# Lumen5 review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> Turn blog posts, scripts and ideas into videos with AI

Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA.

Lumen5 is a browser-based video maker that builds a first cut from a link, script or document. It combines templates, stock media, AI voices and AI-generated clips with brand kits. The free plan limits length and adds a Lumen5 outro, and a team tier adds approvals and SSO.

- **Category:** Screen Recording & Video
- **Made by:** Lumen5
- **Website:** https://lumen5.com
- **Runs on:** Web
- **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you can't have a Lumen5 outro, as free videos carry one.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 12, 2026, Lumen5 has a free plan, and paid plans start at $19 per month, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** 5 videos per month, each up to 2 minutes long, with a Lumen5 branded outro.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. |
| Team | Custom | Collaboration, video approval, SSO, translations and a customer success manager. Billed yearly, sold through sales. |

Read from https://lumen5.com/pricing/ on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Lumen5 before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Save 25% with yearly billing** (Annual discount): Lumen5's pricing page labels the yearly option as saving 25% against monthly billing. Source: https://lumen5.com/pricing/

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- Marketers turning blog posts into social videos
- Small teams that want branded video without an editor
- Companies that need approvals and SSO on a team plan

## Worth knowing

- 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.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Lumen5 builds a first-cut video from a link, script or document, with stock media, AI voices and brand kits. The free plan gives 5 videos a month up to 2 minutes with a Lumen5 outro, and the higher plans jump to $59 and $149.

- **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.
- **Free plan and trial: C.** A free plan with 5 videos a month, up to 2 minutes each, with a Lumen5 branded outro.
- **Features: C.** Link 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.
- **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record, and the work is building and editing the video.
- **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only, with no integrations on record.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Lumen5's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among screen recording and video tools

- Lumen5's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 6 of the 84 other screen recording and video tools we grade, and level with 12.
- Its paid plans start at $19 a month, against a middle price of $12 for the category: 47 of the 62 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 43 tools score higher and cost less.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/video

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** To replace Lumen5 you would be making a video model, which you can rent by the second but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 66 of the 84 other screen recording and video tools grade higher. It costs $228 a year.

- You could make: Templates: an app builder makes this well.
- You could not: A video model, which you can rent by the second but not make.
- You could not: A voice model, which you can rent by the minute but not make.
- You could not: A voice model trained on your recordings.
- You could not: A video editor.
- You could not: AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- You could not: What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

**Tags:** Video generation, AI features, Text to speech, Voice cloning, Templates, Video editing

## Alternatives

- [Biteable](https://toolgpa.com/tools/biteable): Template-based online video maker for work videos. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/biteable-vs-lumen5)
- [Renderforest](https://toolgpa.com/tools/renderforest): AI video, image, audio and website maker with templates. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lumen5-vs-renderforest)
- [FlexClip](https://toolgpa.com/tools/flexclip): Online video maker and editor with templates and AI tools. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/flexclip-vs-lumen5)
- [Wave.video](https://toolgpa.com/tools/wave-video): Video editor, hosting and live streaming in one browser tool. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lumen5-vs-wave-video)
- [VEED](https://toolgpa.com/tools/veed): Browser-based AI video generator and editor for social video. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lumen5-vs-veed)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026:

- https://lumen5.com/pricing/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/lumen5
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).