The recent wave of AI video creator tools is transforming visual storytelling, making it possible to produce professional videos from the comfort of a regular laptop. 

It’s democratizing the effects and techniques that once required a lot of money to be spent on exceptionally skilled people, elaborate sets, and powerful computers. 

People are still learning how to wield this new tech, and in the near future it’s only likely that the tools and AI behind them will grow even better, opening up even greater creative opportunities. 

If you’re a creative, an entrepreneur, a visual artist, or someone simply looking to explore the possibilities of generative AI, there’s no better time to jump in. 

The list below is an assortment of the best AI-based video creators available today, and what their particular advantages and shortcomings are. 

But first, let’s deal with one point of contention and confusion about this type of technology.

The Real Power Is Still The Human

AI has become a powerful ally in the creation of visually stunning media, and coupled with the large language models and audio production tools, you have a production suite that rivals any of the past. 

But it is still only an ally. Left to its own devices with minimal human input, AI creations are generic. The results will still look and sound good, but they’ll look and sound like all the other AI stuff. 

To really take advantage of this tech, you need to keep the human creative capacity in the loop. 

AI can help you realise your creative goals, it can make you more efficient and productive, but it can’t—or shouldn’t—decide what your goals are. 

Your individual perspective, the decisions you make, the prompts you choose, and the overarching vision you provide, will set your creation apart. 

Now that’s out of the way, let’s explore the modern market for AI video creation tools. 

1. Runway.ml

Founded in 2018, Runway is a visual creation suite reliant on generative AI, and has been used by musicians like Kanye West and the Dandy Warhols, in shows such as Top Gear, and in movies like Everything Everywhere All At Once.

It’s a truly impressive platform with a wide array of over 25 tools for visual storytelling, ensuring you have every chance to get the result you want.

The tools include everything from video, audio, and image generation, to background removal, lip sync video, image expansion, creation of 3d textures, motion tracking, and more. 

It’s particularly great with characters— with the lip-sync feature you can make them fully expressive, reacting and emoting just as you do.

Runway is for those who want to create truly professional visuals, and need control over all the elements. It has a learning curve, but the reward for learning it is the ability to realise almost any creative vision. 

Pricing:

Runway AI works on a credit system—you can use your available credits to use the many AI tools, and different tools consume a unique number of credits (for example, one image generation consumes 5 credits, whereas one second of Gen-1 video-to-video generation consumes 14).

You can purchase more if you need them. Credits from the monthly plans reset each month, but any extra you purchase don’t expire. 

Best Features:

Runway is for anyone interested in professional videography. It has amazing versatility, with many different ways of editing and customising the video to get the exact results you want.  

Limitations:

The flip side to the versatility is that Runway can be slightly complicated, and will take some time to learn to use effectively (For help, they have the Runway academy).  

2. Sora

Sora was released in December 2024 by OpenAI, the company behind the immensely popular language model ChatGPT. OpenAI has previously worked on visual generation with DALL-E, but Sora turns to video. 

Like DALL-E and other generative AI tools, you start with a prompt—a description of the scene you want the AI to render. You can also select the aspect ratio, resolution, length, and other details. 

From there, pick the best video from those it produces, and if needed, edit and refine it. You can also generate clips using other still images as input, extend the clips you have, join clips together, or fill in missing frames. 

Pricing:

If you already have a ChatGPT Plus or Pro account, then you have access to Sora (However, as of this writing it is not available in the UK or Europe). 

Videos can be up to 20 seconds long. Plus users can generate up to 50 videos at 480p resolution per month, or fewer videos at up to 720p. Pro users have 10x the usage, and can create videos at 1080p. 

If Pro isn’t enough, there are also team ($25 per user per month if billed annually), and enterprise options (contact sales).

Best Features:

OpenAI is arguably the front-runner in this new wave of generative AI, so you are likely getting the most advanced form, and one that is constantly pushing to stay ahead by improving their models and tools. 

In addition to Sora, you get access to ChatGPT, another powerful tool that gives you even more AI to work with. 

Limitations: 

There can be server delays when a lot of people are using it, and this has been the case in these early days after its release, though it should get better over time. 

