Lumen5 vs Wave.video (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Lumen5 and Wave.video share a 2.0 GPA, both have a free plan, and Wave.video starts cheaper, at $16 a month against $19 a month.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Lumen5
Turn blog posts, scripts and ideas into videos with AI
Wave.video
Video editor, hosting and live streaming in one browser tool
Which one is for you
Pick Lumen5 if
- Fits if you turn blog posts into short social videos
- Works for one person who wants AI voices over stock clips
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you can't have a Lumen5 outro, as free videos carry one
- Tight if you make longer videos, since free stops at 2 minutes
- Pricey if you want 1080p, which starts at Starter, $59
- Watch out: animation and AI voice minutes are yearly, and extra animation minutes are an add-on
- Not for you if you need approvals or SSO, which are Team plan only
Pick Wave.video if
- Fits if you want editing, live streaming and video hosting under one login
- Works for people who'll test the editor on the free plan first
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: watermarked exports and the FAQ says MP4 downloads need a paid plan
- Skip it if you need separate team logins, as the FAQ describes shared credentials
- Watch out: extra hosted embeds on Business cost 20 cents each a month past 200
- Watch out: captioning past 200 minutes costs 5 cents a minute, and the pages disagree on Business storage (500 GB or 200 GB)
- Not for you if you want a desktop or phone app, as it's web only
How we grade them
| 2.0GPALumen5Fair | 2.0GPAWave.videoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$19 a month billed yearly for Basic ($29 monthly), above the category's $12.99 middle but under $20. Starter is $59 and Pro $149. | CStreamer is $16 a month on yearly billing ($20 monthly), above the category's middle of $12.99. Business is $48. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan with 5 videos a month, up to 2 minutes each, with a Lumen5 branded outro. | CA free plan with a basic editor, live streaming with a watermark, 5 hosted embeds and 10 GB of storage. Downloading MP4s needs a paid plan. |
| Features | CLink and script to video, AI voices, animation minutes, stock media and brand kits. The listing shows gaps: animation and voice minutes are yearly allowances, and approvals and SSO need Team. | CEditor, stock library, streaming, hosting, captions and webinars, but teams share one login and the pages disagree about Business storage. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and the work is building and editing the video. | CNo store rating on record. A web app where you build each video yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no integrations on record. | CWeb only. No integrations are listed in the pages read. |
| Best for | turning blog posts into videos | video, live streaming and hosting in one place |
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: Lumen5 and Wave.video. How we grade
Price against what you get
Lumen5 starts at $19 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Wave.video starts at $16 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Wave.video starts $3 a month lower. Of the other screen recording and video tools on the chart, 43 score higher than Lumen5 for less, and 39 score higher than Wave.video 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
- Lumen5 also covers video generation and voice cloning.
- Wave.video also covers webinars and multistreaming.
At a glance
| Lumen5 | Wave.video | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19 per month, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly) | $16 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 5 videos per month, each up to 2 minutes long, with a Lumen5 branded outro. | Basic editor and live streaming with a watermark, 5 hosted-video embeds, 10 GB storage. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Lumen5 | Animatron Inc. |
| Price read from | lumen5.com | wave.video |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Lumen5
- The Free plan caps videos at 2 minutes, 5 a month, and adds a Lumen5 outro.
- Animation and AI voice minutes are yearly allowances, not monthly, and differ by plan.
- Extra animation minutes are sold as an add-on beyond the plan allowance.
- Video approval, SSO and translations need the custom-priced Team plan.
Wave.video
- Free exports carry a Wave.video watermark; the FAQ says downloading MP4 files needs a paid plan.
- Teams share a login; the FAQ describes multiple user logins as shared credentials.
- Extra hosted embeds on Business cost 20 cents each a month past 200, and captioning past 200 minutes costs 5 cents a minute.
- Pages disagree on Business storage (500 GB in the plan table, 200 GB in the FAQ).
Key features
Lumen5
- Link, script and document to video
- Start from a blog post URL, a script or a document and let AI assemble a first cut that can then be edited.
- AI voices and clones
- 1,000+ AI voices come with the paid plans; Starter includes 1 voice clone and Pro includes 3.
- Animation and AI clips
- Paid plans include a yearly allowance of animation minutes for AI-generated clips and explainer-style videos.
- Stock media
- Stock photos and video clips are built in, and Pro adds Shutterstock editorial media.
- Brand kits
- Brand kits and video blueprints keep logos, colors and fonts consistent; Pro adds custom watermarks and fonts.
- Recording tools
- The feature menu lists in-app recording, screen recording and talking-head videos.
Wave.video
- Video editor
- Browser editor with templates, layouts, an advanced text editor and a thumbnail maker; editing length and resolution rise by plan.
- Stock library
- Plans include a stock library of clips, images and soundtracks; the page cites 2M assets on lower plans and 200M on higher ones.
- Live streaming
- Streams to several channels with guests, scenes, shared presentations and pre-recorded video streaming on paid plans.
- Video hosting
- Host and embed videos with customization; each plan sets embeds, monthly traffic and storage.
- Captions and voice
- Creator and Business add styled captions and subtitles, image background removal and text to speech.
- Webinars and recording
- Paid streaming plans include webinars and recording with pause and resume, up to 4 or 12 hours.
Plans
Lumen5
Free$0
5 videos a month, up to 2 minutes each, with a Lumen5 branded outro.
Basic$19
per month, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly)
Unlimited videos, no Lumen5 branding, custom colors, 12 animation minutes and 240 AI voice minutes a year.
Starter$59
per month, billed yearly ($79 billed monthly)
1080p, 50M+ stock photos and videos, brand kit, 24 animation minutes, 720 voice minutes, 1 voice clone.
Pro$149
per month, billed yearly ($199 billed monthly)
Shutterstock editorial media, custom watermarks and fonts, multiple workspaces, 60 animation minutes, 3 voice clones.
TeamCustom
Collaboration, video approval, SSO, translations and a customer success manager. Billed yearly, sold through sales.
Wave.video
Free$0
Basic editor and streaming with a watermark, 2 channels, 6 guests, up to 1 hour a stream.
Streamer$16
per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
Videos up to 5 minutes, 5 channels, 10 guests, streams up to 4 hours at 1080p, webinars.
Creator$24
per month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
Edits up to 30 minutes, captions, background removal, text to speech, 20 embeds, 30 GB storage.
Business$48
per month, billed annually ($60 billed monthly)
Edits up to 2 hours at 60fps, 10 channels, 12 guests, 12-hour streams, 200 embeds, shared login.
Ways to pay less
Lumen5
- Annual discount
Save 25% with yearly billing
Lumen5's pricing page labels the yearly option as saving 25% against monthly billing.
Wave.video
- Annual discount
Annual billing is 20% cheaper
Wave.video's pricing page labels its annual toggle as 20% off, with monthly prices shown at a higher rate.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Lumen5 or Wave.video?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Wave.video is cheaper to start with: $16 a month, against $19 a month for Lumen5. Lumen5 starts at $19 per month, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly), and Wave.video starts at $16 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Lumen5 or Wave.video?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Lumen5 and Wave.video have a free plan.
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.