Hailuo AI vs HiDream (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hailuo AI grades higher than HiDream: 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.
Hailuo AI
MiniMax's video and image generator, running its H3 model
Which one is for you
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
Pick HiDream if
- Fits if you want to try an image and video app on free credits
- Works for companies shopping for an image and video API
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want paid prices, as they could not be read without signing in
- Not for you if you want a single product, as HiDream.ai runs several and the consumer one is vivago
- Tight if you are free: 30 credits, then ads to earn more
- Watch out: enterprise API pricing is not published on the homepage
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAHailuo AIFair | 2.0GPAHiDreamFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CPaid plan prices could not be read, because the vivago pricing page shows only a sign-in prompt. It sits in the middle by default. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | C30 free credits on a new account, with more earned by watching ads. What a credit buys was not readable. |
| Features | 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. | CThe vivago app, an enterprise API, marketing video tools, film tools and open-source models. The listing gives few limits. |
| Ease of use | CNo app-store rating on record. Effect templates give you a starting point, but mixing several references into one scene takes practice. | CNo store rating on record. The offering spans several products, so there is some sorting out. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | CWeb only on the pages read, with TikTok the one integration listed. |
| Best for | short clips with sound from MiniMax's H3 | vivago image and video app |
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: Hailuo AI and HiDream. How we grade
Where they differ
At a glance
| Hailuo AI | HiDream | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8.40 per month, billed yearly ($10.50 billed monthly) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | Vivago, the consumer app, gives new accounts 30 free credits and lets users earn more credits by watching ads. |
| Free trial | New users get free credits on sign-up; the amount is not shown before signing in | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | MiniMax | HiDream.ai |
| Price read from | hailuoai.video | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
HiDream
- Paid plan prices could not be read: the vivago pricing page shows only a sign-in prompt without logging in.
- HiDream.ai is a company with several products; the consumer app is vivago, at vivago.ai.
- The 30 free credits are stated for new vivago accounts; what a credit buys was not readable.
- Enterprise API pricing is not published on the homepage.
Key features
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.
HiDream
- vivago creation app
- A web app for AI image and video generation with templates, an effects library and an AI agent that starts from a story idea.
- Enterprise API platform
- HiHarness is described on the homepage as a multimodal platform with 200+ APIs for model services.
- Marketing video tools
- HiBurst is aimed at marketing content, with storyboard control and one-click publishing to TikTok.
- Film production platform
- Zhenzan is presented as a platform for AI film creation and multi-role collaboration.
- Open-source models
- Company news mentions the open-source HiDream-E1.1 image editing model and the HiDream-O1-Image-1.5 model.
Plans
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.
HiDream
Pricing could not be confirmed. See hidreamai.com.
Ways to pay less
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.
HiDream
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hailuo AI or HiDream?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hailuo AI starts at $8.40 per month, billed yearly ($10.50 billed monthly), and HiDream has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Hailuo AI or HiDream?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only HiDream has a free plan. Hailuo AI does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Hailuo AI and HiDream 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.