Best Text to Video AI Tools in 2026: 8 Tools Compared

Runway is our pick for creators who want a full workspace rather than a single prompt box. Its site describes Runway Creative as a cloud suite for generating and editing video, images and audio, and it highlights Gen-4.5 as its video model. The company also claims 60m+ creatives use it, which is Runway's own figure.

On the pricing page, Standard is $15 per month ($12 per month billed yearly) with 625 credits. Pro is $35 ($28 yearly) with 2,250 credits, and Max is $95 ($76 yearly) with 9,500. The Free plan has 125 one-time credits, and the page does not say whether free output carries a watermark.

Credits are the catch. Standard and Pro credits do not roll over, while credits you buy separately never expire, with a minimum purchase of 1,000 credits. Heavy users will probably need more than the entry plan.

Firefly stands out for its licensing story. Adobe's video page says videos made with the Firefly Video Model are designed to be safe for commercial use, and that the model is trained on licensed content such as Adobe Stock and public domain material, and not on Adobe user content. It also lists partner models, including Veo 3.1, Luma AI Ray3, Runway Gen-4.5 and Kling 3.0, and notes that commercial eligibility depends on the model you choose.

US pricing on the plans page is Standard $9.99 per month (2,000 credits, up to 20 five-second videos), Pro $19.99 (4,000 credits, up to 40 videos), Pro Plus $49.99 and Premium $199.99. The free plan gives a daily allotment that resets each day.

Most models generate clips up to 8 seconds, and some go up to 15 seconds, with MP4 downloads up to 4K. That is shorter than some rivals, so Firefly suits ad snippets and B-roll more than long scenes.

Google Flow is Google's AI creative studio for video, images and tools. Its page title says so, but the page itself gives little detail. Google's Gemini video page says the Omni model replaces Veo 3.1 in the Gemini app, creates videos up to 10 seconds with native audio, and requires a Google AI subscription. It is for users over 18.

Google's AI plans page lists Flow credits per month: 200 on AI Plus, 1,000 on AI Pro, and 10,000 or 25,000 on the two Ultra tiers. The page text we read had blank price fields, so we cannot quote a monthly cost. Google mentions trial offers without giving their terms.

The practical advice is to check Google's page for your region and age. The page notes that availability varies by country.

Pika leans toward fast, shareable video. Its homepage says Video Studio can generate anything from a short clip to a 30-second multi-shot video, and lists models including Seedance 2.5, Pika 2.5, MiniMax H3 and Wan 3.0. It also has tools for color grading, soundtracks and reusable characters.

The pricing page lists Free at $0 with no monthly credits, Starter at $10 ($8 yearly) with 900 credits and a commercial license, and Creator at $35 ($28 yearly) with 3,150 credits. The Fancy tier runs from $95 to $880 per month. All plans include access to all models.

You can buy top-up packs of roughly 60 credits per dollar, for instance 1,500 credits for $25. The page notes that they expire after 365 days and cannot be used with the API or the iOS app.

Luma has moved from a single video model to a workspace. Its site describes Luma Agents as an AI creative workspace for images, video, audio and text on an infinite canvas, and lists the Ray3.2 and Ray3.14 models. It also lists tools for text-to-speech, sound effects, music and lip sync.

The pricing page shows three individual plans. Plus is $30 per month ($25 billed yearly, $300 a year) with 10,000 credits and commercial use. Pro is $90 ($75 yearly) with 40,000 credits, and Ultra is $300 ($250 yearly) with 150,000. We found no free plan on that page.

Luma is the priciest way in. It makes sense when you want a studio-style workflow, less so when you only need a few quick clips.

HeyGen is built around AI presenters. Its site says you can create complete videos from a script with Text to Video, adding voiceover, visuals and avatars, and translate existing videos while syncing lips. Its marketing claims, such as a 4.8 rating from over 1,000 G2 reviews, come from the company, so treat them as claims.

On the pricing page, Free is $0 for 3 videos per month with a watermark, each up to 1 minute. Creator is $29 per month ($24 billed annually) with 600 credits, 1080p export and watermark removal. Pro is $49 with 1,000 credits, 4K and videos up to 30 minutes, and Business is $149.

Credits are HeyGen's single currency, so the number used depends on the model, video length and complexity. Custom avatars need identity verification from the person depicted, which is a helpful safeguard against misuse.

Synthesia is aimed at teams that make training, onboarding and explainer videos with a presenter on screen. Its pricing page lists AI Text to Video and Script to Video tools, plus an AI Video Assistant that can draft scripts from a prompt.

The Basic plan is free and includes 10 minutes of video, 500 credits per month and 9 AI avatars, with a Synthesia watermark. Starter is $29 per month ($18 billed yearly) with 1,250 credits, video downloads, no Synthesia logo and 125+ avatars. Pro is $89 ($64 yearly) with 6,000 credits, branded video pages and 5 personal avatars.

Synthesia does not produce film-style cinematic shots, so do not buy it for that. For workplace explainers, it is hard to beat for ease.

invideo is now closer to an AI-assisted editor than a one-prompt generator. Its homepage says you can upload footage, describe the edit in plain words, and let an editing agent apply it on a multitrack timeline. The footer lists Text to Video and Image to Video tools, so generation is included.

The pricing page shows Basic at $9 per month ($4 per month billed annually on the plan card), with 190 credits per seat. Pro is $30 monthly ($15 annually) with 1,000 credits, and Ultra is $80 ($40 annually) with 3,000. The Basic annual price shows $5 in the comparison table, so confirm at checkout.

Credits cover video creation and generative models, and the page says credit costs may change at any time without notice. Basic only gets Seedance 2.0 Fast and Mini, while the better Seedance 2.5 sits on Pro and Ultra.