credits once | Watermarked |
| Standard | $10.50 (list $14.99) | $8.40 | 1,000 | $0.126/sec (~84 sec) |
| Pro | $38 (list $54.99) | $30.40 | 4,500 | $0.102/sec (~375 sec) |
| Master | $89 (list $119.99) | $71.20 | 10,500 | $0.102/sec (~875 sec) |
| Max | $216 | $184 | 27,000 | $0.096/sec (~2,250 sec) |
From Hailuo's pricing page on October 6, 2026, unchanged since our first check on September 24. The discounts from list prices may end without notice; the site header advertises plans from $9.99. Per-second rates on yearly Pro, Master and Max: $0.081 at 2K, $0.047 at 768P, $0.027 at 480P (yearly Standard: $0.101, $0.059 and $0.034). Failed generations cost no credits; subscriptions are not refundable.
It helps to think in seconds rather than clips: at about 12 credits per second of 2K video, Standard's 1,000 credits cover roughly 16 clips like mine a month, and Pro's 4,500 cover about 75.
Yearly Pro, Master and Max also list unlimited image generation with Nano Banana Pro, Nano Banana 2, Seedream 5.0 Lite, Seedream 4.5 and GPT Image 1.5, which is useful for making the reference frames you then animate. Monthly plans list access to Veo 3.1 and Sora 2 instead. OpenAI closed the Sora API on September 24, 2026, so don't buy a plan for Sora 2 access. Max includes the older Hailuo 2.0 and 2.3 models without limits.
Try Hailuo AI freeUnpredictable runs are the first limit, and they cost credits even when nothing fails: a clip that renders fine but moves the wrong way is still charged. Drafting at 480P keeps that cheap.
Single takes stop at 15 seconds, and Kling offers more for longer scenes, with multi-shot generation of up to six shots and clip extension; on Hailuo you stitch clips together yourself.
Hailuo is a generator, not an editor. It has added an agent, a design tool and image models, but no timeline, asset management on Runway's level or team collaboration.
Prices also take arithmetic, because credits, per-second rates that change with resolution and billing period, and model access that differs between monthly and yearly plans make two plans hard to compare at a glance. Work out what your typical clip costs before you choose.
| Tool | Free tier | Entry price | Strongest at | Native audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hailuo AI | 150 credits once | $10.50 (list $14.99) | Realistic people, low cost per 2K second | Yes (H3) |
| Kling | 66 credits a day | $10 (from $6.99 first month) | Motion physics, multi-shot, 4K | Yes |
| Vidu | 10 references a month | $10 ($8 yearly) | Several characters kept consistent | Yes |
| PixVerse | 30 credits a day | $10 | Viral formats and effects | Yes |
| Runway | Limited | $15 | Editing and collaboration | No |
Hailuo, Kling and Vidu prices checked on their pricing pages on September 24, 2026; the others from our individual reviews.
Kling is the closest rival. Hailuo is cheaper per second at 2K and doesn't charge for failed generations; Kling has the more convincing motion physics, multi-shot sequences and 4K. Many creators run both: Hailuo for faces, Kling for action. See the Hailuo vs Kling comparison.
Vidu's seven-entity reference holds several characters, objects and settings steady across shots, and its clips run to 16 seconds; Hailuo's people look more real. More in Hailuo vs Vidu. PixVerse refills 30 free credits every day, which suits volume on no budget; the trade-offs are in Hailuo vs PixVerse. Runway costs more and gives you a full creative platform around the generator.
MiniMax, a Shanghai AI lab founded in 2021, which completed a Hong Kong IPO in January 2026 at a $4 billion valuation, raising about $619 million, with Alibaba and Tencent among its investors. In a category where thinly funded startups change pricing overnight, a listed parent is a stability signal.
For typical creator and marketing work the China origin has little practical effect. If your organisation has a policy on Chinese AI tools, that policy decides. MiniMax released H3's weights as open source in August 2026, so teams with data concerns can run the model on their own infrastructure.
