An AI video generation platform developed by China’s Shengshu Technology. It generates cinematic video, from a few seconds upward, out of text, images, or reference footage, and comes with a set of accompanying tools for lip-sync, face swap, video editing, and speech synthesis. As of August 2026, “Vidu Q3” is listed on the official site as the latest generation of its video model (the previous Q2 generation earned a reputation for its handling of subtle facial acting and camera-work control). Alongside it, July 2026 saw the announcement of “Vidu S1,” a streaming model that lets you drive AI characters in real time with your voice. Vidu supports Web, iOS, and Android, and also offers developer integration through an API. It is used across a wide range of industries, including advertising, animation, and tourism.
Key Features
- Video generation from text, images, and reference footage: Beyond plain prompt input, it supports animating still images and maintaining character and object consistency using reference images (Multi-Reference). Well suited to producing video in a series
- Expressive facial acting and camera work: Since the Q2 generation, its strengths have been the reproduction of subtle facial movements (micro-expressions) and control over camera motion such as push and pull. The latest Q3 raises generation quality further. Two generation modes are available, Turbo and Pro, producing 720P/1080P video from 2 to 8 seconds long
- Real-time interactive character video: Vidu S1, announced in July 2026, delivers interactive video generation — you drive an AI avatar in real time with voice input while continuous footage is produced
- A toolkit including lip-sync and face swap: Beyond video generation, the platform gives you a full set of production-support tools: lip-sync, face swap, video editing, and text-to-speech (speech synthesis)
- Image generation from the same model family: The Vidu Q series also handles text-to-image, reference-to-image, and image editing, so you can produce both images and video consistently within one model lineage
- Developer API: The API is available through platform.vidu.com, making it possible to build Vidu into your own services and workflows
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Try the basic features (credit-limited) |
| Standard | $10 (about $8/month billed annually) | 800 credits/month |
| Premium | $35 (about $28/month billed annually) | 4,000 credits/month, faster generation |
| Ultimate | $99 (about $79/month billed annually) | 8,000 credits/month, up to 200 videos per day |
Pricing is current as of August 21, 2026. Check the official site for the latest figures.
Pros and Cons
✅ Pros
- Strong at keeping characters and objects consistent via reference images, which makes it practical for video series and advertising work
- High expressive range in facial acting and camera motion, covering both photorealistic and animated styles
- Surrounding tools such as lip-sync, face swap, and speech synthesis are all present, so production can largely stay inside one platform
- A free plan lets you try it out, and developer integration via API is available
- Supports Web, iOS, and Android, with a Japanese UI as well
⚠️ Cons
- Generated video runs only a few seconds per clip, so longer pieces have to be stitched together in editing
- Because it runs on credits, high-resolution or high-frequency generation adds up in cost
- Results vary from run to run, and getting the footage you actually had in mind takes trial and error
- As a China-based service, business use calls for reviewing its data-handling policies
Comparison with Similar Services
| Point of comparison | Vidu | Sora | Runway | Kling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provider | Shengshu Technology | OpenAI | Runway | Kuaishou |
| Strengths | Reference-based consistency, facial acting | Physical realism, longer durations | Integrated editing tools, production features | Natural motion, longer durations |
| Real-time interactive generation | Yes (Vidu S1) | No | No | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Limited | Yes | Yes |
Who It’s For
- Advertising and marketing professionals who want the same character or product to appear across multiple videos
- Creators who want to turn still illustrations into animated footage
- Anyone who wants the peripheral work of video production — lip-sync, face swap, and the like — handled in a single tool
- Developers who want to build AI video generation into their own service via API
Summary
Vidu is an AI video generation platform whose weapons are reference-based consistency and expressive facial acting and camera work. On top of video generation, it carries a toolkit of lip-sync, face swap, and speech synthesis plus an API, so it can cover everything from one-off video generation to an ongoing production workflow. Clip length is short, so longer pieces mean editing work, but a good approach is to check the generation quality on the free plan first, then consider a paid plan as your production volume grows.