tool

Hailuo AI

Name: Hailuo AI
Author: MiniMax

// MiniMax

Video & Animation

// Description

Hailuo AI is the video generator by Chinese AI lab MiniMax. Known for extreme motion physics (acrobatics, stunts, animals), bracket-based camera commands in Director mode and a generous free tier.

// Use Cases

Image-to-video
Action and motion scenes
Character consistency
Social clips

// Pricing

Free tier with daily credits / paid plans from about $15/month / API via MiniMax

// AI Pirates Assessment

If a prompt involves a backflip, a galloping horse or flying fabric, we test Hailuo first. Complex motion falls apart least here.

// Deep Dive

What is Hailuo AI?

Hailuo is the video generator by MiniMax, one of the major AI labs in Shanghai. Its first viral moment came in September 2024, when Hailuo clips spread across X and TikTok because of their motion quality. MiniMax kept shipping: Hailuo 02 (June 2025) brought 1080p and a new architecture, Hailuo 2.3 (late 2025) noticeably better motion and style fidelity.

The tool's reputation rests on one thing: physics under extreme motion. Gymnasts, fight scenes, sprinting animals, flowing fabric. Scenes where other models melt limbs together stay remarkably stable in Hailuo. On Artificial Analysis image-to-video benchmarks, Hailuo 02 ranked first for a while.

Director mode: camera by command

Hailuo treats camera instructions as their own syntax in square brackets: [Pan left], [Zoom in], [Tracking shot], also combined. Results become reproducible instead of a prose-prompt lottery, which matters when a client wants one specific camera move.

Character consistency with Subject Reference

Subject Reference takes one photo and keeps the person recognizable across clips. For serial formats with a recurring character, this removes the biggest frustration in AI video: a lead who looks different in every shot.

Pricing and free tier

Hailuo hands out free credits daily, so with some patience you can keep testing indefinitely (with watermark and queue). Paid plans start around $15/month and remove both. An API is available directly from MiniMax.

How it stacks up

Hailuo has no native audio like Veo 3, and for photoreal close-ups of people Kling often stays ahead. In return, Hailuo is strong on motion and price-performance, with the most generous free tier in the field. Full picture: AI video generators 2026 compared.

// FAQ

What is Hailuo AI?

Hailuo is the AI video generator by MiniMax (Shanghai). It creates videos from text or images and is especially strong at complex motion physics such as acrobatics, animals and fabric simulation.

Is Hailuo AI free?

Yes, with limits. Hailuo grants free credits daily, but free generations carry a watermark and wait in a queue. Paid plans from about $15/month remove both.

What is Director mode?

Camera commands in square brackets inside the prompt, like [Pan left] or [Zoom in]. Hailuo executes them reliably, which makes camera moves plannable instead of random.

Hailuo vs Kling: which is better?

Kling leads on photoreal humans and lip-sync, Hailuo on extreme motion and the free tier. Many productions use both, depending on the scene.

Does Hailuo have an API?

Yes. MiniMax offers a video API for integrating Hailuo into your own workflows and tools.

Visit: Hailuo AI

// Related Entries

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