In 2024, video is king. Video marketing is booming, especially for social media marketing, which is moving steadily toward placing video content front and center.
The problem is that video content is hard to create. It takes time, expertise, recording equipment, editing software, and actors and voice actors.
That is where AI video generators come in. AI has advanced to lightning speed, and text-to-video AI video generators are flourishing.
AI video tools promise to create high-quality videos based on some simple input data or text script, complete with great video and visuals, high-quality audio, and ultra-human sounding AI voiceovers – minutes, and for free!
But are all AI video generators as great as they sound? And can you really create a high-quality and compelling video with AI?
We wanted to find out, so we selected the top-rated AI video generators on the market, signed up, and tested them.
In this review, we look at all the tools we tested in detail, including pricing, features, and our personal experience using the AI video tools.
We also include examples of the videos we made and our scoring for each tool so you can compare them and find the best one for you!
Best AI Video Generators | Key Features | Pricing | Our P2P Rating |
Pictory |
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FlexClip |
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Elai.io |
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InVideo |
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Designs.ai |
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Read on for our full assessment of the top AI video generators and the example videos we made with them!
Over the last couple of years, especially since 2020, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has advanced and evolved at a staggeringly rapid rate.
In the simplest terms, AI uses machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to quickly process and ‘learn’ from huge datasets by finding patterns in that data and learning to predict and match associations within the data.
This creates a program that can create something, based on a simple prompt, that is remarkably accurate (or statistically probable, based on the input parameters) and contextually relevant.
Check out this video by IBM Technology for more on NLP and how it is used in AI:
We use AI whenever we use Siri, Google, and Alexa to carry out multi-step tasks based on voice prompts. Even if we give the prompt a little differently each time, the AI can still form associations and carry out the intended task.
Text-to-speech tools, such as AI voiceover generators, AI copywriting tools, and popular language and grammar-checking tools like Grammarly, also use AI algorithms to find errors and make complex suggestions for tone and delivery.
LOOKING FOR A GREAT AI VOICE GENERATOR OR AI COPYWRITING TOOL?
Check out our test results and detailed reviews here:
Various text-to-speech/image/audio algorithms evolved, and we now have text-to-video algorithms, which has led to an explosion of AI video generator software and AI video editing tools.
AI video generators promise to create a professional-quality video in minutes, with audio, AI-generated voiceover, imagery, video footage, and compelling visual effects.
So, what exactly is an AI video generator, and what can we use them for? And are they as good as they claim to be?
In a nutshell, an AI video software tool that uses AI to automatically generate videos, based on the information the user provides.
This usually includes video script text and a storyboard and setting the tool’s parameters, such as the type of video and the required format. The AI video tool then automatically creates a video.
You can use text-to-video AI software to create a wide range of videos, but the most common types of videos created with AI are:
Videos created with AI can be used for a huge number of use cases, including:
However, there is a video, and there is a good video. And they’re not the same!
If you have ever made a video or hired a freelancer to make you make a video, many subtle elements go into making a GOOD video.
So, can you create a good video using an AI video generator? A passable one? Or just a functional one that serves a purpose but won’t be fooling anyone as to its AI-generated origins?
To find out, we physically tested the top AI video generators on the market to see what they could do and which ones were the best.
Here is how we selected the top AI video generators to test:
There are dozens and dozens of AI video generators available, each claiming to be better than the last. However, the quality of these platforms varies massively!
Some are incredible to use and produce polished, high-quality videos… And others are a glitchy mess of limitations and frighteningly enthusiastic robotic voices.
So, to find the AI video tools that were really worth testing, here are the factors we considered in our selection process:
Considering the factors above, we were able to weed out the less-than-ideal tools and select the top AI video generators to test.
Here are the AI video tools we tested:
AI video technology might be young but is strong and evolving fast. When we tested these AI video generators ourselves, we were quite surprised by what they could do and the quality of the final product!
That said, a couple of AI video generators stood out during the testing process and emerged as having that little bit extra that gives them the edge to emerge as the best of the best.
D-ID AI is a powerful video creation platform offering impressive features for generating human-like conversational AI experiences. The platform’s key strength is creating realistic-looking and sounding AI presenters.
The platform’s key strength is creating realistic-looking and sounding AI presenters. Users can choose from various default presenter options or upload their own images to generate custom avatars. The avatars feature natural-looking facial expressions and lip-syncing that help create a more immersive experience.
One potential downside noted in the reviews is that the quality of the AI portraits can sometimes feel less than fully human-like, with a slight lag between the face and voice. However, the platform’s overall capabilities in creating engaging, conversational AI experiences are impressive.
D-ID AI also offers an API that allows users to integrate the technology into their own applications, enabling the creation of real-time video call avatars or AI-powered chatbots.
Overall, D-ID AI is a powerful and versatile video creation platform that can be a valuable tool for businesses and content creators looking to generate high-quality, human-like conversational AI experiences.
