Hailuo AI vs Vidu (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Hailuo AI and Vidu share a 2.4 GPA, and only Vidu has a free plan.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hailuo AI grades higher on value for money. Vidu grades higher on features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
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
Vidu
AI video generator with reference-to-video and image-to-video
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 Vidu if
- Fits if you want characters or objects to stay consistent across a clip
- Works for people making short clips on a modest monthly budget
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want refunds: the page says it can't provide them
- Tight if you stay free, as it's 540P and the credit amount isn't shown
- Watch out: yearly prices are a limited-time 18% offer, so they may change
- Watch out: the Ultimate plan's credit total reads 8,000 and 10,000 in different places
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAHailuo AIFair | 2.4GPAViduFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | C$8.25 a month on Standard, billed yearly, for 800 credits, or $10 billed monthly, just over the $8 that marks the cheaper quarter. Premium is $35.42 and Ultimate $95.83. |
| 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. | CA free plan with the Q4 model at 540P and 10 references a month, with sign-up and daily login credits. The page doesn't say how many credits that is. |
| 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. | BText, image and reference-to-video, a text-to-image tool, sound effects, off-peak queues and an API platform. |
| 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. Credits, models, resolutions and queue types take some learning before you know what a clip will cost. |
| 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. | BWeb, with an API platform for developers, and no phone or desktop apps. |
| Best for | short clips with sound from MiniMax's H3 | short video clips from text or reference images |
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 Vidu. How we grade
Price against what you get
Hailuo AI starts at $8.40 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Vidu starts at $8.25 a month and scores 2.7.
Vidu scores higher and starts $0.15 a month lower. Of the other AI image and video generators on the chart, 11 score higher than Hailuo AI for less, and 4 score higher than Vidu 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
At a glance
| Hailuo AI | Vidu | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8.40 per month, billed yearly ($10.50 billed monthly) | $8.25 per month for 800 credits, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Q4 model at 540P for 2 credits per second and 10 references a month; credit amount not shown. |
| 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 | Vidu |
| Price read from | hailuoai.video | vidu.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 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.
Vidu
- The page describes the yearly prices as a limited-time offer ('Yearly Billing 18% Off').
- The Free plan's credit amount is not shown, and the Q4 model uses 2 credits per second at 540P.
- Credits are sold at $1.03, $1.01 and $0.96 per 100 on the paid tiers.
- The Ultimate plan's credit total reads inconsistently on the page, so check it before buying.
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.
Vidu
- Vidu Q-series models
- The site offers Vidu Q4 and Q3, with the plan table listing 720p and 1080p generation and 11 to 16 second Q3 videos.
- Reference-to-video
- Multi-reference consistency lets you supply reference images so characters or objects stay consistent across a clip.
- Text, image and sound tools
- Text-to-video, image-to-video, text-to-image and an AI sound effect generator sit beside templates.
- Off-peak mode
- Premium and Ultimate add an off-peak quota of 20 or 200 videos a day, queued outside busy hours.
- API platform
- A separate API platform is linked from the site for developers and enterprise customers.
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.
Vidu
Free$0
Q4 model at 540P and 10 references a month; no commercial-use line on the page.
Standard$8.25
per month for 800 credits, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly)
Fast generation channel, 3 to 16 second videos, up to 4 videos at once, commercial use.
Premium$35.42
per month for 3,500 credits, billed yearly ($43 billed monthly)
Ultra-fast channel and an off-peak quota of 20 videos a day; yearly total is $425.
Ultimate$95.83
per month for 10,000 credits, billed yearly ($115 billed monthly)
Off-peak quota of 200 videos a day; page shows 8,000 and 10,000 credits in different spots.
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.
Vidu
- Annual discount
Yearly billing, 18% off
The pricing page shows a Yearly Billing toggle labeled 18% off, for example $99 a year for Standard against $10 monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hailuo AI or Vidu?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Vidu is cheaper to start with: $8.25 a month, against $8.40 a month for Hailuo AI. Hailuo AI starts at $8.40 per month, billed yearly ($10.50 billed monthly), and Vidu starts at $8.25 per month for 800 credits, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Hailuo AI or Vidu?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Vidu has a free plan. Hailuo AI does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Hailuo AI and Vidu run on?
As of Nov 12, 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.