Why nobody talks about them
When people discuss AI video, they usually mention Veo, Kling and Seedance. Hailuo and Wan come up less often, even though they are more than enough for most everyday tasks and cost several times less than the flagships.
Simple arithmetic: a 6-second 1080p clip on Seedance 2.0 costs 362 tokens, on Hailuo 2.3 it costs 55 tokens. That is more than six times cheaper. If you do not need complex physics and maximum scene coherence, paying for a flagship is not justified.
MiniMax Hailuo 2.3
Hailuo is a line of video models from the Chinese company MiniMax. Its well-known strength is expressive characters: facial animation, emotion, lively motion.
Duration: only 6 or 10 seconds. There are no other options, so plan each scene around that length from the start. At 1080p only 6 seconds is available; 10 seconds is done at 768p.
Prices on KADR:
| Settings | Tokens | Price, rubles |
|---|---|---|
| 768p, 6 s | 33 | ~52 |
| 768p, 10 s | 61 | ~96 |
| 1080p, 6 s | 55 | ~87 |
Best for: clips with emotional characters, short story scenes, social media content where liveliness matters more than a cinematic look.
Alibaba Wan 2.7 and 2.6
Wan is Alibaba’s line of video models. KADR has two versions.
Wan 2.7 is the newer version and more flexible on duration (up to 10 seconds).
Wan 2.6 is cheaper but has a quirk: it supports only 5 or 10 seconds, there is no 6-second option.
Prices on KADR:
| Model and settings | Tokens | Price, rubles |
|---|---|---|
| Wan 2.6, 720p, 5 s | 44 | ~70 |
| Wan 2.6, 1080p, 5 s | 66 | ~104 |
| Wan 2.6, 1080p, 10 s | 132 | ~209 |
| Wan 2.7, 720p, 6 s | 83 | ~131 |
| Wan 2.7, 1080p, 6 s | 125 | ~198 |
| Wan 2.7, 1080p, 10 s | 207 | ~327 |
This is not a public offer. KADR prices, October 2026.
Best for: product clips, backgrounds, atmospheric scenes, volume content. Wan 2.6 is especially good as a workhorse for volume: 5 seconds at 1080p for 104 rubles.
Compared with the flagships
Price of one clip of about 6 seconds at 1080p, KADR data:
| Model | Tokens |
|---|---|
| Hailuo 2.3 | 55 |
| Wan 2.6 (5 s) | 66 |
| Kling v3.0 | 106 |
| Wan 2.7 | 125 |
| Veo 3.1 | 264 |
| Seedance 2.0 | 362 |
Hailuo and Wan sit at the top of the table. The flagships are justified when you need their specific strengths: the long segments and stable character of Seedance, the light, physics and sound of Veo, the camera work and real faces of Kling. If you need none of that, Hailuo or Wan will do the job for less.
Downsides and limits
An honest look at where they fall short:
- Shorter segments. A maximum of 10 seconds versus 15 for Seedance and Kling. A minute of finished video needs more cuts.
- Rigid durations. Hailuo does only 6 and 10 seconds (10 only at 768p), Wan 2.6 only 5 and 10. The storyboard has to fit.
- No native sound. Add audio in the edit. On the other hand, you are not overpaying for sound, which doubles the price on models with audio.
- Complex physics and crowds are handled worse than by the flagships.
How to use them wisely
The best scenario for Hailuo and Wan is drafts and volume. Work out the prompt, composition and camera move on Wan 2.6 at 720p for 70 rubles, make sure the scene works, and only then move it to a flagship if you really need one. Often it turns out you do not.
The full per-minute cost breakdown across all models is in the article on how much a minute of AI video costs.
In short
Hailuo 2.3 and Wan are underrated: they cost several times less than the flagships and cover most everyday tasks. Hailuo is strong on expressive characters, Wan on price-to-quality, and Hailuo and Wan 2.6 are among the cheapest video models in the catalog. Keep the rigid durations and the lack of sound in mind, and use them for drafts, social media and volume content.
