ChatGPT’s parent company OpenAI has launched a new model called Sora, which can generate imaginative videos based on users’ text prompts. While the initial results, shared by the company, appear quite impressive with real-like dynamic light effects and camera movements, the model still has a few flaws. As a result, Sora hasn’t been made public yet. Its access is restricted to “red teamers” to assess critical areas for harm or risks. That said, Sora is not the only AI text-to-video model out there.
In this article, we introduce a few Sora alternatives that are freely available for all to use. While they may not match the capabilities of the OpenAI model, they should serve as a good starting point.
Table of Contents
RunwayML
- RunwayML lets you create up to 4-second clips in the free tier. Once the video is created, you can extend it further to a 16-second clip. The max video quality is 720P.
- It tries to generate artsy videos based on the prompt we give it. However, they can be more miss than a hit.
- Instead of just a text prompt, you can upload an image or image with a description to produce a video.
- The clips have smooth animation thanks to interpolation.
- You can set the aspect ratio but by default, it will be 16:9.
- A cool feature though is the option to add filters or styles to the generated video.
- You can check it out here.
- The paid tier starts at $15 (Rs 1,244.93)/user/month (up to 5 users)
Stable Diffusion Videos
- You can use a GitHub account to sign into the free Stable Diffusion Videos tool.
- It’s available in the research preview and the tool is pretty barebones.
- I was able to create a 20-second video.
- It takes a lot of time. For example, a prompt to create a video showing a human face transformed into a lizard and then a snake took about 19 minutes. The result was interesting though.
- When I tried giving it a complex prompt, it failed.
- It animates images by morphing multiple frames together.
- You can check it out here.
Kaiber AI
- Register with your Gmail account.
- It will ask you to fill in the blanks of: I want to create a video of and in the style of.
- You can write your description and choose your style.
- Then, select the video duration (up to 4 minutes in the free tier) and aspect ratio (9:16).
- It will suggest some templates and choose the one you like.
- It will create a video based on your selections and prompts. It took about 5 minutes in my case. The result was respectable.
- It is suitable for generating short animated clips.
- You can check it out here.
- The Pro tier starts at $15 (Rs 1,244.93)/month.
Pika.art
- Pika lets you create 3-sec clips that are more like GIFs.
- You enter the prompt and the video gets created in a few minutes. Doesn’t take that long.
- We gave it a prompt, “a cat roaming on a sunny day” and the video came out with a cat floating in the sky. So, it can falter.
- You get to make 3 videos only in the free plan.
- You can check it out here.
- The paid tier starts at $10 (Rs 829.95)/month.
8 best AI photo editor tools (free) in 2024
10 best AI websites that you must try today
Top 10 ChatGPT alternatives worth checking out in 2023
The next two Sora competitors don’t produce videos out of thin air but are capable of sourcing stock videos or images from the web and stitching them together to look like a video. They support AI-based human voiceovers too. So, you just have to feed them the script or basic idea behind the presentation.
Invideo
- You can register with your Google account.
- It asks for the video’s purpose and lets you choose the audience type, the look and feel of it, and the platform for which you are making it.
- You can get 4 free exports out of it with a 10-minute duration.
- It offers a mobile app also which is a welcome feature.
- You can generate up to 1080P quality videos with stock watermark and Invideo branding.
- The voiceover, the background music, and the overall content look impressive.
- It is good for creating professional-looking presentations with AI voiceovers.
- You can check it out here.
- The Plus tier starts at $20 (Rs 1,659.90)/month (up to 1 user)
Lumen5
- Lumen5 lets you create up to 5 videos in a month under its free tier.
- The length of a free video is 1 minute.
- You can use it to generate quick presentations with AI voiceovers.
- The signup just needs you to give a work email.
- Once you register, it will ask you the purpose of using Lumen5.
- It will suggest some templates to get you started.
- You can give it the context of the presentation and what all to be discussed.
- You get to choose from two voiceover options for free.
- The script you provide can consist of 200 words.
- You can check it out here.
- The paid tier starts at $29 (Rs 2,406.86)/month (up to 1 user)
FAQ
How to remove watermarks from these AI-generated videos?
The watermarks are for copyright purposes and if you want to remove them, you will have to pay up. In most cases, the text-to-video tools have premium tiers that let you remove the watermark and give you more edit rights.
