Vidu Review (2026): Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons
Shengshu's video platform, focused on reference-to-video and multi-subject consistency.
Vidu sells reference-to-video and multi-reference consistency, with an off-peak mode to cut cost; subscription credits expire in 30 days, purchased credits in 2 years. On the API, Vidu Q3 takes up to 7 subject images per reference-to-video request, runs 3–16 s, and outputs speech and background music by default ($0.035–0.075 per second at 540p–1080p; off-peak half price). A model platform without parsing or compositing.
Pros
- Multi-subject consistency is what drama needs
- Off-peak savings
- Public API with per-second list prices
Cons
- No parsing, splitting or compositing
- Subscription credits expire after 30 days
- Consumer plan prices are not published to signed-out visitors; only API prices are verifiable
Against the field
Vidu against the field
- Script & novel parsingsame as 13 others13513221
- Character consistencysame as 14 others12141434
- Storyboard & shot controlsame as 3 others2313842
- Video generation qualitysame as 10 others310164
- Voice & audiosame as 13 others2131163
- Episode compositingsame as 7 others756871
- Cost & free tiersame as 12 others6141214
Coverage of the six stages
| Parsing | Reference art | Storyboard | Video | Audio | Compositing | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SceneMixer | 6/6 | ||||||
| Scenes AI | 6/6 | ||||||
| Pixmax | 6/6 | ||||||
| Frameo.AI | 6/6 | ||||||
| Elser AI | 6/6 | ||||||
| M Studio | 6/6 | ||||||
| PopShort AI | 6/6 | ||||||
| Katalist | 6/6 | ||||||
| LTX Studio | 6/6 | ||||||
| Melies | 6/6 | ||||||
| invideo AI | 6/6 | ||||||
| Storyboarder.ai | 5/6 | ||||||
| AutoWeeb | 5/6 | ||||||
| OnSolo | 5/6 | ||||||
| Veo / Flow (Google) | 5/6 | ||||||
| Argil | 5/6 | ||||||
| Topview | 5/6 | ||||||
| Showrunner Studio | 4/6 | ||||||
| Hailuo (MiniMax) | 4/6 | ||||||
| Morph Studio | 4/6 | ||||||
| Kling AI | 4/6 | ||||||
| Wan | 4/6 | ||||||
| PixVerse | 4/6 | ||||||
| Runway | 4/6 | ||||||
| Luma Dream Machine | 4/6 | ||||||
| MagicLight | 3/6 | ||||||
| ScreenWeaver | 3/6 | ||||||
| CapCut | 3/6 | ||||||
| Higgsfield | 3/6 | ||||||
| Vidu | 3/6 | ||||||
| SkyReels | 3/6 | ||||||
| Dreamina | 3/6 | ||||||
| OpenArt | 2/6 | ||||||
| Mootion | 2/6 | ||||||
| Sora (OpenAI) | 2/6 | ||||||
| Pika | 1/6 |
Published per-second prices
Features & pricing
Core features
- Reference-to-video
- Multi-reference consistency
- Off-peak mode
- Subscription credits 30 days; purchased credits 2 years
Pricing
- Free tier
- Free credits (per site)
- Starting price
- Consumer plan prices are not shown on the public pricing page (the plan table does not render for signed-out visitors); API credits $0.005 each: Q3 reference-to-video $0.035 / $0.06 / $0.075 per second (540p / 720p / 1080p)
- Billing
- Subscription + credits; API credits
- Platforms
- Web, API
Off-peak API generation is half the normal price. Subscription credits expire after 30 days; purchased and bonus credits after 2 years. The pricing FAQ states that refunds are not offered. Series estimate →
Scores and basis
Methodology →Scored 1–5 per criterion on our published methodology from official documentation and vendor pages; criteria without enough information are left unscored.
| Criterion | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Script & novel parsing | 1 | No parsing; single prompts |
| Character consistency | 4 | |
| Storyboard & shot control | 2 | |
| Video generation quality | 4 | |
| Voice & audio | 3 | Native audio, not controllable |
| Episode compositing | 1 | Export segments, assemble by hand |
| Cost & free tier | 4 |
Best for
Models under the hood
Compare with alternatives
All alternatives →FAQ
Is Vidu free?
Free credits (per site) Consumer plan prices are not shown on the public pricing page (the plan table does not render for signed-out visitors); API credits $0.005 each: Q3 reference-to-video $0.035 / $0.06 / $0.075 per second (540p / 720p / 1080p)
Can Vidu turn a novel into a short drama?
No Consistency: Up to 7 subject images per request (Q3)
Who is Vidu for?
Multi-character shots where reference-driven consistency matters.
What are the alternatives to Vidu?
See the Vidu alternatives page — every option on the same rubric with the criteria where it is stronger.
Sources
Official pages opened while writing; current pricing and features are always as shown on the vendor site.