Text-to-Video Models in 2026: 18 Models Compared by Length, Sound and Price

The main text-to-video models as of November 2026 are Seedance 2.5 and 2.0 (ByteDance), Veo 3.1 (Google), Sora 2 Pro (OpenAI), Kling 3.0 (Kuaishou), Wan 3.0 and Wan 2.7 (Alibaba), MiniMax H3, Happy Horse 1.1, Gemini Omni Flash, Vidu Q3, PixVerse V6, LTX 2.5 and Luma Ray 3.2. They differ most on maximum clip length (8 seconds for Veo up to 30 seconds for Seedance 2.5 and Wan 3.0), top resolution, native sound, and price per second, which ranges from about 8 to 540 credits per second on Kenerate depending on model and resolution.

This guide is about the models, not the apps that wrap them. Most "AI video generator" products are front-ends for the same dozen models, so knowing what each model actually does is the faster way to pick a tool. Every spec and price below is taken from the model list Kenerate runs in production (checked 1 November 2026) or from the vendor and API sources linked at the end.

What is a text-to-video model?

A text-to-video (T2V) model turns a written prompt into a short video clip with no starting image. Under the hood almost all current models are diffusion transformers: they start from noise in a compressed "latent" version of the video and remove that noise step by step, guided by your prompt, until a coherent clip remains. The newer generation also generates an audio track in the same pass, so footsteps, ambience and short spoken lines come out already in sync. If you want the deeper version, we explain the pipeline in how AI video generators work.

Text-to-video is one mode among several. The same model usually also does image-to-video (animate a start frame), reference-to-video (keep a character or product consistent from reference images) and sometimes video editing or extension. When people say "text to video models" they mostly mean the frontier models below, all of which accept a plain text prompt.

Which text-to-video models matter in November 2026?

Here are the models worth knowing, with the specs Kenerate exposes for each in text-to-video mode. Credits are for one second of output; a 5-second clip costs five times the number shown.

"—" in the sound column means Kenerate does not expose an audio switch for that model in text-to-video; it does not prove the model can never make sound. Kenerate sells credits in packs (for example 1,300 credits for $15 or 2,700 for $29), and video generation needs a paid plan, so at the Starter rate a 5-second 720p Wan 3.0 clip (150 credits) costs roughly $1.73 and the same clip on Seedance 2.5 (540 credits) roughly $6.23.

How do the top models rank on quality?

There is no single official ranking, but the most cited public one is the Artificial Analysis Text-to-Video arena, where people vote blind between two clips made from the same prompt. According to a fal.ai review of text-to-video APIs that quotes the arena as of 3 June 2026, Seedance 2.0 led with 1,216 Elo, Happy Horse 1.0 was second at 1,213, then Veo 3.1 (1,095), Sora 2 Pro (1,077), PixVerse V6 (1,069) and Grok Imagine Video (1,068).

Three things to keep in mind when reading leaderboards:

1. Gaps of a few Elo points are noise. Seedance 2.0 and Happy Horse were three points apart, which is effectively a tie.
2. They lag releases. Seedance 2.5, Wan 3.0 and MiniMax H3 shipped after or around that snapshot, so older boards under-represent them.
3. They test short, generic prompts. A model that wins a 5-second blind vote may not be the best at 30-second multi-shot scenes, dialogue or vertical social formats.

Treat the arena as a shortlist, then test your own prompt on two or three models.

What is each model best at?

Seedance 2.5 and 2.0: cinematic, multi-shot, long takes

ByteDance's Seedance line is the strongest all-rounder for cinematic work. Seedance 2.5 runs up to 30 seconds in one generation and up to 4K, and in reference mode accepts up to 30 images, 3 video clips and 10 audio files to lock characters, products and style. Seedance 2.0 tops out at 15 seconds but costs about a third less per second at each resolution. Pick it for trailers, ads with camera moves, and anything with several shots in one clip. Pick 2.5 when you need more than 15 seconds or 4K.

Veo 3.1: polished short clips with dialogue

Google's Veo 3.1 produces 4–8 second clips at up to 4K, with sound that includes lip-synced speech. Its weakness is length: 8 seconds is the ceiling per generation. Veo 3.1 Fast costs 45 credits per second at 720p/1080p against 120 for the full model, so it is the sensible draft option. Use it when a short clip needs a spoken line.

Sora 2 Pro: longer clips with always-on sound

OpenAI's Sora 2 Pro runs 4–20 seconds at 720p or 1080p and always generates audio. It is one of the pricier options at 1080p (210 credits per second on Kenerate).

Kling 3.0: character motion and multi-shot

Kuaishou's Kling 3.0 (Pro and Standard) handles 3–15 second clips with optional sound and is strong at human motion, action and expressive faces. Standard is about 25% cheaper than Pro for drafts. Our Kling AI video generator page lists the full Kling lineup.

