The best AI tools for video creators in 2026
Video creators use AI at both ends: generating shots that would be costly to film, and cutting, captioning and clipping the footage they already have. The editing tools usually save more hours than the generators.
By Andrew Miller · Updated Oct 26, 2026 · How we review
How we chose: each pick is a product, model or project we have reviewed that does this job according to our review of it, ranked by our rating out of 5. We take no affiliate commission.
Also ranked: the best AI video generators
- 1
AI Tools: Video
Flow is the cheapest serious way to make AI video with sound, provided you accept Google's content filters, its data terms and its habit of renaming everything.
Best for: Creators and marketers who want realistic AI video with sound at a low price, especially existing Google AI subscribers.
Price: 50 free credits/day; Google AI Plus $4.99/month (+200 monthly credits), Pro $19.99 (+1,000), Ultra about $100 (+10,000) or $200 (+25,000). US prices; top-ups on Pro and Ultra; unused credits expire.
Read our Google Flow review4.6/5 - 2
AI Tools: Video
HeyGen makes the most convincing digital twins on the market, and charges for it in credits that a few minutes of Avatar V will use up.
Best for: Creators, marketers and sales teams who want to produce presenter-led or translated videos without filming.
Price: Free (3 watermarked 1-minute videos/month); Creator $29/month ($24 yearly, 600 credits); Pro from $49 (1,000 credits) up to $4,300 (100,000); Business $149 + $20/extra seat (1,500 credits); Enterprise custom. API pay-as-you-go from $5.
Read our HeyGen review4.5/5 - 3
AI Tools: Video
Kling gives creators longer, better-moving clips for less money than Western rivals, provided they accept a Chinese provider whose consumer terms let it train on their uploads.
Best for: Creators and marketers who want realistic, longer AI video clips with sound at a reasonable price.
Price: Free Basic (no commercial use); Standard $10 list (660 credits), Pro $37 (3,000), Premier $92 (8,000), Ultra $180 (26,000); first month discounted, monthly renewals $8.80 to $159.99. API billed separately.
Read our Kling AI review4.5/5 - 4
AI Tools: Video
For anything built from people talking, Descript turns a day of timeline work into an hour of editing a document.
Best for: Podcasters, YouTubers, educators and marketing teams who make talking-head and interview content.
Price: Free (1 hour/month, 100 one-time AI credits, 720p with watermark); Hobbyist $24/month ($16 yearly); Creator $35 ($24 yearly); Business $65 ($50 yearly, up to 5 seats); Enterprise custom.
Read our Descript review4.4/5 - 5
AI Tools: Video
CapCut makes a phone-shot clip look like this week's TikTok faster than anything else, but its content licence and its owner are questions a brand's lawyer should answer before the marketing team does.
Best for: Social media creators and small businesses making short vertical videos for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
Price: Free editor; Pro 1,200 AI credits/month ($19.99/month or $179.99/year in the US); Ultra 8,645 credits ($79/month or $900/year); per-seat Teams plans with 1,200 credits per seat. Prices vary by region and are final only after sign-in.
Read our CapCut review4.3/5 - 6
AI Tools: Video
Runway is a production toolkit first and a clip generator second, which is exactly why its own model no longer needs to win every comparison.
Best for: Filmmakers, agencies and editors who need to direct and edit AI video, not just generate clips.
Price: Free 125 one-time credits; Standard $15/month ($12 yearly, 625 credits); Pro $35 ($28 yearly, 2,250); Max $95 ($76 yearly, 9,500); Team $69/seat ($55 yearly, 6,900 credits per seat). API $0.01 per credit.
Read our Runway review4.3/5 - 7
AI Tools: Video
OpusClip gives you a usable first cut for about ten cents per source minute, but a person still has to choose the clips, and its privacy policy does not rule out using your footage to improve its models.
Best for: Podcasters, streamers and video creators who want to repurpose long videos into short social clips.
Price: Free (60 source minutes/month, watermarked, 3-day storage); Starter $15/month (150 minutes); Pro $29/month (300 minutes, the only plan with yearly billing); Business custom. 1 credit = 1 minute of uploaded video.
Read our OpusClip review4.0/5 - 8
AI Tools: Video
VEED makes a subtitled, on-brand social clip in a browser tab quicker than almost anything, as long as you pay for a plan before uploading anything you care about.
Best for: Marketing and communications teams that turn existing footage into subtitled, translated, on-brand clips without a dedicated editor.
Price: Free (720p, watermark); Creator $12/user/month billed yearly; Pro $22/user/month billed yearly; Studio $39/user/month billed yearly; Enterprise custom. Monthly billing costs more.
Read our VEED review4.0/5