Elser AI vs Hailuo AI (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hailuo AI grades higher than Elser AI: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hailuo AI grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Elser AI
AI anime, image and video studio with a monthly generation quota
Hailuo AI
MiniMax's video and image generator, running its H3 model
Which one is for you
Pick Elser AI if
- Fits if you want anime characters and short clips from several models under one plan
- Works for people who'd start on the free plan and see the speed
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need month-to-month pricing, as only the 12-month view was shown
- Watch out: credits expire at the end of each billing cycle
- Watch out: monthly quota generation uses a slower basic queue
- Not for you if you resell or automate, as the quota is for personal use only
- Watch out: the free plan's credit amount isn't listed
Pick Hailuo AI if
- Fits if you make short social clips with sound from a prompt or a photo
- Works for Android or web users who want MiniMax's H3 model in a ready-made app
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you make a lot of video: Standard's 1,000 credits cover about 84 seconds of 2K H3 a month, and Pro jumps to $30.40
- Not for you if you're on iPhone, as the US App Store page for its app came back not found
- Watch out: prices are shown against crossed-out figures with no end date, and the site header still says plans start at $9.99
- Watch out: the sign-up credit isn't stated until you're signed in, while MiniMax's separate Design app offers 3,000 free credits
- Skip it if you need an API, plugins or integrations, as none are listed
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAElser AIFair | 2.4GPAHailuo AIFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is $9 a month on a 12-month billing view labelled 60% off with no end date, between the cheaper quarter and the middle of AI image tools. Creator is $79.90. | BStandard is $8.40 a month on yearly billing ($10.50 monthly) for 1,000 credits, about 84 seconds of 2K H3 video, right at this category's cheaper quarter of $8.40. The page shows it against a crossed-out $14.99, with no end date. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan with limited use, 2 concurrent jobs and the slowest speed. The credit amount isn't on the page. | CNew accounts get free credits on sign-up, but the amount isn't shown until you're signed in. MiniMax's separate Design app offers 3,000 free credits for downloading it. |
| Features | CImage and video generation across many models, anime agents, character makers, lip sync and voice clone. Quotas are set per model each month. | CH3 makes clips with sound up to 15 seconds at 2K, mixes image, video and audio references, edits clips by instruction and makes images; paid plans add Veo 3.1, Sora 2 and image models. No API or plugins are on record. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Many models and quotas to choose between. | CNo app-store rating on record. Effect templates give you a starting point, but mixing several references into one scene takes practice. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only; no apps, no API and no integrations are listed. | BWeb and an Android app on Google Play. The site links an iPhone app, but its US App Store page came back not found, and no integrations are listed. |
| Best for | anime characters, images and short videos | short clips with sound from MiniMax's H3 |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Elser AI and Hailuo AI. How we grade
Price against what you get
Elser AI starts at $9 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Hailuo AI starts at $8.40 a month and scores 2.3.
Hailuo AI scores higher and starts $0.60 a month lower. Of the other AI image and video generators on the chart, 30 score higher than Elser AI for less, and 17 score higher than Hailuo AI for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Elser AI also covers voice cloning.
- Hailuo AI also covers templates.
At a glance
| Elser AI | Hailuo AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $9 per month, billed for 12 months | $8.40 per month, billed yearly ($10.50 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | A Free plan with limited use; the pricing page does not give its credit amount. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | New users get free credits on sign-up; the amount is not shown before signing in |
| Web | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Elser Global Pte. Ltd. | MiniMax |
| Price read from | elser.ai | hailuoai.video |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Elser AI
- The prices shown are an annual-billing view labelled 60% off, and the page gives no end date; a month-to-month price was not shown.
- Subscription credits expire at the end of each billing cycle, and monthly quota generation uses a slower basic queue.
- The page says the quota is for personal use only and bars automation, scripting and resale.
- The pricing page does not list the Free plan's credit amount, and a limited-time sale banner appears above the plans.
Hailuo AI
- Plans are shown as discounts from crossed-out prices ($14.99 for Standard) with no end date, and the site header still says plans start at $9.99 a month.
