In short. According to our catalog pages and the services' official pages, fifteen services can animate a photo, that is, turn it into a short clip. They are the video generators Kling AI, PixVerse, Hailuo AI, Vidu AI, Runway, Dreamina, Pika, Luma and Wan AI, plus studios and services where it is one feature among others: Krea, Adobe Firefly, Grok Imagine, Alice AI, Shedevrum and Midjourney. Free credits are given by Kling AI (daily, with a watermark), PixVerse (starter and daily, with a watermark), Wan AI (for daily check-ins, with a watermark), Hailuo AI (to new users), Vidu AI (on sign-up) and Runway (once). A free plan exists in Luma (with a watermark, for personal use only), Krea (no card required) and Adobe Firefly; in Dreamina you can start for free, and Alice AI and Shedevrum have a free version. Pika and Midjourney have no free plan, and for Grok Imagine free-access terms are not filled in on its page.
We use only what our catalog pages and the services' official pages say. Free-plan terms change, so open the service's official page before you start.
Video generators
Kling AI is a video and image generator from Kuaishou. From a text prompt or a photo it makes a clip with camera movement and sound; it can animate photos and create image series in one consistent style. It runs in the browser and in mobile apps. Free credits are added every day, and videos made with them carry a watermark.
PixVerse is a video generator from AIsphere. It animates photos, turns text into video and offers ready-made effect templates for social media. Besides its own models, it includes models from other companies (on the higher plans). It runs in the browser and in a mobile app. The free plan includes starter and daily credits; videos without a watermark require a paid plan.
Hailuo AI is a video generator from MiniMax. It turns a text prompt or an image into a short clip and can follow sample images for characters, objects and style. There are ready-made effect templates. It runs in the browser. New users get free credits; the site does not promise a daily refill.
Vidu AI is a video generator from ShengShu. It makes clips from text, from an image or from several sample images, so the same character or object stays consistent from shot to shot, and it can make 2D animation. It runs in the browser and in mobile apps. There is a free plan and new accounts get credits; commercial use of videos requires a paid plan.
Runway is an AI video studio. It generates clips from text and images, changes scenes in existing footage and makes voiceovers, music and sound effects; you can also hand work on a project to an AI agent. It runs in the browser and in iPhone and Android apps. Free credits are given once and are not refilled.
Dreamina is a video and image generator from the makers of CapCut, ByteDance. From a description or a photo it makes a clip, an image, a talking avatar or a short drama. It runs in the browser and in a mobile app. You can start for free.
Pika is a studio for short videos and images from Pika Labs. It turns a photo into a clip and can animate through several ordered keyframe images; it also extends existing footage, transfers motion from one clip to another and adds voiceover, music and sound effects. It runs in the browser and in an iPhone app. Generation is only with purchased credit packs.
Luma is a studio from Luma AI for video, images and audio with AI agents. You can upload a photo, an illustration or a 3D image, describe the motion, and the Ray model animates it into a video. It runs in the browser and in an iPhone app. The free plan adds a watermark and is for personal use only.
Wan AI is a family of video models from Alibaba. It creates clips from text, images and sample images and edits existing footage with a text command. It runs in the browser and in mobile apps. Some models are open and can be run on your own computer with a strong graphics card. On the free plan videos carry a watermark, and credits are added for daily check-ins.
Animation as one feature
Krea is a studio from Krea that brings together image, video and 3D models. It makes video from text or from images. It runs in the browser. There is a free plan, no credit card required.
Adobe Firefly is Adobe's generative studio. You can upload a photo or an AI-generated image, add a prompt and turn it into a video; results can be refined in Photoshop and Express. It runs in the browser and in a mobile app. There is a free plan.
Grok Imagine is the image and video generator inside Grok. It edits photos and animates them into short clips, and has ready-made scenarios: product photos, profile pictures, background replacement. It runs at grok.com/imagine and in the Grok app. Free-access terms are not filled in on its page.
Alice AI is Yandex's AI assistant in chat form. Among other things it animates and restores photos, and it also answers questions, writes text and analyzes files. The basic version is free; some features are only in the paid version.
Shedevrum is a Yandex service where AI draws pictures from a description and animates them into short videos. It is also a social network: works are posted to a shared feed. It runs at shedevrum.ai and in a mobile app, with Yandex ID sign-in. It is free, with some features in a paid version.
Midjourney is an image generator that can turn an image into a short video clip. It runs in the browser and in Discord. There is no free plan.
Which to pick
- Video from a photo with camera movement and sound: Kling AI.
- Ready-made effect templates for social media: PixVerse or Hailuo AI.
- Keep the same character from shot to shot: Vidu AI or Hailuo AI (sample images).
- 2D animation: Vidu AI.
- Animate several frames in order: Pika.
- A photo, illustration or 3D image into a cinematic clip: Luma.
- Clip, voiceover, music and scene edits in one studio: Runway.
- A talking avatar from a photo: Dreamina.
- Run a video model on your own computer: Wan AI (open models).
- Animate a photo and refine it in Photoshop: Adobe Firefly.
- Animate a photo in a chat: Alice AI or Grok Imagine.
- Animate a picture made on the spot, in a social network with a shared feed: Shedevrum.
- Start for free: Kling AI, PixVerse, Hailuo AI, Vidu AI, Wan AI, Luma, Krea, Adobe Firefly, Dreamina, Alice AI or Shedevrum.
What to check on a tool's page
- Watermark. Videos made with free credits in Kling AI, PixVerse, Wan AI and Luma carry a watermark; in PixVerse only paid plans remove it.
- Credits. Kling AI and PixVerse give them daily, Wan AI for daily check-ins, Hailuo AI and Vidu AI on sign-up, Runway once; in Pika, generation is only with purchased credit packs.
- Commercial use. In Vidu AI it needs a paid plan, and Luma's free plan is for personal use only; for the others see the terms on the service's page.
- How you sign in. Shedevrum opens only with a Yandex ID.
How to check the result
- Look at hands, faces and text in the frame: they are what most often gets distorted in animation.
- Compare the motion with the original photo: the service draws in what the shot does not contain.
- Do not upload other people's photos without permission, or shots you do not want to hand to a service.
- If the clip has a watermark, open the service's plans page and read the terms.
The data comes from our catalog pages and the services' official pages as of 14 October 2026. If a service has changed its terms, tell us in the comments under the post in our Telegram channel, Pro AI Expertise (the channel is in Russian), and we will update the page.