What is Vidu, in short?
Updated October 31, 2026 · By Elias Brandt · Documentation review, not tested hands-on
Pros
- Free plan exists
- Several input modes
- Developer access
- Paid users get commercial use
Cons
- Free limits are not numbers
- Monthly price not shown
- Broad license to your content
- No refunds
Best forCreators making short AI clips from a prompt or imageDevelopers adding video generationMarketers making ads and social clipsNot for client work on a free account
Strengths, limits and who it suits, in full
Strengths
- Free plan exists The pricing page lists a $0 Free plan with bonus credits for logged-in users.
- Several input modes The menu lists text, image and reference to video plus image generation.
- Developer access A separate API platform sells pay-as-you-go credit packs.
- Paid users get commercial use The Terms extend the license to commercial use for paid users.
Limits
- Free limits are not numbers The credit amount and watermark terms for the Free plan are not stated on the pages we read.
- Monthly price not shown The captured pricing text shows yearly-billed prices only.
- Broad license to your content The Terms give Vidu a perpetual, sublicensable license to content you submit.
- No refunds Subscription fees for the current cycle are non-refundable and plans auto-renew.
Who it suits
- Creators making short AI clips from a prompt or image The menu lists text, image and reference to video.
- Developers adding video generation The API platform sells pay-as-you-go credits.
- Marketers making ads and social clips The menu lists AI video ad and template tools.
- Not for client work on a free account The license extends to commercial use only for paid users.
How much does Vidu cost?
Prices confirmed · checked
Regional prices: USD figures are the yearly-billed prices on the pricing page on 2026-10-31, each next to a crossed-out higher list price ($10, $43, $230 a month).
Monthly-billing prices were not captured; the page says annual plans are up to 47% off and monthly plans up to 40% off. Credit lines are assigned to plans by column order and were not confirmed in the interface. Terms (July 3, 2026): paid users get commercial use; subscriptions auto-renew; current-cycle fees are non-refundable; pricing may change. The API platform sells credit packs such as $9.9 for 4,000 credits at a limited promotional price.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 per month sourceFrom vidu.com/pricing, checked Oct 31, 2026 (opens in a new tab) | Log-in bonus credits (amount not stated); watermark terms not stated. |
| Standard | $99 billed yearly$8.25 per month, list $10 sourceFrom vidu.com/pricing, checked Oct 31, 2026 (opens in a new tab) | About 800 credits a month, up to 200 videos (column-order reading); commercial use for paid users per Terms. |
| Premium | $425 billed yearly$35.42 per month, list $43 sourceFrom vidu.com/pricing, checked Oct 31, 2026 (opens in a new tab) | About 3,500 credits a month; off-peak quota 20 videos a day (column-order reading). |
| Ultimate | $2,300 billed yearly$191.67 per month, list $230 sourceFrom vidu.com/pricing, checked Oct 31, 2026 (opens in a new tab) | About 8,000 credits a month; off-peak quota 200 videos a day (column-order reading). |
How far does it go?
- What Standard costs per video at bestStandard is $99 billed yearly, or $8.25 a month. If the page's 'up to 200 videos' from 800 credits holds for your settings, that is at best about $0.04 per video, and fewer videos mean a higher cost. This is arithmetic on listed figures, not a quote: it assumes the column-order reading of the credit line and ignores unused credits.
Arithmetic from the published allowances above, not a usage test.
Taxes, currency and promotions can change the price you see at checkout.
Try Vidu free (opens in a new tab)
Key features
| Feature | What it does | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| Text-to-video, image-to-video and reference-to-video generation | The homepage example prompt keeps one player's face, helmet, jersey and ball consistent across cut shots from a reference image, with timed shot instructions. | Upload one reference image and write a three-shot prompt before judging consistency. |
| Text-to-image and reference-to-image tools | — | |
| Vidu Q4 flagship model promoted for expressive audio and video | — | |
| Vidu Agent that works from a single sentence to a finished piece | — | |
| AI templates and an AI sound-effect generator | — | |
| API platform with pay-as-you-go credits | — | |
| Product and models are separate | The menu lists Vidu Q4 and Vidu Q3 as models and tools such as Image to Video as workflows; the pages read do not give resolution or clip-length limits. | Check the length and resolution shown in the app for each model before planning a project. |
| API is priced separately from the app | The API platform sells credit packs pay-as-you-go, separate from the app subscriptions, with limited-time discounts. | Compare the app plan and an API pack only on the same credit cost per video. |
Is Vidu free?
There is a Free plan at $0 a month on the pricing page, which says only that logging in gets bonus credits. It does not state the amount or whether free output is watermarked, so check the interface before planning work around it.