It is also not yet available in the UK and Europe, hopefully this will change soon.

3. Veo 2

Veo 2 is Google DeepMind’s addition to the video generation list. An upgrade from Veo, this edition was announced in December 2024, nicely timed with Sora, which highlights the tense race in capitalising on the AI boom.

Veo 2 can be used within VideoFX, however it remains behind a waitlist for most people. This is a wait-and-see addition to the list, but given Sora is out already, Google won’t want to delay too long.

It should be expected to function in much the same way that Sora does—input a prompt, choose settings for aspect ratio and length etc, and refine the output. 

Google claims Veo 2 will better understand physics, giving more accurate and consistent results—physics is notoriously troublesome for AI to grasp, so this could be a game-changer if true. 

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The example videos were generated at 720p and are up to 8 seconds long, however Veo 2 is capable of much longer lengths and up to 4k in resolution, to what extent users can access this (and what the price is) is unknown. 

Pricing:

We don’t know yet, but given it’s a strong competitor to Sora, prices may settle in a similar range.

Best Features:

If it’s true that Veo 2 “understands” real-world physics, that could make results much more consistent and realistic. 

Limitations:

Not yet available, we haven’t seen enough testing of the model to know where its strengths and weaknesses are. 

4. Eleven Labs

Started in 2022 by an ex-Google engineer (Piotr Dąbkowski) and an ex-Palantir strategist (Mati Staniszewski), ElevenLabs focuses on speech synthesis. 

Using this tool, you can convert text into realistic voices or sound effects, change recorded voices, or even clone a voice. It works in over 32 different languages. 

While this isn’t a video editing tool, it clearly has value in video production when you need quality voiceovers. But you could also use it to make a podcast, or narrative articles and blog posts.

Pricing:

Eleven Labs has a range of prices that should fit any budget, with a credit system similar to Runway’s. 

There’s a decent free account providing up to 10 minutes of text-to-speech per month, and paid accounts starting as low as $5 per month. 

For very heavy usage, there is also a Scale account for $330 per month (2 million credits, and 2,000 minutes of text-to-speech), Business for $1,320 per month (11 million credits, and 11,000 minutes of text-to-speech), and Enterprise with custom pricing. 

With such a range, anyone from a hobbyist to a full company should be able to find an option that fits their budget and requirements. 

Best Features:

You can get great voices, if you’re only after audio this is the best option. It’s also very affordable.  

Limitations:

Unless you’re only making audio content like podcasts, or you have video content ready for voiceovers and other sounds, you’ll probably need an additional visual editor. 

5. HeyGen

HeyGen uses AI to help you create realistic digital avatars, which can then narrate a script with a unique voice across a range of languages. 

There are a lot of use cases—for promotional videos and educational content, in health care as a virtual therapist, as a virtual host for a product demonstration, and so forth.  

You have a lot of control over the appearance and sound of the avatars, so you can create one that perfectly fits your brand and style. 

They also have interactive avatars, which users can talk to in real time and engage in dynamic conversations. They can be integrated into platforms like Zoom, a website, or an app.  

Pricing:

You can get up to 720p resolution and 3-minute video length on the free account; 1080p and 5-minute videos on the Creator account; 1080p and 30-minutes for Team accounts; up to 4k and unlimited video length for Enterprise. 

If you want the interactive avatars, you’ll need at least the Team account, which provides one, while the Enterprise account offers 3 or more. 

Best Features:

HeyGen is great for people who don’t want to be in front of the camera themselves, and who don’t want to waste time recording multiple takes until they get the perfect one—once you have your avatar and the script, you can get good consistent results with much less time and effort. 

Limitations:

The avatars are still limited when it comes to gestures. While they can speak and show emotion on their faces, hands are still difficult.

6. Synthesia

Synthesia is focused on the generation of AI avatars, similar to HeyGen. They want to eliminate the need for cameras and microphones, letting you create promotional or educational videos with less time and hassle.

You can choose from over 230 pre-designed and customisable avatars, or create a personal avatar—a ‘digital twin’—of your own appearance and voice by recording a short initial video. 

Beyond the avatar generator, you can choose from over 300 templates, generate scripts and voiceovers, have your avatar speak in over 130 different languages, and add music and images from a stock library. 

