The short answer, if you want to generate and edit video with AI: free pick — CapCut; best value — Kling; premium — Runway.
“Editor with AI captions and effects”
“Strong motion text/image-to-video”
“Pro AI video generation and editing”
CapCut: Editor with AI captions and effects. Best for short-form editing. Watch out for: privacy/tos concerns. Price: US$19.99 (Pro, as displayed; sign in for final price) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Kling: Strong motion text/image-to-video. Best for character motion. Watch out for: queue times on free. Price: $10/mo (Standard; $6.99 first-month promo) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Pika: Fun, fast video effects. Best for social clips. Watch out for: shorter clips. Price: $10/mo (Starter, 900 credits) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Luma Dream Machine: Smooth realistic video gen. Best for product/b-roll. Watch out for: watermark on free. Price: $30/mo (Plus) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
HeyGen: AI avatar talking-head videos. Best for explainers, localization. Watch out for: uncanny at times. Price: $29/mo (Creator) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Descript: Edit audio/video by editing text. Best for podcasts. Watch out for: heavy app. Price: $24/mo, or $192/yr billed annually (Hobbyist) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Runway: Pro AI video generation and editing. Best for filmmakers. Watch out for: credits burn fast. Price: $12/mo billed annually ($15 monthly), Standard (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Synthesia: Enterprise avatar video. Best for training videos. Watch out for: pricey. Price: $29/mo (Starter, billed monthly) (free tier, checked Oct 2026).
Sora: OpenAI text-to-video. Best for cinematic clips. Watch out for: availability/region limits. Price: Check price (free tier unclear, checked Oct 2026).
Google Veo (via Flow/Gemini): Video with native audio. Best for realistic clips with sound. Watch out for: requires google ai plan. Price: Requires Google AI plan; 'starting at $8/mo' (free tier unclear, checked Oct 2026).
CapCut — Editor with AI captions and effects. Free tier (checked Oct 2026).
Kling — Strong motion text/image-to-video. From $10/mo (Standard; $6.99 first-month promo).
Runway — Pro AI video generation and editing. From $12/mo billed annually ($15 monthly), Standard.
We compare free tiers, cheapest paid plans and known red flags for 102 AI tools, then group picks into free, best value and premium. Prices were checked in Oct 2026 and change often — always confirm on the vendor's site.