- The site links to an iOS app, but its US App Store page returned not found on October 17, 2026; the Android app is on Google Play.
- MiniMax also sells H3 in its separate MiniMax Design app, which a site banner promotes with 3,000 free credits for downloading it.
Key features
Elser AI
- Image generation across models
- Plans list monthly image quotas for Nano Banana, Nano Banana Pro, Seedream 4.0 and 4.5, Z image, Midjourney v7 and Grok.
- Video generation
- Quotas are listed for Google Veo 3.1, Sora 2 variants and Elser's own video model, with fixed-length clips counted per video.
- Anime and ad video agents
- Agent modes produce anime-style or UGC-style ad videos at 480P up to 1080P, with the number of videos set by plan.
- Character and OC makers
- Template pages cover original-character makers for several franchises, plus a character generator and chibi, pixel-art and line-art tools.
- Lip-sync, voice clone and sound
- Higher plans include lip-sync minutes, voice cloning runs and a sound-effect generator alongside the image and video tools.
Hailuo AI
- MiniMax H3 video model
- Generates video with native stereo sound, up to 15 seconds long at 2K, from text, images or a mix of references, including multi-shot clips.
- Omni Reference
- Combine reference images, video and audio in one prompt, for example borrowing a camera move from one clip and a character from an image.
- Editing by instruction
- H3 edits and restyles existing clips and transfers motion from one video to another, with the change described in plain language.
- Image generation
- A separate Create Image mode turns prompts into still images, alongside text-to-video and image-to-video.
- Effect templates
- The home page offers trending preset templates such as PetPal, Style Switch, CineScope and ASMR for quick themed creations.
Plans
Elser AI
Free$0
Limited use, 2 concurrent jobs and the slowest generation speed.
Basic$9
per month, billed for 12 months
Monthly quotas per model (for example 168 Nano Banana images) and 6 concurrent video or image jobs.
Pro$22.9
per month, billed for 12 months
Larger quotas (for example 840 Nano Banana images), 9 concurrent video jobs and 12 image jobs.
Ultimate$32.9
per month, billed for 12 months
Larger quotas (for example 1,680 Nano Banana images), 24 concurrent video jobs and 48 image jobs.
Creator$79.9
per month, billed for 12 months
Highest quotas (for example 6,300 Nano Banana images), 32 concurrent video jobs and 60 image jobs.
Hailuo AI
Standard$8.40
per month, billed yearly ($10.50 billed monthly)
1,000 credits a month, about 84 seconds of 2K H3 video, plus Veo 3.1 and Sora 2. Shown against a crossed-out $14.99; $100.80 billed yearly.
Pro$30.40
per month, billed yearly ($38 billed monthly)
4,500 credits a month and unlimited 1K to 2K images on Nano Banana, Seedream and GPT Image. Shown against $54.99; $364.80 billed yearly.
Master$71.20
per month, billed yearly ($89 billed monthly)
10,500 credits a month, about 875 seconds of 2K H3 video, with unlimited 2K images. Shown against $119.99; $854.40 billed yearly.
Max$184
per month, billed yearly ($216 billed monthly)
27,000 credits a month, unlimited Hailuo 2.0 and 2.3 video and unlimited 4K images. $2,208 billed yearly.
Ways to pay less
Elser AI
- Annual discount
Annual plans shown at 60% off
The pricing page's Annual toggle is labelled 60% discount, with each plan billed for 12 months; the page states no end date.
Hailuo AI
- Annual discount
Lower monthly rates with yearly billing
Billed yearly, Standard is $100.80 ($8.40 a month) against $10.50 billed monthly, Pro $364.80 against $38 a month, and Master $854.40 against $89 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Elser AI or Hailuo AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hailuo AI is cheaper to start with: $8.40 a month, against $9 a month for Elser AI. Elser AI starts at $9 per month, billed for 12 months, and Hailuo AI starts at $8.40 per month, billed yearly ($10.50 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Elser AI or Hailuo AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Elser AI has a free plan. Hailuo AI does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Elser AI and Hailuo AI run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Hailuo AI lists an Android app. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.