AI Video Generation Benchmark 2026: 18 Engines Compared on Cost, Sound and Duration

September 22, 2026 · 8 min read

This benchmark compares all 18 AI video engines available on Hermosso in September 2026 on the three things that actually decide which one to use: cost per clip, native sound, and duration options. Prices run from 250 credits for a standard 5-second clip on the cheapest engine to 2,400 on the cinematic flagship. Ten of the 18 engines can generate sound — nine with audio on every clip, one as a priced toggle. Durations span 4 to 15 seconds depending on the engine. And unlike most comparisons of these models, every figure here is a first-party rate from our own catalog.

Last verified: September 2026.

Methodology: first-party rates, not scraped ones

Most "AI video pricing" roundups are compiled from other companies' marketing pages, which makes them stale the week they publish. This benchmark works differently because we run the engines: every number below is the rate Hermosso's engine picker quotes and the server actually charges, read from the same configuration the product runs on. When an engine is added, repriced or retired, this is the table that changes — so the benchmark is re-verified every time the picker changes, and the date above tells you when that last happened.

Three definitions before the table. A standard clip is 5 seconds, the base duration most engines are priced against; the two Veo engines, MiniMax Hailuo 2.3 and LTX 2.5 are priced against 6-second bases, and the table marks those. Credit costs scale linearly with duration, rounded up to the nearest 50 credits — a 10-second clip on a 500-credit engine costs 1,000. Native sound means the engine generates audio in the same pass as the picture, not that a soundtrack was bolted on afterwards. For context on margin, our estimated provider cost behind these prices runs from roughly $0.25 (Seedance Fast, Hailuo H3) to $2.37 (Seedance 2.5) per standard clip — rate-card estimates logged per run and reconciled against provider invoices, not guesses.

The benchmark: all 18 engines compared

Sorted by price. Credits are per standard clip; engines marked with an asterisk are priced against a 6-second base instead of 5.

What the numbers say

• The floor is 250 credits. Seedance Fast is the cheapest way to move a photo, and Hailuo H3 and Veo 3.1 Lite sit one step up at 300 — with Lite including sound and a 6-second runtime, the most finished seconds per credit in the lineup.
• Sound is now the majority, not the exception. Nine engines include native audio on every clip (Hailuo H3 Max, Seedance 2.5, Seedance 2.0, Seedance 2.0 Fast, Seedance 1.5 Pro, Kling 3, FLUX 3, LTX 2.5, Veo 3.1 Lite), and Kling 2.6 offers it as a 350→700 credit toggle. Full Veo 3.1 is the notable holdout — silent at the tier we serve, which is exactly why Lite exists.
• Duration tops out at 15 seconds, on Kling 3 Turbo (700 credits at its 5-second base). Most engines offer a 4s–10s ladder; the Veo pair runs 4s–8s on a 6-second base.
• The flagship jump is real. The lineup is dense up to 900 credits, then steps to 1,200 (Veo 3.1), 1,300 (Kling 3) and 2,400 (Seedance 2.5). You are paying for resolution, motion realism and — on Kling 3 and Seedance 2.5 — sound that holds up in a published clip.
• Hailuo H3 Max is the outlier. The engine currently ranked #1 on the public image-to-video leaderboards costs 500 credits with sound — flagship output at a mid-table price, which is why it sits in the picker's flagship group next to engines costing two to five times more.

What that is in dollars

Credits are bought through plans: Starter is $9/month for 5,000 credits, Pro is $29/month for 20,000 credits, and Studio is $79/month for 60,000 credits (see the pricing page). On the Pro plan — the middle tier most creators pick — a credit works out to about $0.00145, call it $1.45 per 1,000 credits. At that effective rate:

The effective rate shifts with the plan — about $1.80 per 1,000 credits on Starter, roughly $1.32 on Studio — but the ranking never does: Seedance Fast is the cheapest clip on every tier, and Seedance 2.5 is the most expensive on every tier. Credits never expire, so a slower month doesn't change the arithmetic either.

How to choose an engine

Start with the job. Animating an existing still is Photo to Video; starting from a written prompt is Text to Video. Both share the same 18-engine picker and one credit balance, so the choice below applies to either.

• Drafting and volume: Veo 3.1 Lite — 300 credits, 6 seconds, sound included. Test the camera move and the prompt here before spending flagship money.
• Silent drafts in the Kling family: Kling 2.6 at 350 credits — same motion DNA as the flagship, so the draft actually predicts the final.
• Best ranked quality per credit: Hailuo H3 Max at 500 credits with sound — the leaderboard leader at a mid-table price.
• Flagship finals: Kling 3 (1,300 credits) for motion realism, Seedance 2.5 (2,400 credits) for cinematic one-takes, Veo 3.1 (1,200 credits) for a polished, graded look you'll score yourself.
• Not sure: the video models comparison has a page per engine, and AI video credits, explained covers how the credit system itself works.

The honest workflow: draft cheap, render the winner once. A Veo 3.1 Lite test plus a Kling 3 final is 1,600 credits — less than one Seedance 2.5 clip you guessed at.