162 AI tools reviewed with real pricing, quickstart code, and honest gotchas
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Veo 2 is Google's answer to Sora, delivering high-fidelity 1080p video via Vertex AI, but it comes with a steep enterprise price tag of $0.50 per second (~$30/minute). While the physics and lighting are impressive, the 8-second hard limit per generation makes it frustrating for long-form narrative work. By Feb 2026, Veo 3 is already rolling out with better pricing, so unless you are locked into a specific legacy Vertex workflow, you should likely skip Veo 2 for the newer models.
Stability AI deprecated their official video API in July 2025, shifting fully to an open-model strategy. While this kills the 'plug-and-play' convenience for API consumers, it remains the king of self-hosted video generation. Use this if you have the H100s to run it or need total data privacy; avoid it if you just want a simple REST endpoint—go to Runway or Luma instead.
Sora 2 is the heavyweight champion of physics-aware video generation, but it prices out the hobbyists. While the $20/mo Plus tier gets you in the door, the real power (25s clips, 1080p) is locked behind the $200/mo Pro plan or a pricey API. Use it if you need Hollywood-style storyboards where gravity actually works; avoid it if you just want quick, cheap social media filler.
Runway Gen-3 is the 'prosumer' choice for AI video—delivering arguably the best motion consistency in the game, but at a premium price point ($0.10/sec for the good model). While the Turbo variant slashes costs by 50% and speeds up rendering significantly, the native 720p resolution feels dated for 2026. Use this if you need granular control over camera paths and timing; avoid it if you're building a high-volume consumer app where per-second costs will eat your margin.
Pika excels at "fun" video generation with its unique physics effects (melt, squish) and keyframe controls, making it the best choice for creators chasing viral TikTok trends. However, it is hostile to budget-conscious professionals: the $10/month Standard plan curiously restricts commercial rights, forcing a jump to the $35/month Pro tier. Developers should note there is no direct API; you must access Pika 2.2 via partners like Fal.ai.
Luma Dream Machine is the 'developer's choice' for AI video right now because it actually ships a usable, reasonably priced API while competitors like Sora remain closed. It excels at image-to-video animation for marketing and prototyping but struggles with complex physics and artifacting in longer clips. Use it if you need to integrate video gen into an app today; avoid it if you need production-ready 4K footage without post-processing.
Kling AI is currently the strongest publicly available competitor to Sora, offering motion fidelity that often beats Runway and Luma. It's a must-try for creative professionals who need cinema-quality 1080p clips, especially with the new 3.0 model's native audio and 15-second duration. However, casual developers should beware: the direct API is expensive and complex, making third-party wrappers or the web interface the only viable options for most.
Hailuo AI (Video-01) is currently the 'secret weapon' for AI filmmakers who prioritize motion quality over duration. While it lacks the native lip-sync of Kling or the duration of Runway, its physics engine is arguably superior, handling complex interactions (like fluids or cloth) with less hallucination. It's strictly for visual generation right now—don't expect it to handle dialogue scenes without external tools.
Zilliz Cloud is the industrial-strength managed version of Milvus, ideal for engineering teams building high-scale RAG or recommendation engines that require granular control over indexing and hybrid search. Its separated storage-compute architecture offers significant cost savings for massive 'cold' datasets, but the complexity of its CU-based pricing makes it less suitable for hobbyists or small, simple prototypes. Choose this if you need billion-scale performance and enterprise compliance; skip it if you just want a simple JSON-store-like vector experience.
Weaviate is the power-user's choice for vector databases, trading the simplicity of Pinecone for extreme flexibility and feature density. Its standout feature is native hybrid search (BM25 + vector), which is essential for production RAG but often an afterthought in other tools. The pricing model is refreshing—charging for dimensions stored rather than punishing you for every read query, making it cost-effective for high-traffic apps. Use it if you need complex filtering, hybrid search, or self-hosting capabilities; avoid it if you just want a simple 'JSON-in, JSON-out' REST API for a small side project.
Vespa is the heavy artillery of search engines—overkill for a simple chatbot but essential if you need to combine vector search with complex business logic, exact keyword matching, and real-time ML ranking at scale. Unlike simple vector stores, it's a full compute engine that handles structured data and tensors natively. Use it if you are building a serious e-commerce or recommendation system; avoid it if you just need a quick place to dump embeddings for a prototype.
Turbopuffer is the 'S3 for vectors'—it aggressively optimizes for cost by storing data in object storage rather than RAM. This makes it 10x cheaper than Pinecone for massive datasets (1B+ vectors), but you pay the penalty in cold-start latency (~400ms). Use it if you have terabytes of vectors and don't need sub-20ms latency on the first hit; avoid it if you need guaranteed low latency for every single query or require on-premise self-hosting.
