6 Free AI Video Tools That Actually Work in 2026.

Six AI video tools still have a free tier worth using in 2026 without a credit card: getvivix, Hugging Face Spaces, Runway, Pika, Kling AI, and Hailuo (MiniMax). Names that used to belong on this kind of list don't anymore. OpenAI discontinued the Sora app and website on April 26, 2026, and Google's Veo has no free tier at all, per its own Gemini API pricing page. Below is what each surviving free tier actually gives you, not what its marketing page implies.

Key takeaways

• Runway's one-time 125 credits and Pika's 80-credits-a-month are the largest non-getvivix free grants, and neither needs a card.
• Runway, Pika, and Kling AI all put a watermark on free output; every one of them only removes it on a paid plan. Hailuo doesn't publish a watermark policy either way.
• Sora is fully discontinued, Veo has no free tier, and Luma dropped its free tier entirely: three names that don't belong on a 2026 list anymore.
• getvivix's free credits run on the same 100+ model catalog paid users get, not a stripped-down demo model.

How this list was made

We checked the tools that show up most often in "free AI video tool" searches against five criteria: free credit amount, reset cadence, resolution cap, watermark policy, and card requirement. We kept the six that still pass. This is a research-based comparison of each vendor's published terms, not hands-on testing, so check the source link before you sign up since free tiers change often.

Free tiers at a glance

Verified against each vendor's live pricing or help page on July 28, 2026. Free tiers change without notice.

The 6 tools, ranked

Same order as the table above: each entry names the one thing it does best, who it's for, and the real number that matters most.

1. getvivix: the only free tier with the full model catalog

getvivix is the only tool here where the free tier runs the entire paid catalog, 100+ models, not one stripped-down free model, so you can compare several engines' output on text-to-video or image-to-video before paying for any single one of them. (Our product; every other entry here is a competitor.) Signup grants 3 credits plus 1 clip credit, no card, with 3 more dropped daily, and free video exports carry no watermark.

2. Hugging Face Spaces: the only genuinely $0-forever option

Hugging Face Spaces hosts open-source video models as free, public demos: no account, no card, no subscription standing between you and a render. It's the pick for hobbyists who don't mind a queue, since popular Spaces slow down or go offline at peak load when the compute is community-funded. Output typically caps around 480–720p, with no single watermark policy since every Space is different.

3. Runway: the biggest one-time free grant

Runway's free plan hands out 125 credits in a single lump sum that never expires and never renews, enough for a real trial, not just a teaser clip. Best for one serious test before upgrading. The catch: every Free-plan render carries a Runway watermark, and only the Standard plan and up remove it. Source: Runway.

4. Pika: the only monthly-renewing free grant among the competitors

Pika is the one competitor here that refills your free balance every month instead of granting it once: 80 credits, enough for a handful of clips. The catch is real, since free renders are locked to 480p and carry a visible watermark, and commercial use needs a paid plan. Best for someone who wants to keep testing Pika casually over time rather than burning through a single grant. Source: Pika.

5. Kling AI: free credits that reset every day, not once a month

Kling AI's free tier runs on a daily credit drop instead of a monthly grant, so it rewards someone who shows up often over someone who wants to bank a large balance. What's consistent across reports: watermark removal is a paid-membership feature only, and Kling AI doesn't publish one fixed daily credit number or resolution cap for the free tier. Best for someone testing Kling AI who can make daily use of the reset.

6. Hailuo (MiniMax): the largest single signup grant, on its own scale

Hailuo grants new accounts 2,000 free credits on signup, per Hailuo's own site. Treat that as its own currency, not a like-for-like count against the smaller numbers above. Hailuo doesn't publish a watermark policy for free output either way, unlike every other paid competitor here. Best for someone who specifically wants Hailuo's own models over a wider catalog.

One honest limit on getvivix's own free tier: it's built for evaluation, not a production budget. At high monthly volume, a flat-rate competitor or a self-hosted open-source setup can beat any subscription. The break-even math is in how AI video pricing actually works.

What used to be free and isn't

Three names that show up in almost every "free AI video tool" search don't belong on a 2026 list anymore. OpenAI discontinued the Sora app and website on April 26, 2026, and the Sora API follows on September 24, 2026; after that date there is no way to use Sora 2 at all, free or paid. Source: OpenAI Help Center. Google's Veo was never really free to begin with: the Gemini API's own pricing page lists every Veo 3.1 video price row as "Not available" on the free tier. Source: Google AI for Developers. And Luma's Dream Machine dropped its free tier entirely: its individual plans page (checked July 2026) lists three paid tiers starting at $30/month and no free option at all. Source: Luma.

FAQ

Which free AI video tool is best overall?

getvivix. Its free credits run on the same 100+ model catalog paid users get instead of one demo model, so you can compare several engines' output before spending anything.

Is any free tier good enough for real use, or just a demo?

Runway's 125-credit one-time grant and getvivix's daily-refilling credits both go beyond a single test clip. Pika and Kling AI are real too, but both put a watermark on free output: fine for testing, not for anything you'd publish.

Is Sora still free anywhere?

No. OpenAI shut down the Sora app and website on April 26, 2026, and the Sora API stops on September 24, 2026. After that date there is no free or paid way to generate with Sora 2.

Do any of these skip the watermark on free output?

Only getvivix, as of July 2026: its free video exports carry no watermark. Runway, Pika, and Kling AI all put one on free output and only remove it on a paid plan; Hailuo doesn't say either way.

Six tools still have a free tier worth trying in 2026; Sora, Veo, and Luma no longer do, and a watermark is where most of the rest quietly take something back. Weighing the paid engines instead? Sora vs Veo vs Kling breaks down where each one wins, or sign up free and compare all six catalogs yourself.

Published by the getvivix team · Last updated July 28, 2026