This can be as easy as dropping in a pdf, weblink, or writing down an idea, and having Sythesia’s AI generate a video for you. From there you can easily edit them and add translations. 

Pricing:

There are watermarks on videos made in the free account, and you won’t be able to download them—but you can embed them. 

Best Features:

The addition of a script generator can save a lot of time, and a personal avatar can be helpful when you need to be the face of the video. Subscriptions are also slightly more affordable than HeyGen’s.

Limitations:

Like HeyGen (or AI in general), hand gestures are not included. Unlike HeyGen, you can’t create interactive avatars, only recorded versions. The limits on how much video you can make per year may also be prohibitive—up to 360 minutes on the Creator account. 

7. AI Studios

In the same vein as Synthesia and HeyGen, AI Studios is a video generation platform for creating realistic AI avatars and natural-sounding text-to-speech in a variety of languages.

You start by using a URL, uploading a document, or writing some text, which is converted into a script. From there, choose and customise your avatar and voice, add any other text, animations and/or images, and generate the video.

There are over 200 ready-to-use avatars, or you can create a version of yourself from a photo or webcam video, you could even create 3D animated characters.

If you really want to go the extra mile, you can get a full-body avatar for production-grade videos, but you’ll need to go in for a 3-hour recording session with an Ultra-HD camera. This is only available on the enterprise account. 

And why settle for one avatar? AI Studios makes it possible to have two avatars sharing the screen to simulate discussions, which can often be more engaging than monologues. 

Something else that sets AI Studios apart from the other avatar generators, you can add hand and body movements, which helps add expressivity and allows your avatar to communicate a message more effectively. 

Pricing:

They have a generous free plan, which allows you to create up to 3 videos per month, each up to 3 minutes long, with access to 17 AI avatars. 

The Personal plan opens up 70+ avatars, and unlimited 10-minute videos. If you want gestures and multiple avatars in the same scene, you’ll need the Team plan. 

Best Features:

You’re able to use multiple avatars in one scene, and the addition of hand movements gives you more freedom in how your videos are presented. 

Limitations:

It can be expensive if you need gestures or multiple avatars. 

8. Simplified

Simplified has a large suite of AI tools, integrating writing, design, social media management, and video generation within a single user-friendly interface. 

When it comes to video production, there’s everything you’d usually want—text-to-video generation, image-to-video generation, background removal, voice cloning, and more. 

The addition of writing and design features makes Simplified ideal for anyone looking not just for video production, but all the other facets of running an online business. 

Rather than finding separate solutions and paying for all of them, you get everything here for a price (starting at $29.99 per month) similar to other video-focused tools. 

Pricing:

The Simplified plan includes access to the video tools as well as writing, design, and social media management. 

They also offer a free forever option, which includes unlimited design projects, 500MB of storage, and access to a wealth of fonts, photos, icons, and templates.

Best Features:

Simplified is great for marketing your business, working not just on video content but everything from web copy to icon design can be done on their platform.

Limitations:

The Pro plan still has limits on how much content you can produce each month. You’ll need to pay extra to get more than that, which can get quite expensive. 

Also, as it is geared more towards marketing, anyone attempting a more cinematic video will likely find Runway more appropriate. 

9. Invideo

Invideo is another platform aiming to simplify the video production process. There are two different products available here, giving a choice on which path to take.

First, there’s invideo Studio, a traditional video editor with the familiar tools and interface—arranging clips and audio, cutting and clipping, etc. You’ll also get access to a vast library of templates and stock media.

Then there’s invideo AI video generator. Much like Sora and Veo, you describe what you want, set the length and voiceover details, and invideo will generate something that matches. You can then edit it by describing what you want changed.

Pricing:

Invideo is attempting to tackle both markets here—traditional video editing, and generative AI. However, as these are two separate products, they require individual subscriptions. 

These are the pricing models for the AI:

You can add boosts and additional generative minutes to each account, so you can plan and pay only for what you really need—this is all the more important as your credits won’t roll over into the next month. 