Final Score: 88/100 (4.4/5)
Website: D-ID
FlexClip is a really good free AI video generator. Using it is easy and a lot like working in Canva, with searchable options from a menu sidebar, templates, and easy customizations.
We made a simple slideshow video on FlexClip using a standard template and were impressed by how easy it was to do and the level of customization offered. We could use our custom colors, upload our logo, and edit each slide extensively.
You can adjust the basics, like text size, font, and colors, add stock images and audio, or upload your own audio or images/video.
You can also edit things like the aspect ratio, the duration of each slide, the audio for each slide, and where the audio transitions fall about the visuals.
This level of customization means that you can use FlexClip to create a quick video using a pre-made template or a unique video custom to your brand.
In terms of editing, your level of control means you can create a video that is as polished and professional as your heart desires.
FliexClip has an impressive library of stock media assets and some very slick and professional-looking templates. They also have templates for social media videos, so you can create an Instagram reel, TikTok, or YouTube video/video podcast that is pre-set to the right aspect ratio, etc.
You can download or embed/share videos directly from within FlexClip. Video resolution is from 480 up to 1080. However, you can only download high-resolution videos with their watermark on the free plan. You have to be on a paid plan to remove the watermark.
Our overall impression of FlexClip was that it’s super easy to use and offers great templates, media assets, and editing options. It also offers customization options, including custom brand colors and assets.
The downsides of FlexClip include:
Final Score: 74/100 (3.7/5)
Website: FlexClip
Elai’s AI video generator is a great tool for creating videos with AI voiceovers and AI ‘talking head’ avatars narrating the video.
Elai works much like the other AI video tools on this list, but we were impressed with the quality of the AI avatars and how natural some of the AI voices sounded. We were also impressed with their many options for custom avatars from a photo and custom voiceovers based on your own voice.
One of the challenges with AI video generators and other AI tools is that the same media assets are available to everyone, so your arch-nemesis can use the same voice or avatar as you, and you can’t do anything about it. Creating custom avatars and voices allows you to keep your branding unique.
We could have customized and edited this video a lot more to refine the final outcome, but it’s really not bad for a video created entirely with AI, using a stock template and our own video script!
Elai offers a lot of features, and the software is easy to navigate. However, we did find that the editor was a bit laggy at times and the editing options for the individual elements were a bit clumsy to work with. These are small things, and the finished product’s quality was worth the minor frustration.
Final Score: 67/100 (3.4/5)
Website: Elai.io
InVideo is a great free AI video generator that offers text-to-video, pre-made video templates, and a huge stock media library.
It is very simple to use, and there is virtually no learning curve as the dashboard is user-friendly, and creating videos or video podcasts with InVideo is a simple, step-by-step process.
We tried out the templates and the text-to-video function, which were surprisingly quick and simple.
The templates are easy to navigate, and you can set filters for the aspect ratio, video type, and industry (we selected ‘landscape,’ ‘ads’, and ‘professional services’ for this test).
After setting the filters, we were presented with a selection of templates to choose from:
From b-roll stock footage to animations, each template includes background music and the option to change the aspect ratio.
InVideo uses a simple drag-and-drop editor, and you can customize the text, fonts, colors, logos, background media, and music.
You can upload audio if you have a voiceover to use, or you can automatically generate an AI voiceover (which was not the best quality, however) from the text in each scene.
When we tested the text-to-video generator, a very short script took quite a while to load, and there was some lag when we added and removed images and audio.
However, it worked much the same as using the templates, and we could create a high-quality video quickly.
Overall, we were impressed with the video quality we could create with InVideo and how quick and easy it was to do.
That said, some things were not that good too:
Final Score: 72/100 (3.6/5)
Website: invideo.io
Designs.ai is creative AI software that can create everything from logos and brand graphics to videos from text and pre-made templates.
It is very easy to use, and the process is so straightforward you think there must be a catch somewhere, but that only comes when you try to download your video on the free trial (it turns out you can sign up for a paid plan and use it free for a month though).
We tested both the video templates and the text-to-video video maker, and we were pleasantly surprised by how much we could do with the software!
The text-to-video generator has just a few steps: adding your script, choosing a category/industry, choosing an AI voice for your voiceover, and setting your text colors. We could use our custom colors, so we added those, and it applied them to each scene.
From there, it uses the words in your script to match some relevant footage to the scene and boom! you have a neat little video that doesn’t need much editing.
Here is the video we made in Designs.ai:
If you need to edit it, you can change the music, the AI voice, and the words in the script for each scene, add or remove the text on the screen, add subtitles, and change any of the video clips or images.
Using the editor is so simple that, at first, it seemed like the editing features must be quite limited. However, when you’re physically using the AI video tools, it becomes clear that everything you need is there. From effects and transitions to custom fonts and audio, you can adjust just about everything.
