The shortlist
5 things that do it. Ours is in there, labelled, not on top.
Where one of our products fits, it sits in the list with an "ours" label, never forced to the top. Ours: made by the same studio that runs this site.
AI video and image generator with a web editor and several video models.
- Free
- $0 plan with 125 one-time credits and 5GB storage, per Runway's pricing page.
- Paid
- from $12 per month (billed annually), Standard plan
- Best at
- Generating video clips with a choice of its own and other models on one plan.
- The catch
- The free plan gives 125 one-time credits, not a monthly allowance, and prices are in US dollars only.
- web
Video generation inside the Gemini app: text or photos to 10-second clips, with audio.
- Free
- No free access for general users, per Google's page; students can unlock it free for one year.
- Paid
- from £4.49 per month (Google AI Plus)
- Best at
- Turning up to five photos into a short video, and editing by conversation.
- The catch
- Needs a paid Google AI plan (students get a free year); the page says Gemini Omni replaces Veo in the Gemini app, so older Veo guides may be out of date.
- web
AI video generator on the web, text and images to short clips.
- Free
- $0 plan with pack credits only and no watermark, per Pika's pricing page.
- Paid
- from $10 per month, Starter
- Best at
- A no-watermark free plan and a cheap entry paid plan.
- The catch
- Commercial use is not included on the Free or Starter plans; it starts on the $35 per month Creator plan.
- web
Creative workspace that runs Luma and third-party image and video models.
- Free
- The pricing page lists paid plans only; no free plan shown.
- Paid
- from $25 per month (billed annually), Plus
- Best at
- Choosing between several video models, including partner models, on one credit balance.
- The catch
- Cost per second varies widely by model, from 4 credits per second up to 280+ with audio, so 10,000 credits go a long way or not far at all. The pricing page lists no free plan.
- web
Turns a business website into a short promo video with music, from a site URL.
- Free
- No free tier; pay per video.
- Paid
- from £9 per video (Short, 15 seconds)
- Best at
- Promo videos for a business: you approve the facts from your own site, pick a style and music, and get MP4s.
- The catch
- Narrow use: it makes promo videos from a business website, not general video from a prompt. Pay per video, with up to 3 free edits per order.
- web
The same shortlist, as a table
| Thing | Free tier | Paid from | Platforms | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runwayrel="nofollow noopener" | $0 plan with 125 one-time credits and 5GB storage, per Runway's pricing page. | $12 per month (billed annually), Standard plan | web | The free plan gives 125 one-time credits, not a monthly allowance, and prices are in US dollars only. |
| Google Gemini (Gemini Omni)rel="nofollow noopener" | No free access for general users, per Google's page; students can unlock it free for one year. | £4.49 per month (Google AI Plus) | web | Needs a paid Google AI plan (students get a free year); the page says Gemini Omni replaces Veo in the Gemini app, so older Veo guides may be out of date. |
| Pikarel="nofollow noopener" | $0 plan with pack credits only and no watermark, per Pika's pricing page. | $10 per month, Starter | web | Commercial use is not included on the Free or Starter plans; it starts on the $35 per month Creator plan. |
| Luma (Dream Machine and Luma Agents)rel="nofollow noopener" | The pricing page lists paid plans only; no free plan shown. | $25 per month (billed annually), Plus | web | Cost per second varies widely by model, from 4 credits per second up to 280+ with audio, so 10,000 credits go a long way or not far at all. The pricing page lists no free plan. |
| Launch Video Maker ours | No free tier; pay per video. | £9 per video (Short, 15 seconds) | web | Narrow use: it makes promo videos from a business website, not general video from a prompt. Pay per video, with up to 3 free edits per order. |
How we checked
What we read, and what we haven't tested yet.
We read the pricing pages for Runway, Pika and Luma, Google's Gemini video-generation page and its UK (GBP) plans page, and the Launch Video Maker page, all on 2026-10-02. Nothing was tested hands-on, so everything here is what the companies say about themselves. The Sora shutdown comes from OpenAI's own help centre and its API deprecations page.
If none of these fit
The manual way.
OpenAI's Sora isn't an option any more. OpenAI says the Sora web and app experiences ended on 26 April 2026 and the Sora API was removed on 24 September 2026, so we've left it out. If you only want a promo video for a business, Launch Video Maker (ours) does that one job from your website for £9 to £49 a video. For editing footage you already have, see the editing page.