Stable Video (Stability AI)
Stability AI's image-to-video model that animates a single image
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Facts checked · Nov 2026 — the pricing, free-plan and watermark facts on this page were checked against Stable Video (Stability AI)'s official pages. See how we verify and the listing changelog.
Price alerts for Stable Video (Stability AI)
AI video tools change prices and credit rules without warning — Kling has raised prices roughly 3× before. Get emailed when Stable Video (Stability AI)'s price, credits or free plan changes.
Our verdict
Stability AI's image-first video model: bring a carefully made still image and it will move it well — but expect short clips and an access route you have to choose yourself.
Stable Video (Stability AI) at a glance
| Starting price | Access via Stability platforms/partners; terms vary |
| Pricing type | Freemium |
| Free plan | Yes |
| API available | ✓ |
| Category | Image-to-Video Tools |
What Stable Video (Stability AI) really costs
There is no Stable Video price list, because Stability AI does not sell it as one product with one tariff. A hosted tool that integrates the model charges its own credits; the API route bills on its own terms; a self-hosted deployment costs you a licence arrangement plus your own computing hardware. Our listing sums this up as access via Stability platforms and partners, with terms that vary.
That spread is also the opportunity: the same model can be cheap to test through a partner's trial and economical at volume through an API or your own deployment. What we will not do is invent a per-clip figure — no per-unit rate for Stable Video was read on an official pricing page, so this section carries no cost cards.
No official per-unit rate for Stable Video was published on the pages checked in Nov 2026; each access route bills differently.
What is Stable Video (Stability AI)?
Stable Video Diffusion is Stability AI's video model, built on the same Stable Diffusion heritage as its well-known image models. Its core idea is image conditioning: you supply one strong still image and the model animates it into a short clip, adding camera movement and motion while holding your starting frame's look. That makes the quality of your input image the biggest factor in the result — a deliberate, well-composed still produces a deliberate, well-composed clip.
You will rarely meet Stable Video as a single neat product. It reaches users through Stability's own platform offerings, through developer APIs, through third-party tools that integrate the model, and as a model that can be deployed on your own infrastructure under a self-hosted licence — Stability's current site leads with exactly that option. It became a foundation that many other tools built on, so its real importance is reach: if you use smaller AI video tools, there is a fair chance you have already used it without knowing.
How Stable Video (Stability AI) works
- 1Pick your access route first: a hosted platform or tool that integrates Stable Video, the developer API route, or a self-hosted deployment.
- 2Prepare the strongest still image you can — this model animates your frame, so composition, subject and lighting are decided before you generate.
- 3Upload the image and choose your motion settings where the host offers them, such as camera movement and frame rate.
- 4Generate the clip — the official model page describes outputs of 14 or 25 frames at customisable frame rates between 3 and 30 per second, created in about two minutes or less.
- 5Review the motion honestly: short clips loop or extend better than they stretch, so plan several short shots rather than one long one.
- 6Export through your chosen route; resolution, watermark and licence terms come from that route, not from the model.
Core features
Image-to-video generation
The model's main job: turn one still image into a moving clip. Starting from an image gives you control over exactly how the shot begins, which text-only generation cannot promise.
Text-to-video on the official model page
Stability's Stable Video page also describes text-prompt generation, so depending on the route and version you use, you may be able to start from words as well as pictures.
Custom frame rates
The official page lists generation of 14 and 25 frames at frame rates you can set between 3 and 30 frames per second — the same frames can play as a brief smooth shot or a slower, more deliberate one.
Camera motion options on hosted versions
Hosted implementations typically expose camera movement controls, so the still image can be pushed in on, panned across or orbited rather than simply wobbling in place.
Developer and API access routes
Stable Video is available to developers through API routes, which is how it ended up inside so many third-party products. If you are building, this is the route that matters.
Self-hosted deployment
Stability offers the model under a self-hosted licence for deployment on your own infrastructure, for teams that need customisation and control rather than a consumer app.
