Video: Generate and Edit With AI
Runway and Kling AI for generating clips, CapCut for editing -- all with free tiers.
Generate Videos From Nothing
AI video generation is the newest frontier and is moving fast. You can now type a description or upload an image and get back a short video clip. These are short (5-30 seconds typically), but the quality is improving month by month. Useful for social media content, visual concepts, and creative experimentation.
| Runway | |
|---|---|
| What it is | AI video generation and editing platform with text-to-video and image-to-video |
| Best at | High-quality short video clips, creative visual effects, professional-grade output |
| Free tier | Free tier with 125 one-time credits (enough for about 25 seconds of video) |
| First paid tier | Standard Plan - US$12/month (~A$19/month) |
| Ken's take | Runway is the most established AI video tool. The Gen-4 model produces genuinely impressive results. Browser-based, no software to install. The free tier is enough to experiment but runs out fast. Think of this as a creative tool for short clips, not a replacement for traditional video production. |
| Sign up | https://runwayml.com |
| Kling AI | |
|---|---|
| What it is | AI video generator from Kuaishou with industry-leading video length (up to 3 minutes) |
| Best at | Longer AI-generated videos, generous free tier, built-in audio generation |
| Free tier | 66 free credits per day (enough for 1-2 short videos daily, resets every 24 hours) |
| First paid tier | Standard Plan - US$7/month (~A$11/month) |
| Ken's take | Kling has the most generous free tier of any AI video tool. The daily credit refresh means you can experiment consistently without paying. Videos can be up to 3 minutes, which is significantly longer than competitors. Quality is good but can be inconsistent. Failed generations still consume credits, which is frustrating. Worth trying on the free tier before considering paying. |
| Sign up | https://klingai.com |
Try this right now (free)
Open Kling AI (free account) and try: "A golden retriever running through a sunlit wheat field in slow motion, cinematic look." Or upload a photo of a landscape and ask it to animate it with gentle wind and moving clouds.
Edit Videos Smarter
This is different from generating videos from scratch. CapCut is a video editor (many of you may already use it) that has added AI features to make editing faster and easier. The standout is auto-captioning, which alone saves hours of work.
| CapCut | |
|---|---|
| What it is | Video editor with powerful AI features for automated editing, captions, and content creation |
| Best at | Auto-captioning (92-95% accuracy), AI avatars, text-to-speech, script-to-video assembly, background removal |
| Free tier | Free tier includes auto captions, basic AI tools, AI avatars, 1080p export |
| First paid tier | CapCut Pro - US$10/month (~A$16/month) |
| Ken's take | The auto-caption feature alone makes CapCut worth knowing about. Upload a video, click one button, and get accurately timed subtitles. The free tier is genuinely generous. If you make any kind of video content for social media, CapCut should be in your toolkit. Note: CapCut is owned by ByteDance (the TikTok parent company), which is worth being aware of from a privacy perspective. |
| Sign up | https://capcut.com |
Try this right now (free)
Record a 30-second video of yourself talking on your phone. Upload it to CapCut and use the auto-caption feature. See how accurate the transcription is and how quickly it generates styled subtitles.