Which AI video generator has the cheapest paid starting plan?

Headline prices are not directly comparable because platforms use different credits, generation lengths, models and billing periods. Pika currently lists Starter at $10/month ($8/month billed annually), while other tools may show promotional, annualized or region-specific pricing.

Why does AI Video Signal track pricing instead of only plan prices?

AI video tools use incompatible credit systems. The useful comparison is approved output for your workflow after retries, not the nominal number of credits or the lowest sticker price.

How often should AI video pricing be checked?

Pricing and credit burn can change frequently. This tracker records a checked date and links to official provider sources so readers can verify the live checkout before subscribing.

AI Video Pricing 2026: 8 Tools, Credits & Plans

Name: AI Video Pricing Tracker 2026
Creator: AI Video Signal
License: https://aivideosignal.com/dataset-license/

Credits are not equal across providers
Compare 6 usage and expiry systems →

Compare current model specifications
Compare model specs →

Quick takeaway: the cheapest sticker price is rarely the cheapest production workflow. AI video platforms meter usage in incompatible ways: seconds, credits, avatar minutes, agent runs or model-specific generation costs. Compare usable approved output, not just monthly price.

Commercial paths with verified partner links: these options sit outside the 8-tool pricing snapshot and are included because their account-specific tracking is currently verified.

Pictory — content repurposing: useful when the job starts from articles, scripts, webinars, podcasts or presentations. Check Pictory plans → Code AIVIDEOSIGNAL gives 20% off where the provider applies the code.
Creatify — ecommerce and product ads: a better-fit route when the objective is turning product URLs or assets into ad creatives. Try Creatify →
ElevenLabs — commercial voice layer: useful when voiceover, cloning or dubbing is a separate part of the production budget. Check ElevenLabs →

Affiliate availability does not determine the eight-tool pricing snapshot or editorial conclusions.

Use the raw data
Download the pricing tracker CSV →

AI video pricing snapshot — September 22, 2026

Tool	Current public price reference	Included usage reference	Best fit	Important caveat
Runway	Free; Standard $15/mo or $12/mo annual	625 credits/mo on Standard	Advanced generative video	Clear public monthly + annual headline pricing.
Kling AI	Free; Standard $6.99 intro; next monthly renewal shown $8.80	660 credits/mo on Standard	Native-audio & multi-shot generation	Promotional and renewal prices are displayed separately; verify live renewal.
HeyGen	Free; Creator $29/mo or $24/mo annual	600 credits/mo on Creator	Avatar-led business video & localization	Credit burn depends on workflow/model.
InVideo AI	Free; Starter $20/seat/mo billed annually	400 credits/seat/mo on Starter	Prompt-to-finished marketing video	Plus is $50/seat/mo billed annually with 2,000 credits; model/agent costs vary and unused credits do not roll over.
Fliki	Free; Standard $28/mo; Premium $88/mo	Plan credits vary by tier	Script-to-video, voices & faceless content	Provider pages currently cite $28 Standard / $88 Premium; verify billing-period display.
Pika	Free (0 monthly credits; packs only); Starter $10/mo or $8/mo annual	900 credits/mo on Starter	Fast creative effects & social generation	Live pricing now shows Starter/900 credits; the FAQ still shows older plan names and allocations, so verify the live pricing page.
Hailuo AI	Free; subscription terms list Standard $14.99/mo	1,000 credits/mo on Standard	Image-to-video & expressive motion	Official subscription terms and newer promotional pages currently disagree.
Synthesia	Free; Starter $29/mo or $264/year	1,200 credits/mo on Starter	Training & enterprise presenter video	Help documentation states standard video generation uses 2 credits/sec; annual Starter receives 14,500 credits.

This is a snapshot, not a promise of future pricing. The CSV carries the same checked date and official-source URLs so changes can be audited.

What the headline monthly price does not tell you

Runway, Kling, Pika and Hailuo are especially sensitive to retry economics: two plans with similar monthly prices can produce very different amounts of usable footage depending on generation length, resolution, audio and how often a shot must be rerolled. HeyGen and Synthesia package presenter workflows differently, while InVideo can consume credits according to the models and agents used behind a generation.

For budgeting, estimate the number of final approved videos or shots you need each month, then add a realistic retry buffer. That gives you a more useful cost-per-output figure than comparing credit counts across vendors.

Price notes by tool

Runway

Runway publishes one of the clearer price tables: Free, Standard, Pro, Max and Enterprise, with monthly and annual billing. The harder part is model economics. Gen-4.5 and other video models consume credits at different rates, so a 625-credit Standard plan should be evaluated against the exact models and durations you expect to use. Runway Review →

Kling AI

Kling currently separates promotional first-subscription pricing from renewal figures in its own guidance. That makes the renewal amount more useful for long-term budgeting than the headline offer. VIDEO 3.0 also changes credit consumption by resolution and native-audio settings. Kling AI Review →

HeyGen

HeyGen's Creator plan is currently $29/month or $24/month with annual billing and includes 600 credits. The same credits can fund very different amounts of output depending on whether you use Avatar III, Avatar IV/V, Video Agent, translation or other advanced models. HeyGen Review →

InVideo AI

InVideo's current paid entry point is Starter at $20 per seat/month billed annually with 400 credits per seat/month. Plus is $50 per seat/month billed annually with 2,000 credits. Agent and model choices affect consumption, and unused credits do not roll over, so plan price alone is not a stable proxy for production volume. InVideo AI Review →

Fliki

Current official Fliki use-case pages cite Standard at $28/month and Premium at $88/month. Fliki is easier to compare by end-to-end output because the subscription bundles script, voice, visuals, captions and editing into one workflow. Fliki Review →

Pika

Pika's live pricing page now lists Starter at $10/month, or $8/month billed annually, with 900 monthly credits; the Free tier shows 0 monthly credits and credit packs instead. Pika's FAQ still displays older Basic/Standard allocations, so this tracker treats the live pricing page and checkout as the current authority and records the documentation conflict. Pika Review →

Hailuo AI

Hailuo's subscription terms list Standard at $14.99/month with 1,000 credits, while newer official marketing pages show materially lower headline plan prices. Because Hailuo's own sources conflict, this tracker keeps the subscription-terms figure as the reference and treats the live regional checkout and renewal terms as the purchase authority. Hailuo AI Review →

Synthesia

Synthesia currently publishes Basic at $0 and Starter at $29/month, with Starter also shown at $264/year. Current help documentation assigns 1,200 credits per month to Starter and states standard video generation uses 2 credits per second; annual Starter receives 14,500 credits. It is best compared against HeyGen and other presenter-led platforms rather than against a cinematic generator. Synthesia Review →

How to use this tracker

Shortlist tools by workflow using our Best AI Video Generators pillar.
Open the relevant full review to understand model/credit mechanics.
Verify the provider's current checkout and renewal terms.
Run a small production sample and calculate approved output per dollar.
Re-check the tracker before renewal because AI video pricing changes quickly.

Official sources checked

Update policy

AI Video Signal treats this as a living data resource. We record the checked date, preserve pricing caveats and prefer official provider documentation over third-party price lists. If two official pages disagree, we state the conflict rather than manufacturing certainty.

Final takeaway

Use this page to narrow the budget, then use the individual reviews to decide whether the workflow is worth paying for. The winning tool is the one that delivers the lowest cost per usable finished output for your actual job—not the one with the lowest headline subscription.