I use Hailuo regularly for my own short clips. The clip and the screenshots above are mine, from October 2026; I haven't timed generations or tracked how many credits I spend a month, so the numbers on this page come from Hailuo itself. Plans, prices, credit costs and per-second rates come from Hailuo's pricing page, checked on September 24 and October 6, 2026. Model specifications come from MiniMax's model pages and Hailuo's FAQ, and company details from public reporting on MiniMax's IPO.
Yes, if you make short clips and want to experiment without a big subscription. It's the AI video tool I keep coming back to: 150 free credits to find out whether H3 suits your shots, $10.50 a month after that, published per-second prices and no charge for failed renders.
Go in expecting to run a prompt several times. Draft cheap on H3 Max, render the keeper in 2K, and keep a few spare credits for the run that comes back wrong. If your work depends on physics-heavy action or sequences longer than 15 seconds, start with Kling instead.
Disclosure: AIVario earns a commission if you sign up through our link. This does not affect our rating or review.
Get started with Hailuo AIAs a trial. In October 2026 Hailuo gives new accounts 150 credits once, for Hailuo's own models, with watermarked output and one task at a time. Older guides describe daily free credits; the current plan does not promise them. A 5-second MiniMax H3 clip at 2K costs 60 credits, so the trial covers two of them. Standard costs $10.50 a month for 1,000 credits.
MiniMax, a Shanghai-based AI lab founded in 2021. MiniMax completed a Hong Kong IPO in January 2026, raising about $619 million at a $4 billion valuation, with Alibaba and Tencent among its investors. That makes it one of the few AI video platforms with a publicly listed parent, which matters in a category where thinly funded tools change pricing abruptly.
MiniMax H3 is the current default: 4 to 15 second clips at 768P or 2K, with native stereo sound. H3 Max offers 480P and 768P for cheaper drafts. The older Hailuo 2.3 (physics and character motion) and Hailuo 02 (cinematic, native 1080p) make 6-second clips, or 10 seconds on Pro and above, and the Max plan includes them without limits in a slower queue. Draft at 480P or 768P, then render the keeper in 2K.
It depends on the plan and billing period. MiniMax H3 at 2K costs $0.126 a second on monthly Standard, $0.102 on monthly Pro and Master, and $0.081 on yearly Pro, Master or Max. At 768P the range is $0.047 to $0.074, and H3 Max at 480P costs $0.027 to $0.042. In credits, 2K works out to about 12 credits a second, so a 5-second clip costs 60 and Pro's 4,500 credits buy roughly 375 seconds.
They win on different things. Hailuo leads on photorealistic faces, a lower price per second at 2K and not charging for failed generations. Kling leads on motion physics, multi-shot sequences of up to six shots and 4K output. Both now generate native audio and single clips of up to 15 seconds. For a clip with a person in it, Hailuo; for action and physics, Kling.
MiniMax H3 generates 4 to 15 second clips at 768P or 2K, 5 seconds by default, at 24 frames per second with stereo sound. H3 Max covers 5 to 15 seconds at 480P or 768P. Hailuo 2.3 and 2.0 make 6-second clips up to 1080p, or 10 seconds on Pro and above. Free outputs carry a watermark. For anything longer than 15 seconds you combine generations.
Yes, this is one of its stronger features. Image-to-video starts from a reference image and keeps the character's appearance, and H3's Omni Reference mode accepts up to 12 files per prompt: up to nine images, three video clips and three audio clips. For storytelling where the same person appears across shots, it holds up better than most tools in its price range.
Yes, for anything you can download without a watermark, which in practice means paid plans: Hailuo's FAQ says those videos are yours to use commercially. Free outputs carry a watermark. Subscriptions are not refundable, so test your own prompts on the free trial before paying, and check the current terms before client work.
Yes. Hailuo is made by MiniMax, a Chinese AI lab, and is available globally on the web, mobile and API. Some users have concerns about Chinese AI tools and data handling. For typical creator use the practical impact is small. For regulated industries or sensitive content, evaluate it against your own requirements; MiniMax released H3's weights as open source in August 2026, so the model can also run on your own infrastructure.
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