Vidu review (2026): is the free plan enough?
AI video generator with reference-to-video and image-to-video
Black Friday: is there a Vidu sale?
Vidu report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 12, 2026
Best for short video clips from text or reference images
Vidu is a web video generator that works from text, a start image or reference images, with an image generator and an API platform. The free plan is capped at 540P and the credit amount isn't shown, and the cheapest paid plan is $8.25 a month on yearly billing.
Who Vidu is for
- Fits if you want characters or objects to stay consistent across a clip
- Works for people making short clips on a modest monthly budget
Who Vidu is not for
- 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
Why Vidu gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for money$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.
- CFree plan and trialA 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.
- BFeaturesText, image and reference-to-video, a text-to-image tool, sound effects, off-peak queues and an API platform.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. Credits, models, resolutions and queue types take some learning before you know what a clip will cost.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, with an API platform for developers, and no phone or desktop apps.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Vidu's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/vidu#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/vidu.svg" alt="Vidu: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Vidu stands among AI image and video generators
Vidu's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 49 of the 89 other AI image and video generators we grade, and level with 16.
It stands best on features (B, above 42 of 89) and worst on value for money (C, above 6).
Its paid plans start at $8.25 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 17 of the 65 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 4 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 90 AI image and video generators we grade, cut by the letter each got. Vidu’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 6 of 89, level with 56
- CFree plan and trialAbove 28 of 89, level with 46
- BFeaturesAbove 42 of 89, level with 45
- CEase of useAbove 7 of 89, level with 50
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 39 of 89, level with 50
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 67 AI image and video generators. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Vidu, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Vidu 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.
It costs $99 a year.
What you could make
- Templates: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- A video model, which you can rent by the second but not make.
- An image model, which you can rent by the picture but not make.
- An API that other software can build on.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Vidu’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Vidu?
Vidu is a web video generator that makes clips from text, a start image or reference images, using its own Vidu Q-series models. It also offers an image generator, templates, an AI agent and an API platform. Plans give a monthly credit allowance, with faster queues and off-peak quotas on higher tiers.
Worth knowing
- 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
- 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.
Vidu pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, Vidu has a free plan, and paid plans start at $8.25 per month for 800 credits, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly).
- Starts at
- $8.25 per month for 800 credits, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- Q4 model at 540P for 2 credits per second and 10 references a month; credit amount not shown.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Q4 model at 540P and 10 references a month; no commercial-use line on the page. |
| Standard | $8.25per 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 | $35.42per 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 | $95.83per 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. |
Read from vidu.com on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Vidu before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountYearly billing, 18% off
The pricing page shows a Yearly Billing toggle labeled 18% off, for example $99 a year for Standard against $10 monthly.
Stated on vidu.com
Vidu alternatives
- Vidu vs Kling AI
Free plan · from $8.80/mo
- Vidu vs Runway
Free trial · from $12/mo
- Vidu vs PixVerse
Free plan · from $8/mo
- Vidu vs Hailuo AI
Free trial · from $8.40/mo
- Vidu vs Pika
From $8/mo
Common questions
Does Vidu have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Vidu is listed for Web.
Does Vidu have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Vidu is listed for Web.
Is Vidu open source?
Vidu is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Does Vidu have an API?
Yes. Vidu offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026.