Best AI Video Generator

5:42 There is no single best AI video generator as of Nov 6, 2026, because the two big blind-vote leaderboards disagree at the top: Google's Gemini Omni Flash models hold the first three places on LMArena's Text-to-Video board (Nov 5, 2026), while Alibaba's Wan 3.0 leads Artificial Analysis's, which judges video with sound. Models that rank high on both are ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 and 2.5, MiniMax's H3 (the company behind Hailuo), Wan 3.0 and Black Forest Labs' FLUX 3. The older famous names have slipped: Sora 2 Pro is 13th and Veo 3.1 14th on LMArena, and OpenAI announced in Mar 2026 that it was closing the Sora app. In an Oct 28, 2026 test of six video models from the same prompts and references, Dan Kieft put Seedance 2.5's first clip at the top of his tier list for getting even the physics of a shop door right.

For editing tools and a workflow around the clips, Runway and Luma Dream Machine remain full studios with clear plans, though their models rank lower in pure head-to-head votes. For commercial safety, Adobe Firefly includes video on its Premium plan.

Rankings, Nov 2026

Sources: LMArena Text-to-Video, Nov 5, 2026; Artificial Analysis Text to Video, read Nov 6, 2026. Both rank by blind votes between two clips; their scales differ, so compare ranks. LMArena's Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash, FLUX 3 Video and Grok Imagine Video 1.5 scores are marked preliminary with under 2,000 votes each. Artificial Analysis's main board includes audio; it keeps a separate silent board, where HeyGen Video 1 leads.

Best overall: Seedance, Wan and Gemini Omni

29:16 If you want a model that both leaderboards agree on, Seedance (6th and 5th) and Wan 3.0 (8th and 1st) are the safest picks; Seedance 2.0 also has the most votes near the top of LMArena (71,590), so its place is the most settled. Gemini Omni Flash wins LMArena outright but ranks 10th on Artificial Analysis's audio-inclusive board; it is Google's newer model, beside Veo. MiniMax H3, from the maker of Hailuo, is 3rd on Artificial Analysis and 11th on LMArena, and carries a community license rather than a purely proprietary one. Creators' tests point the same way: Dan Kieft's Oct 28, 2026 eight-round test ranked Seedance 2.5 first, Wan 3.0 a close second and MiniMax H3 third, with Gemini Omni Flash last, and Youri van Hofwegen's Sep 21, 2026 blind test also put Seedance 2.5 first, at over three times the credits of Kling 3.

What happened to Sora

OpenAI announced on Mar 24, 2026 that it was shutting down the Sora social app, which TechCrunch reported had fallen from about 3.3 million downloads in Nov 2025 to 1.1 million by Feb 2026. The article said the Sora 2 model stayed available behind ChatGPT's paywall. Sora 2 Pro is 13th on LMArena and absent from Artificial Analysis's board. See Sora.

Sora vs Veo

16:11 On LMArena's Nov 5, 2026 board they are almost tied: Sora 2 Pro at 1367 and Veo 3.1 with audio at 1363, 13th and 14th, with both well behind Google's own Gemini Omni Flash. Veo 3.1 is the only one of the two on Artificial Analysis (22nd). If you have a Google AI plan, Google's newer models are the stronger choice; if you pay for ChatGPT, Sora 2 is what you have. Creators' tests are less kind to Google's newest model than LMArena is: in Youri van Hofwegen's Sep 21, 2026 blind test of four models, Gemini Omni Flash came last, with natural physics but ignored instructions and no start-frame support.

Best studio: Runway and Luma

Runway's plans, as of Nov 6, 2026, are free with 125 one-time credits, then $15, $35 and $95 a month ($12, $28 and $76 billed yearly), with 625, 2,250 and 9,500 credits; paid plans remove watermarks and add 4K upscaling, voice clones and Runway's MCP. Luma Dream Machine costs $30, $90 and $300 a month ($25, $75 and $250 yearly) for 10,000, 40,000 and 150,000 credits, with its Ray3.2 and Ray3.14 models, HDR output and Luma Agents; its pricing page lists no free plan. Both rank around 30th on LMArena, so you pay for the tools as much as the model.

Best for commercial use: Adobe Firefly

Adobe Firefly's Premium plan, $199.99 a month, includes unlimited use of the Firefly Video Model, and Adobe says outputs of its Firefly models are safe for commercial use. Lower plans spend credits on video, and partner models from Google, OpenAI and Flux cost credits too. Firefly's video model is not on either leaderboard.

Best free

Firefly's free plan includes daily generations across image, video and audio, and Runway gives 125 credits once. Free tiers of Kling, Hailuo and others change often; see Free AI Tools.

Verdict by task

How we chose

Rankings come from LMArena's Text-to-Video leaderboard (Nov 5, 2026) and Artificial Analysis's Text to Video leaderboard (read Nov 6, 2026), both based on blind votes; where they disagree, we say so rather than average them. Prices come from Runway, Luma and Adobe's own pricing pages read on Nov 6, 2026, and Sora's status from TechCrunch's reporting. See AI Leaderboards.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best AI video generator in 2026? It depends on the leaderboard: Google's Gemini Omni Flash leads LMArena and Alibaba's Wan 3.0 leads Artificial Analysis as of Nov 6, 2026, with ByteDance's Seedance and MiniMax's H3 near the top of both.

Sora or Veo? On LMArena's Nov 5, 2026 board, Sora 2 Pro (13th) and Veo 3.1 (14th) are nearly tied, and both trail Google's newer Gemini Omni Flash. OpenAI closed the Sora app in 2026; Sora 2 remains in paid ChatGPT plans.

Is Sora shut down? OpenAI announced on Mar 24, 2026 that it was shutting down the Sora app; TechCrunch reported that the Sora 2 model remained available to paying ChatGPT users.

What is the best free AI video generator? Adobe Firefly's free plan includes daily video generations, and Runway's free plan gives 125 one-time credits, as of Nov 6, 2026; the top-ranked models generally need a paid plan.

Which AI video generator makes sound? Artificial Analysis's main video leaderboard rates video with audio, led by Wan 3.0, and Veo 3.1 ranks on LMArena in its audio version; check each tool for whether audio is on your plan.

Sources

• Text-to-Video leaderboard, LMArena, Nov 5, 2026
• Text to Video leaderboard, Artificial Analysis, read Nov 6, 2026
• Pricing, Runway, read Nov 6, 2026
• Pricing, Luma AI, read Nov 6, 2026
• Adobe Firefly plans, Adobe, read Nov 6, 2026
• OpenAI's Sora was the creepiest app on your phone, now it's shutting down, TechCrunch, Mar 24, 2026
• I Tried Every AI Video Generator - Full Tierlist, Dan Kieft, Oct 28, 2026 (video)
• AI Video Generators Ranked from Worst to Best (2026), Youri van Hofwegen, Sep 21, 2026 (video)