Free AI Video Generator From Text: Making the Free Part Count
The free part is a list of fixed quantities
| Allowance | Size | Spent by | Gone when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sign-up credits | 50 credits | Reading, AI writing, pictures after the pool, video | The balance reaches zero |
| Setup images | 15 for the whole account | One per character, place or prop picture, on a project whose reading has been paid for | The pool is used up by generations, not by pictures you keep, so remaking a picture spends it again |
| Storyboard | Episode 1 of the first drama you create | That one episode’s storyboard | You create the first project, even if you delete it later |
| Preview | One clip of up to 5 seconds | Pressing the preview button once | The clip is made, even if you dislike it; it is not regenerated |
Notice that none of these grows with the length of your text. A one-page text and a ten-page text have the same fifteen pictures, the same first storyboard and the same single preview. The text itself is the only variable, and it changes three things: how much the reading costs, how many pictures you need and how good the preview shot is. What you get for free gives the conditions on each line.
Five shapes of text and what each does to the allowance
| Shape of text | Reading | Pictures needed | The risk to the free part |
|---|---|---|---|
| One sentence, written out by AI to Mini length | About 1,000 counted characters plus the writing price | A few: the two or three people, one or two places | Little. This is the cheap way to see the whole path |
| One scene of about 3,000 English characters, two characters and one place | 1 unit of 4 credits | 3, leaving most of the pool for retakes and later scenes | Little. This is the ideal first test |
| A scene with eight named people | Same, by length | 8 or more, plus places and props | The pool is half gone before any shot exists |
| A chapter of 30,000 English characters | 36 credits | As many as the chapter names, often more than the pool covers | The pictures use the pool, and every storyboard after the first is charged |
| Narration with no spoken lines | Same, by length | As the cast needs | The preview looks for a shot where someone speaks, and falls back to the opening shot |
The pattern is that cast size is the thing to watch. Every named character, place and prop is a picture, and the pool of 15 is shared across every project on your account, so an ensemble story eats it quickly. Leads and the rooms that appear in most segments should come first; a minor prop can be generated later, only if a shot needs it. Free sheets are per account.
Four ways to shape the text
1. Keep the cast small and named once. Introduce a nickname together with the full name (“Elizabeth, called Liz”) so the reading treats them as one person. Two or three people carry a short story, and each extra person costs a picture and a voice.
2. Put the strongest scene in episode 1. The free storyboard belongs to the first episode of your first drama, and it is decided when that project is created. A text that opens in the middle of the conflict gives the free storyboard the best material; a text that opens on backstory spends it on setting up.
3. Write a spoken line early. The free preview prefers a shot where a character starts talking, so you hear your cast as well as see them. Write dialogue as Name (delivery): words rather than folding it into narration, so it is picked up as a line. Write dialogue so it is picked up.
4. Mind the reading boundary. The reading is billed in whole units of 3,333 English characters. A text a little over a boundary pays for the next unit, so trimming an unneeded paragraph is a real saving, not tidiness. Text below the floor of roughly a paragraph, about 330 English characters, has nothing to split into episodes.
Where the free part ends
Free ends at the first second of video. Beyond the preview there is no free video allowance, and a segment costs its tier’s price per second: 10 credits a second on the default tier, with 1 credit a second to join the episode. The price is on the button before you press it. Everything before that, the reading, the cast, the first storyboard and the preview shot, is a small or zero charge, which is why the sensible order is to finish the free steps first and judge the preview before you spend on a segment. The free preview explains how the shot is chosen.
If the preview looks wrong, it is made from the cast pictures and one shot as they stand. Fix the picture description in step 2 or the shot text, both free, and then pay for the real segment. The preview is not regenerated, and a new project does not get another one.
A text to test with
If you want a first text that uses the allowance well, write about 3,000 English characters: two named people, one place, one object that matters, three scenes at most, and a line of dialogue inside the first few shots. That reads for one unit, needs about four pictures, gets its storyboard free and gives the preview something to say. If you do not want to write it, let the site draft it with a free AI story generator run at Mini or Brief length. For the whole ladder, including what sits between this and a finished episode, see Free AI text to video, and for the generator without the free angle, Free AI video generator.
FAQ
Is there a free AI video generator from text?
It is free to start. Reading, a cast, a first storyboard and one preview shot of up to 5 seconds cost nothing or very little; video is charged from the first second.
What text length uses the free part best?
About 3,000 English characters: one reading unit, a small cast, and one scene with a spoken line. Longer texts scale the reading fee and the number of pictures.
How many characters can I draw for free?
The 15 free setup images are shared by characters, places and props across the whole account, so the cast size decides how far they go.
Does a longer text get a longer free video?
No. The free preview is one clip of up to 5 seconds whatever the text length. There is no free allowance for the full video.
Which shot does the free preview use?
A shot where someone speaks, if the episode has one; otherwise the opening shot of the first segment.
What if I do not like the preview?
It is not regenerated and there is only one per account. Fix the picture description or the shot text, both free, and generate the real segment.
Does the free storyboard apply to every project?
No. It belongs to episode 1 of the first drama you create, and it is decided when that project is created. Deleting the project does not give it back.
Does editing my text cost anything?
No. Editing text is always free. Only the machine steps are charged.
Test with a small text first
Three thousand characters, two people, one place, a line of dialogue.
Updated November 2, 2026