AI video generators are the latest wave of generative AI technology. After chatbots And image generatorsAI bigwigs like OpenAI, Midjourney and Adobe have turned to more advanced technology that can animate our images and create short video clips. But not all AI video companies can meet this challenge, and there is a big difference in the quality of their outputs. That’s why CNET reviewers spent time thoroughly testing each program to find the one that’s best for you, whatever your project, budget, or creative needs.
PHOTO EDITING SOFTWARE DEALS OF THE WEEK
Offers are selected by the CNET Group sales team and may be unrelated to this article.
The best AI video generators create clips that are exactly what you want with as few errors as possible. But hallucinations happen even with the best AI programs, so those with more advanced features and convenient controls allow you to further customize your videos, offering a better chance of getting the clip you want. In addition to testing a service’s creativity, accuracy, and response speed, you also need to consider the legal and ethical ramifications of using a generative AI creation tool.
Many creators, publishers, and content catalog owners are concerned that their content is being used to train AI models without their permission or compensation. There are also concerns that AI-generated content may violate existing copyright protections and that AI companies will not be able to prevent the creation of potentially abusive and illegal AI content. No AI company is immune to these issues, including our top picks below, but some offer less information and protection than others. This is why you should always check a service’s privacy and usage policy before using it and always disclose your use of AI.
That’s all you need to know to choose the best AI video generator for you. To learn more, check out CNET’s Best AI Image Generators and AI Essentials.
What is the best AI video generator?
The best AI video generator for you will depend on your skill level, budget, and project. The best free AI video generator is OpenAI’s Sora 2, which creates fun clips you can share on the Sora social media app. The highest paid AI video generator for cinematic videos is Google’s Veo 3. If you want to use AI videos in your professional work, you will need to use Adobe Firefly. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, filed a lawsuit in April against OpenAI, alleging that it violated Ziff Davis’ copyrights in the training and operation of its AI systems.)
Benefits
- Excellent audio and video quality
- Free to use
- Can share AI videos on the Sora social media app, if desired
Disadvantages
- Sora model and social media app can be used to create deepfakes
If you’ve heard of AI video, chances are you’ve heard of Sora. OpenAI recently dropped the second generation of Sora, which brought a ton of big updates, including audio and a brand new social media app of the same name. Sora’s videos are often fun and wacky. Sora excels at realistic prompts – sometimes a little too well, with the app’s cameo feature sparking concerns about deepfakes.
Regardless of which method you use to access Sora, it is an undeniably powerful template capable of generating realistic and fantastical videos. Sora is a great choice for people who want to create AI videos without spending a dime, especially shorter, social media-ready clips.
Benefits
- Lots of convenient controls and settings
- Integrated with Adobe programs
- Videos are safe for commercial use
Disadvantages
- No native audio, need to add sound effects or dialogue after
Adobe’s Firefly templates are among the only options available that ensure that any content you create with its AI is commercially safe. This means you can use the AI images, videos, and audio you create with Firefly in your professional work. This is undeniably a major benefit for creators, as is the ability to use multiple non-Adobe AI models through Firefly and other programs like Photoshop.
The Firefly platform lets you set your resolution (540p-1080p), choose from a wide variety of camera styles and movements, and upload reference videos for composition and movement. These expanded controls are perfect for creators who want to limit the template’s creativity to specific projects. Firefly videos are dynamic, detailed, and ideal for almost any project. Although you can record and generate sound effects, Firefly videos do not generate sound natively with AI videos.
Benefits
- Cinematic videos with smooth, natural movements
- Can be used in Gemini, Canva, AI Studio and Google Flow
Veo 3 is one of the most popular AI video models, and for good reason. Veo 3 was the first AI video tool from a major tech company to automatically create and sync AI audio with its AI videos, a significant step forward for creators and the field as a whole. Now you can use Veo 3 in various locations to create cinematic videos with smooth movements.
You can use Veo 3 in Gemini, Canva, Adobe and a wide range of Google platforms. This is ideal for creators who work in other programs and want to use Google’s latest video template. Veo generated videos a little faster than Sora in our comparison tests. Veo 3 is a great choice for anyone looking for high-quality, cinematic AI video clips. If you already pay for Gemini or another AI creation service, chances are you already have access to Veo 3. And Veo will likely get you the results you need, no additional subscription required.
Benefits
- Extremely creative
- Ideal for brainstorming and image animation
If you don’t know much about AI, you probably haven’t heard of Runway. But its AI models pack a punch. Runway is an AI-inclined professional’s playground. It offers image, video, and audio generation, and its platform comes with tools to customize your content settings before you click generate. Runway is one of the most creative templates and is capable of handling a wide range of projects. Runway videos don’t generate audio natively, but you can create and overlay AI audio within the Runway platform. Runway is a great choice for creators who want to explore all kinds of AI content creation and create high-quality, detailed results.
Benefits
- Very easy to navigate and use
- Gallery open for inspiration and community attention
Disadvantages
- No sound
- Doesn’t always follow prompts
Midjourney was one of the first creative AI companies, and its V1 video model will look familiar to its fans. This is an extremely easy to use AI tool, which is great if you just want to play around or create something quickly. Midjourney is very creative, although it struggles to achieve more realistic results. The video model is a natural extension of Midjourney; you can animate your existing Midjourney images to bring them to life. Midjourney is a great choice for beginners or hobbyists who don’t need designs in a specific style or brand guide.