What do the paid prices mean?
The prices shown are for yearly billing: Standard $99 a year, Premium $425 and Ultimate $2,300, each shown with a crossed-out higher monthly figure. Monthly prices were not captured; the page says monthly plans are up to 40% off. Compare on the same billing period before choosing.
Vidu the product versus its models
Vidu is the app and web service of ShengShu AI HK Limited. Vidu Q4 and Vidu Q3 are models inside it, and the homepage promotes Q4 as the flagship. The pages read give no resolution or clip-length figures.
Commercial use and your content
The Terms give paid users a license that extends to commercial use, and Vidu takes a broad worldwide license to content you submit. Fees are non-refundable and subscriptions auto-renew.
How to try it in an afternoon
Proposed evaluation · not performed yet
On the Free plan, generate the same 5-second idea with text-to-video and image-to-video, note the credits spent and any watermark, and only then price a paid plan.
Vidu alternatives
Other video & editing tools checked with the same method. Pick by the job, not by a score.
Developers and small teams who want a conversational video avatar for support, sales or tutoring and need to budget by minutes
Short animated stories from a script or prompt
Teachers, students and math YouTubers who want 3Blue1Brown-style explainer clips from a description, with an editable Manim code playground when they want control
Creators and teams who make many AI videos and need the same characters, locations and look to carry across every one
Animators, game developers and 3D creators who want rough-to-usable character motion from phone footage and will clean it up in their own 3D tool
Generated video and footage editing
Faceless vertical shorts generated from a one-line idea
Streamers turning Twitch or Kick VODs into vertical clips
Used Vidu? Write the first review. Visitor opinions are moderated and kept separate from our source checks.
Frequently asked questions
Is Vidu free?
There is a $0 Free plan on the pricing page, but its credit amount and watermark terms are not stated on the pages we read. Paid plans add monthly credits and commercial use.
Can I use Vidu videos commercially?
The Terms say the license is for personal, non-commercial use and extends to commercial use for paid users. The pricing page does not break commercial rights down by plan.
How do I cancel my Vidu subscription?
The Terms say to cancel through the subscription settings of the platform where you subscribed, such as the Apple App Store or Google Play. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing cycle and current-cycle fees are not refunded.
Does Vidu have an API?
Yes. The API platform sells pay-as-you-go credits, for example $9.9 for 4,000 credits at the current promotional price, with enterprise packs and a custom plan.
What is the difference between Vidu and the Vidu Q4 model?
Vidu is the product and app run by ShengShu AI; Vidu Q4 and Q3 are video models offered inside it, with Q4 promoted as the flagship.
Sources and method5 official sources · 10 details checked · Oct 31, 2026
How we checked this profile
10 details on this page were checked against Vidu's own pages and help documentation (Oct 31, 2026). 3 are still open and listed below.
See the checks by section7 documented3 open
| Section | Checks | Last checked | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article text | 1 documented | vidu.com | |
| Features | 1 documented | vidu.com | |
| Plans and prices | 3 documented 2 open | vidu.com/pricingvidu.com/terms | |
| Platforms and integrations | 1 open | platform.vidu.com | |
| Strengths and limits | 2 documented | vidu.com/privacyvidu.com/terms |
Still open
- Credit lines on the pricing page, read in column order: Standard 800 credits a month (up to 200 videos), Premium 3,500 credits a month (off-peak quota 20 videos a day), Ultimate 8,000 credits a month (off-peak quota 200 videos a day).Not confirmed · checked · Source (opens in a new tab)
- The Free plan's monthly or bonus credit amount and whether free output is watermarked are not stated on the pages read.Not confirmed · checked · Source (opens in a new tab)
- The API platform sells credits pay-as-you-go, for example $9.9 for 4,000 credits (list $20) and $19.9 for 8,000 credits (list $40), with larger packs up to $12,000 for 4,000,000 credits (list $20,000) and a custom enterprise plan.Not confirmed · checked · Source (opens in a new tab)
Sources for this profile
- Pricing pagevidu.com
- Homepagevidu.com
- Terms of Service, last updated 2026-07-03vidu.com
- Privacy Policyvidu.com
All 5 sources
Official pages read on 2026-10-31: homepage, pricing page, Terms of Service (last updated July 3, 2026), Privacy Policy and the API platform page. The pricing page and API page were read through a proxy fetch. We did not create an account or run a generation, so output quality, the Free plan's credit amount, watermark placement, clip length and resolution were not observed. The help page and about page were not available. Creator quotes on the homepage were not used.
Sources checked Oct 31, 2026. Found something out of date? See how we correct profiles.