The free plan — the full truth
Stable Video's free story depends on where you meet it. Our listing records a free route — the model family is widely offered with free or trial access through Stability's platforms and partner tools — but there is no single Stable Video free plan with one set of limits we can state. Watermark and export rules sit with the access route: our listing says exactly that, and our verified data confirms the API route exists while leaving free-plan watermark and commercial terms unverified.
So treat any free access as a test of the model's motion, and read the terms of the specific platform in front of you before publishing anything. If you self-host under licence, your costs are your hardware and the licence terms you agreed to, which is a different arrangement from any hosted free tier.
- • No single free plan — free access depends on the platform or route
- • Watermark position depends on the access route (not verified for the model)
- • Output is short clips: 14 or 25 frames per the official model page
- • Commercial terms for free output are not verified in our data
- • API access exists, but on the API route's own billing terms
Stable Video (Stability AI) pricing
Stable Video has no consumer plan table: Stability AI's official Stable Video page describes the model and a self-hosted licence, with no subscription prices. Our listing gives its price as 'Access via Stability platforms/partners; terms vary'. Hosted tools and API routes that carry the model publish their own pricing — check those pages, checked Nov 2026.
Pros
- + Image conditioning gives you real control over how a shot starts
- + Widely integrated — you can reach the model through many tools and routes
- + API and self-hosted options suit developers and technical teams
- + Fast generation — the official page describes clips created in about two minutes or less
Cons
- − Short clips only — this is a seconds-long shot maker, not a scene builder
- − No single product, price list or support route — access has changed over time
- − Results live or die by your input image; weak stills make weak clips
- − Watermark and licence terms must be checked on every route separately
Best for
- ✓ Creators with strong still images who want them animated into short shots
- ✓ Developers adding image-to-video generation to a product via API routes
- ✓ Technical teams who prefer a self-hosted model they control
Not ideal for
- ✕ Anyone who wants to type a prompt and download a finished video in one consumer app
- ✕ Long-form or multi-scene video work
- ✕ Users who need one clear published price before they start
Stable Video (Stability AI) alternatives
See all alternatives →For a polished consumer platform built on the same image-first idea, Runway is the first alternative our catalogue shows for this category: image-to-video sits inside a full editing workspace with published pricing. Kling AI is the better pick when you want image animation plus strong text-to-video in one standalone subscription. Pika is the simpler, more playful route for animating stills into social clips. All three give you the single account and price list that Stable Video, as a model with many doors, does not.
Runway
Runway is one of the most complete creative AI video platforms, combining text and image-to-video generation with editing tools such as background changes, relighting and object removal. It is aimed at creators and teams who want generation and post-production in one workspace rather than a single-purpose generator.
Kling AI
Kling AI, developed by Kuaishou, produces detailed short clips from text or images and has become a popular budget-friendly alternative to Western generators. Its newer models support longer, higher-resolution output and are widely used for social and cinematic-style short clips.
Pika
Pika focuses on quick, fun short-form generation with effects and templates that make images melt, inflate, transform and move. It is popular with social creators who want eye-catching clips quickly rather than long cinematic sequences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Stable Video free?
Free and trial routes exist through Stability's platforms and partner tools, but there is no single Stable Video free plan. What you get — credits, limits, watermarks — is decided by the platform or route you use.
What does Stable Video actually do?
It animates a still image into a short video clip. Stability's official page describes outputs of 14 or 25 frames at customisable frame rates between 3 and 30 frames per second.
Does Stable Video have an API?
Yes — developer and API access routes are part of how the model is distributed, and our verified data confirms an API route exists. API billing follows that route's own terms.
Does Stable Video watermark videos?
It depends on the access route, as our listing states. A hosted tool may watermark free output; a licensed self-hosted deployment is a different arrangement. We have not verified one rule for all routes.
Stable Video or Vidu?
Vidu is a finished consumer platform with its own plans and reference-consistency features. Stable Video is the underlying model family, reachable through many routes including self-hosting. Pick Vidu for convenience, Stable Video for control and integration.
Can I run Stable Video myself?
Stability offers a self-hosted licence to deploy the models in your own environment, aimed at users who need customisation. You will need suitable GPU hardware and to accept the licence terms.