CNET takes a hands-on approach to testing AI generators. Reviewers spend time using each program to create a wide variety of content. AI video generators undergo a battery of tests that measure how well they handle a diverse set of prompts, from photorealistic to fantasy scenarios. We take into account the speed, creativity, so-called hallucinatory errors of a service and its ease of use. We also closely inspect each program’s privacy and usage policies, as these can have a significant impact on how people use (and potentially abuse) each service.
Comparison of AI video generators
| CNET’S BEST PICKS | BEST FOR | PRICE | STYLE | PARENT COMPANY | LATEST MODEL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sora | Anyone who needs fast AI video generation | Free, with paid plans starting at $20/month | Funny, short, social media-friendly clips | OpenAI (ChatGPT sister app) | Sora2 |
| Veo | Gemini users or Google One subscribers | Plans start at $20/month after one month free trial expires | High-quality cinematic clips; can do realistic and other styles | Veo 3.1 | |
| Adobe Firefly | Professional workers in creative fields | Plans start at $10/month. Can be included in existing Adobe plans | Versatile; handles different styles well | Adobe | firefly video |
| Halfway | Beginners or AI enthusiasts | Plans start at $10/month | Very creative, excels in non-realistic styles. Ideal for brainstorming | Halfway | V1 |
| Track | AI enthusiasts who want high-quality video with more convenient controls | Free, with paid plans starting at $15/month | Excels in a variety of styles; creates highly detailed clips | Track | Generation 4.5 |
Using AI video generators can speed up your creation, but it comes with risks. We’ve seen a massive increase in deepfakes and weird low-quality videos that have been dubbed AI slop. AI companies have implemented guardrails intended to prevent users from creating illegal, abusive, or otherwise inappropriate videos, but we’ve already seen how imperfect these systems are. If you use a service that allows you to upload reference images, use name brands in your prompts, or use another person’s image, you must be and extremely careful. You could violate existing legal protections (like copyright) or find yourself in a position where you don’t have the right to use your AI-generated content or have created content that has no value, thereby wasting the energy needed to make the AI work.
If you want to make AI videos, some best practices to mitigate your legal and ethical risks include not using a person’s image without their permission and avoiding brand names and logos. Two of the best rules of thumb are also the simplest. If you think you shouldn’t make a certain AI video, don’t do it. And always, always disclose your use of AI when sharing it online and with others.
Precision is one of the most important factors to consider when selecting an AI video generator. You want to choose a program that is highly prompt compliant, meaning it is capable of doing what you ask it to do in your prompt. Writing a good prompt is essential to this process, but the template should be able to handle almost any request.
AI video generators are prone to errors known as hallucinationsespecially when it comes to following the laws of physics. For example, a great AI video generator will not allow a person to float through solid objects or make objects appear out of thin air (unless otherwise noted). Although every AI program makes mistakes sometimes, a good generator will not regularly produce these kinds of errors.
Because hallucinations are inevitable with AI, the possibility of modifying your content is also important. More creative AI platforms are being introduced to create tools to edit your output, which is great because it gives you more hands-on controls to perfect AI outputs. If there are a lot of clarification prompts or you can’t edit your content, these are signs that you may want to move to another program.
Creativity is also important. Creative AI tools are often used for brainstorming, exploration, and planning. The best AI video templates can bring a wide variety of artistic ideas to life and build on your reference images.
Response speed is another factor. Generating AI videos is a complex task, which is why most models are capable of creating them in between 2 and 5 minutes. Models that take longer to generate videos can be annoying to use, but if they result in better videos, the trade-off may be worth it. On the other hand, a model that produces good results quickly is also noteworthy.
You’ll also want to read the fine print, i.e. a company’s privacy and usage policies. There are many concerns about how AI models are created and the use of copyrighted content. Creators, celebrities, and public figures have loudly expressed concerns about the ability of AI video generators to create content that is too indecipherable from reality. This is particularly worrying as we have seen how companies’ safeguards against the creation of illegal and abusive content are not perfect. You need to understand how the AI company uses your data, moderates content, and what ownership rights you retain in videos – these vary by service.
Notice the level of detail in this AI-generated Android butler.
Created by Katelyn Chedraoui using Runway AISora and Veo 3 are two of the best AI video generators available. If you’re already paying for ChatGPT or Gemini, I recommend using the AI model associated with the service you’re already paying for; both will work fine. After our extensive testing, I ultimately gave the advantage to Sora, but that can always change. For a full analysis, check out our full comparison of Sora vs Veo 3.
The best free AI video generator is Sora 2 from OpenAI. You can use Sora for free, with no invite code or subscription required. Sora creates funny videos with properly synchronized AI audio. You can also use the Sora social media app to create and share videos. You may eventually want to upgrade to paid plans for higher generation limits, which start at $20 per month or $10 for four additional videos.
It’s harder than ever to know whether something is real or AI-generated. Be on the lookout for watermarks and labels indicating that something was created with an AI program. You can also check the metadata of an image, video, or audio, which could give you clues about its origins. The best thing you can do is stay vigilant and not automatically believe everything you see online.
Adobe Firefly is the best AI video generator for small, medium and large businesses. AI content created with Firefly is commercially safe, so you can use Firefly-generated content without intellectual property concerns.
Yes. You should definitely disclose when you created a video using AI. This is not only a good practice, but it helps anyone viewing the video online recognize that what they are seeing was generated by AI.
Be careful not to generate content that may infringe copyright. Most platforms have safeguards and policies to prevent the creation of illegal or abusive AI content. Some AI companies, including Midjourney, have been sued for their ability to create AI content that would violate existing copyright protections. To learn more, see our guide to copyright law in the age of AI.