The one challenge was that there was no way to edit the AI voiceover regarding speech rate, tone, or pronunciation. While the voice sounded natural and convincing, we had to change the script text to remove the word ‘into’ because that one word sounded strange and robotic.
We also had to accept being called ‘Peer to Peer’ and not ‘P2P’ because we couldn’t alter the pronunciation (in retrospect, changing the words to ‘pee two pee’ might have worked, but that workaround is cumbersome at best).
All in all, we were very impressed with the Designs.ai video maker. It is simple and straightforward, offers video templates and text-to-video, extensive editing and customization options, and a great library of free images and video footage.
However, there were a few things we did not love:
That said, these issues are pretty minor in the scheme of things, and you can easily mitigate them with some additional editing and small tweaks to the content.
Final Score: 67/100 (3.4/5)
Website: Designs.ai
Which AI video makers are the best?
After testing all the top AI video generators, we selected the best of the best:
Overall, we were impressed with the quality and dexterity of all the AI video tools we tested. They all offer robust features; most provide great customizations and in-depth editing options.
When you have many good options, the best choice is the one that is best for you, and that comes down to your specific needs and preferences.
If you’re still looking for the right AI video tools after reading the reviews above, here are the ‘top contenders’ that we tested and recommend checking out on your own:
Fliki is a popular AI video and voiceover generator that is incredibly easy to use and offers a lot on the free plan/trial. You can create b-roll videos from a text script, created scene-by-scene, with an accompanying AI voiceover. Fliki’s main strengths are the quality of the AI voices and its ease of use. For simple stock footage videos with a voiceover, Fliki is a great choice. However, the editing and customization options were very limited compared to the other AI video generators on this list.
Synthesys is another advanced AI video generator that is especially good for videos that need a high-quality AI voiceover and AI avatar. The only reason Synthesis did not make the top 5 was its accessibility (no free plan or trial) and the fact that it requires more know-how than the other tools. It is a great option for professionals with some video experience who need professional-quality videos/voices.
Rephrase.ai is another great option that was very nice to use, but it’s very much geared toward AI avatars and AI voiceovers. It is better suited to professionals with a specific use case, such as stages of a sales funnel or customer support. Rephrase also has a challenging onboarding process, where you have to schedule a demo with a sales rep before you can find out about pricing.
Synthesia is a leading AI video generator that provides AI video creation, voiceovers, and avatars. We loved everything about Synthesia except for the pricing. If you need a good voiceover and customized AI avatar, Sythesia is a great choice, but it will cost you more than other tools offering similar features.
Veed is a really AI video editing tool. It offers a great range of editing options, and if you need to edit or alter existing videos, Veed is a cost-effective and robust choice. However, we found Veed to be better suited to editing videos than creating them.
Lumen5 is a great tool for talking-head videos and converting blogs to videos. But that’s it. The limited use cases are what held Lumen5 back in this review.
GliaCound had some rave reviews, so we were excited to test it. However, our experience wasn’t that amazing. We found it to be better suited to editing than creating videos. It also had limited use cases. Other than that, GliaCloud is certainly worth checking out.
To recap, we were very impressed with what the top AI video tools can do and the quality of the videos we made with AI.
All the tools we tested were good, but five stood out as the best:
These tools are all great, but the right one for you will depend on personal preference and what you need it to do.
You may need to test a couple of them yourself but we’re confident that the perfect AI video tools for you is on this list!
They automate repetitive video editing tasks like trimming, cutting, and applying effects, saving editors substantial time. AI-powered transcription and captioning features make videos more accessible and searchable. Smart summarization tools can automatically generate video highlights, allowing viewers to quickly grasp key points. AI-based optimization features analyze performance metrics and suggest improvements to titles, thumbnails and metadata to boost engagement. Some AI tools can even generate entire videos from text or data inputs, eliminating the need for manual video production.
Most of the top AI video generators offer a free plan or free trial that allows you to use the software and create a video using AI for free. Read the full review to learn more about AI video makers and find a list of the best free and paid AI video generators.
They significantly reduce the time and cost of video production by automating repetitive tasks like editing, transcription, and content analysis. This allows businesses to create more videos in less time and at a lower cost.
AI tools also enable personalization at scale, generating videos tailored to individual viewers based on their preferences and behaviors. Additionally, AI-powered video creation can enhance creativity by providing intelligent suggestions and ideas to inspire content creators.
Backlinko: Video Marketing – The Definitive Guide
Cielo24: The Top 23 Video Trends of 2023
Content Marketing Institute: 4 Ways to Win With Video – the ‘It’ Content Format for 2023
Forbes: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence: Will Robots Actually Replace People?
HubSpot: How to Write a Video Script
MIT Sloan School of Management: Machine Learning, Explained
SciTechDaily: Revolutionary AI System Learns Concepts Shared Across Video, Audio, and Text
The Kennedy Centre: Production 101 – Tips for Producing Your Own Video Content
University of York: The Role of Natural Language Processing in AI