These are the pricing options for invideo Studio:

Best Features:

You get access to a large library of stock media to help streamline video production and generation across either product. The interface is intuitive and easy to use—particularly the AI generator, where you essentially talk to it until you get what you want. 

Limitations:

If you only want invideo AI, you won’t be able to edit the generations with the traditional editing tools, unless you also subscribe to invideo Studio. If you want both products, it can be quite expensive.

10. Veed

Veed is another online platform designed to focus on video production, quite similar to invideo and Simplified. 

It’s made for users of all skill levels, with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. As well as a lot of tools to pick from, including text-to-video generation, AI avatars, adding subtitles, and incorporating music.

The AI video generator is the familiar prompt-based process like many others in this list. Type what you want, see the result, and take it to the editor. 

Unlike invideo, the video editor does not require an extra subscription—it’s free for all if you don’t mind watermarks—and has basic functions like cropping and trimming clips. 

For more advanced features you’ll need to look at the other tools in the list, but using these, you should be able to achieve the result you want. 

There’s also a stock media library to select music, videos, and images, though it may not be as stocked full of media as invideo. 

Pricing:

There is a free account, with videos limited to 10 minutes in length, 720p resolution, and watermarks added. You’ll also only be able to try many of the AI editing tools once. 

In comparison to other similar products, the paid accounts are very affordable. Even the Pro account, with access to all the AI tools, avatars, over 50 languages, and 4k exports, is cheaper than invideo’s AI Plus account ($28 per month). 

Best Features:

The platform is very easy to use, with a large variety of tools to pick from, and all contained within a single subscription. 

Limitations:

While they have a lot of tools to choose from, they’re missing advanced features like multi-layer editing, and some note that the library of stock media and effects is limited.

11. Pictory

Pictory’s strength is in repurposing content, helping you turn articles, text descriptions, and images into engaging videos with natural-sounding voiceovers and stock footage.

It’s easy to use—just select a URL, upload a document, or write a description, and before long Pictory will have written a script, divided it into scenes, and created an accompanying video.

You’ll also find an intuitive editor, with the video and scenes on the right, the text on the left separated into the scenes, and other features down the panel to the left.

You can also use the Pictory GPT within Open AI’s ChatGPT, to help create scripts and videos. When it’s ready, you’ll be taken to the Pictory website to see the result, and can head over to the editor to make any changes. 

Pricing:

There’s also a free 14-day trial. Prices are on the more expensive side, and the quotas reset each month, so it’s best to know in advance how much you intend to create. 

Best Features:

Great for repurposing old content into a new video. Ideal for YouTube creators and social media marketing—you also get access to their YouTube Mastery course on creating successful YouTube channels.

Limitations:

Can be pricey if you need to create a lot of content. Sometimes the AI is off the mark in its selection of footage from the Stock Libraries, so you’ll need to fix it. 

12. Lumen5

Lumen5 is a lot like Pictory—you can plug in a PDF, URL, or other text, and have it turn that into a script, and on to a video. From there, you can edit the details, add AI voiceovers, and adapt it for different platforms.

The editor has the usual basic functions—cut, trim, crop, rotate, etc. The workspace looks and functions like a slide deck, with a selection of scenes that you can scroll through and arrange.

There’s also a Talking Head feature, which allows you to record yourself using your webcam directly into the Lumen5 platform, where you can then use the editor to add callouts, cutaways, and automatic captioning.

Pricing:

Paid plans have no caps on how many videos you produce, which is an advantage over Pictory.  

However, video length is capped at 10 minutes for all accounts, and voiceover minutes are limited to 20, 60, or 180 minutes across Basic, Starter, and Professional accounts, respectively. 

There’s also a free Community option, with a limit of 2 minutes per video and 5 videos per month, which will come with a watermark.

Best Features:

Simple, intuitive interface that, like Pictory, specialises in repurposing content and text into videos. 

Limitations:

Lacks advanced editing features, and the video content is selected from a stock library, so you might need to chop and change any poor selections. 

13. Steve.ai

Steve.ai is another platform in the style of Pictory and Lumen5, great for creating marketing and promotional videos, and for Instagrammers and YouTubers.

Rather than just text-to-video, Steve.ai prides itself on its text-to-(any type of)-video, including animation, live-action, and talking head videos.

