The short answer
Choosing a video model comes down to two questions: what should be in frame and how much you are willing to pay per attempt. Quality among the top models is close, but their character differs: one holds a face better, another lighting, a third physics.
Table: task and model
| Task | Main choice | Cheaper alternative |
|---|---|---|
| A narrative clip longer than 15 seconds in one piece | Seedance 2.5 | Seedance 2.0 plus editing |
| Realistic people, facial expressions | Kling v3 at 1080p | Kling v3 at 720p |
| Complex camera movement | Kling v3, Kling O1 | Veo 3.1 Fast |
| Detail, lighting, texture | Veo 3.1 | Veo 3.1 Fast |
| Talking character, lip sync | Veo 3.1, Kling v3 | Veo 3.1 Fast |
| Animation, one character across many scenes | Seedance 2.0 | Seedance 1.5 Pro |
| Complex physics (water, fabric, collisions) | Veo 3.1 | Veo 3.1 Fast |
| Reels and bulk content | Veo 3.1 Lite, Seedance 1.5 Pro | Grok Imagine |
| Animating a photo | Kling v3, Hailuo 2.3 | Wan 2.6 |
| Drafts and prompt tuning | Seedance 1.5 Pro at 480p | Veo 3.1 Lite |
The character of each model
Seedance (ByteDance). Story, composition, a stable character from a reference. Version 2.5 makes up to 30 seconds at a time and accepts up to 50 references. Downside: strict moderation of real faces. More: Seedance 2.0, Seedance 2.5.
Kling v3 (Kuaishou). People, facial expressions, camera movement. More relaxed about photos of real people, so it is often used for animating photos and avatars. Kling v3 review.
Veo 3.1 (Google). Detail, lighting, native sound. The full version works only at 1080p. There is a quicker Fast and a cheaper Lite. Veo 3.1 review.
Sora 2 Pro (OpenAI) is no longer available: OpenAI shut Sora down and switched off the API on 24 September 2026. For physics and photorealism with sound take Veo 3.1, for long story clips Seedance 2.5, for people and camera Kling v3.
Hailuo 2.3 and Wan (MiniMax and Alibaba). Inexpensive workhorse models for short scenes and photo animation. Hailuo and Wan review.
Grok Imagine Video (xAI). A fast, cheap 720p model for simple clips. Grok Imagine review.
Price comparison
KADR prices, 6 seconds, 1080p, sound on, October 2026:
| Model | Tokens | Rubles |
|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite | 53 | ~84 |
| Hailuo 2.3 | 55 | ~87 |
| Wan 2.6 | 66 | ~104 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | 80 | ~126 |
| Seedance 1.5 Pro | 86 | ~136 |
| Kling v3 | 106 | ~168 |
| Wan 2.7 | 125 | ~198 |
| Veo 3.1 | 264 | ~417 |
| Seedance 2.0 | 362 | ~572 |
| Seedance 2.5 | 537 | ~849 |
This is not a public offer. Models without 1080p are not in the table: Grok Imagine Video (720p, 49 tokens), Kling Video O1 (720p, 5 s for 62 tokens; O1 only does 5 or 10 s) and Seedance 2.0 Fast (720p, 109).
The gap between the first and last row is tenfold. So the choice of model affects the budget more than any discount. The price of a minute for every model is worked out in the article on how much a minute of AI video costs.
Three rules for not overpaying
1. Cheap drafts, expensive final. Tune the prompt on a cheap model at low resolution. Seedance 1.5 Pro at 480p costs 19 tokens for 6 seconds. Once the scene works, move the prompt to the flagship.
2. Switch sound off if you do not need it. On most models sound nearly doubles the price. Veo 3.1 costs 132 tokens without sound and 264 with it. If music goes on top anyway, you do not need sound from the model. The exception is Seedance 2.5: there sound is already included in the price.
3. Do not take the flagship out of habit. For a reel with a simple action, Veo 3.1 Lite gives a result that is indistinguishable from the flagship on a phone screen. The flagship is needed where the difference shows: close-ups of faces, complex physics, ads on a big screen.
If the model refuses
A refusal is almost always about moderation: a real face, a well-known character, someone else’s brand. Developers have different policies, and what Seedance blocked may go straight through in Kling. Switch models before rewriting the prompt.
If you used to work in Sora: Sora was shut down, what to use instead.
If you are just starting: how to make a video with AI from scratch. If a model refused: why AI refuses to generate.
In short
Seedance for story and character, Kling for people and camera, Veo for detail, physics and sound, Hailuo, Wan and Grok for inexpensive clips. Prices differ tenfold between models, so do drafts on cheap ones and keep flagships for the final take.