Wan 3.0 and Wan 2.7: value and long drafts

Alibaba's Wan 3.0 is the best value for long clips: 2–30 seconds at 15 credits per second in 480p, 30 in 720p and 60 in 1080p, with optional sound and a prompt-enhance switch. It is the model to draft with before spending on Seedance or Veo. Wan 2.7 is the previous generation at 720p/1080p. Earlier Wan releases are open weights: the Wan 2.2 repository is published under Apache 2.0 and its 5B text-and-image-to-video model runs at 720p/24 fps on a single 24 GB GPU. More on the family on our Wan model page.

MiniMax H3 and Happy Horse 1.1: strong motion at mid prices

MiniMax H3, from the company behind Hailuo, is cheap at 10–20 credits per second up to 768p, and H3 Pro adds 2K. Happy Horse 1.1 from Alibaba is the follow-up to the Happy Horse 1.0 that sat near the top of the June arena.

Gemini Omni Flash, Vidu Q3, PixVerse V6: fast and cheap

These are the budget and speed picks. PixVerse V6 is the cheapest per second here (7.6 credits at 360p, 13.6 at 720p) with optional sound and clips from 1 to 15 seconds, which suits social drafts. Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash reaches 4K in 3–10 second clips. Vidu Q3 covers 1–16 seconds with sound.

LTX 2.5, Luma Ray 3.2, FLUX 3 Video: specialists

Lightricks' LTX line goes up to 4K and 20 seconds; Lightricks released LTX-2's code and weights openly in January 2026 under its own licence, so read the licence terms before commercial self-hosting (Wikipedia summary). Luma Ray 3.2 has a dedicated text-to-video endpoint up to 1080p and 10 seconds, and FLUX 3 Video from Black Forest Labs runs 5–20 seconds with optional sound.

Open-source vs closed text-to-video models: which should you use?

Self-hosting makes sense if you generate a lot of footage, need fine-tuning, or cannot send prompts to a third party. For most creators and marketers, paying per second for a frontier model is cheaper than a 24 GB-plus GPU and the time to set it up.

How do you choose a text-to-video model?

Work through these steps rather than starting with the most expensive model:

1. Decide the length. Over 15 seconds in one take narrows it to Seedance 2.5, Wan 3.0, Sora 2 Pro (20 s), LTX 2.5 and FLUX 3 Video (20 s). Under 8 seconds, Veo 3.1 is in play.
2. Decide whether you need sound. For dialogue, pick Veo 3.1, Seedance or Sora 2 Pro. For silent b-roll, turn audio off where there is a toggle so the clip has no unwanted noise.
3. Pick a resolution for the final, not the draft. Draft at 480p or 720p and upscale or re-render the keeper. Seedance 2.5 at 480p is a tenth of its 4K price.
4. Draft on a cheap model. Run your prompt on Wan 3.0 (480p) or PixVerse V6 first to fix wording, timing and camera directions.
5. Render the final on the best fit. Move the tested prompt to Seedance, Veo, Kling or Sora for the version you publish.
6. If a subject must stay consistent, switch modes. Text-to-video re-imagines faces and products every time. Use image-to-video or reference-to-video with your own images instead.

You can run all of these from one prompt box in the Kenerate video studio or start from the text-to-video AI page, which switches between models without new accounts.

How should you write a prompt for a text-to-video model?

Every model above responds best to the same structure: subject + action + setting + camera + light + style + sound. For example:

A fisherman in a yellow raincoat pulls a net onto a small wooden boat at dawn, light rain on the water, slow dolly in from the side, soft golden backlight, 35mm film look, sound of waves and rope creaking.

Short tips that hold across models:

• One clear action per shot. Two or three actions in a 5-second clip usually blur together.
• Name the camera move ("slow push in", "handheld tracking", "static wide shot").
• For dialogue, put the spoken line in quotes and say who says it.
• Avoid real people's names and brands; models refuse or distort them, and it raises rights issues.
• On long models (20–30 s), describe the shots in order: "Shot 1… Shot 2…".

Are text-to-video models free?

Some vendors give limited free trials, and open-weight models are free to download if you own a suitable GPU, but frontier text-to-video is metered per second everywhere because each second costs real GPU time. On Kenerate, video generation needs a paid plan. For a price-only view, see our cheapest AI video generator comparison.

Bottom line

As of 1 November 2026, Seedance 2.5 is the strongest single choice for long, cinematic text-to-video; Veo 3.1 is the pick for short clips with dialogue; Kling 3.0 for human motion; and Wan 3.0 or PixVerse V6 for cheap drafting. Leaderboards change every few weeks, so keep the method — draft cheap, render the keeper on the best fit — and swap models as new ones land.