You can write text or use a previously written blog, URL, script, or audio file as the initial prompt, and Steve.ai will turn it into a script and video. They’re also working on both Tweet- and Powerpoint-to-video options. 

There’s a wide range of assets you can add to edit and improve what the AI comes up with, from images to videos, gifs, characters, music, and other properties. 

Pricing:

There is a free option, with limits on the quality, length, and access to their content library. 

Even paid accounts have rather low limits on how much content you can make. The Basic account can only publish 5 videos a month, and you might run out of credits for assets and generative video before then. 

The paid accounts also differ in how ‘human-like’ the voice is—only 60% human-like on the Basic account, 80% on the Starter account, and 100% on the Pro. 

Best Features:

Create a variety of different video types to match your goal, the animation style sets it apart from Lumen5 and Pictory.

Limitations:

The AI sometimes creates images and scenes that poorly match the theme of the text, and the paid versions are still rather limited in how much content you can produce. 

14. Descript

Descript is all about video editing, rather than creation. You can record a video or upload a past recording, and use Descript’s AI “Underlord” to help shape it into something much more presentable.

You can change the background, remove unwanted noises and enhance voices, remove filler words, and even edit your eye contact—make it look as though you were looking at the camera, even if your eyes were darting around the room. 

Descript automatically transcribes your video, and you can edit the video by altering the transcription—if you want to quickly get rid of a word, sentence, or scene, it’s as easy as selecting and deleting the text.

There’s also multitrack transcription and editing, so if you have multiple speakers, Descript will isolate the vocals and text so you can edit them individually. 

Pricing:

Descript has a free version, limited to one hour of transcription and five uses of the AI Underlord assistant per month.

Advanced AI features like eye contact and translation only become available in the Creator and Business options.  

For what you get, Descript is of great value. You can create professional videos with high-quality sound, and for prices that rival other less feature-packed options. 

Best Features:

The ability to edit the video through the transcription is both unique and intuitive. It’s easy to chop out unnecessary filler words, entire sentences, and long silences. 

You also have a lot of control over the details, great for anyone with an ear for quality audio. 

Limitations:

This is not an AI generator, so you’ll need to record the video yourself. And while basic editing is easy and intuitive, there can be a learning curve for the more advanced features. 

15. Guidde

Guidde is designed to streamline the creation of video documentation, making it great for how-to guides and training materials.

You start by capturing your on-screen activity with a browser extension or app, Guidde’s AI will then take the recording and generate an edited video, with step-by-step guides, annotated screenshots, and descriptions.

You take that video into the editor, where you can add voiceovers, backgrounds, motion effects, transitions, etc.

There are also a large number of integrations, from Gmail to Notion, Slack, Zoom, and Salesforce, which make it easy to record and share videos where you need them, instead of switching back and forth between applications. 

You can also use Spaces to collaborate and share videos with a team, and add a brand kit including video intro and outros, fonts, and logos, to keep videos consistent across your business. 

Pricing:

There’s a free account with up to 25 watermarked videos, whereas paid accounts all have unlimited video creation.

The Pro account only allows web-based recording while Business has desktop recording added. You’ll need at least Business to get the AI-generated voices, which come in multiple languages. 

Many of the integrations are also only available on the enterprise plan.

Best Features:

If you need to record screen activity, whether for internal business purposes, or public how-tos and app demonstrations, Guidde is an easy and efficient solution that removes the need for multiple takes and restarts.

Limitations:

There are limited editing options, and the paid accounts still have limited features (especially integrations) until you get Enterprise. 

AI Video Tools of the Future

Generative AI is now powering a wide range of impressive tools and platforms. 

While you’ve probably already seen many examples of photo-realistic people and scenes that don’t exist, there’s a lot more value to be had in this technology than generating eye candy.

AI can help with everything from avatar creation to video documentation, creating scripts and scenes, repurposing old content, creating voices in different languages, and editing videos for different formats.

Anyone out there who produces content in any form can find great value in what’s currently available. 

Think of what processes you struggle with, and what you need to do but don’t like doing, and there might very well be an AI-based tool that can help. And there is only more to come.