Overview
Hailuo AI is an AI video generation tool launched by MiniMax, standing alongside Kling AI in the domestic AI video field. Hailuo AI is known for its video quality and natural motion, especially excelling in generating facial expressions and subtle movements.
Hailuo AI supports text-to-video and image-to-video. Its video quality and consistency approach the level of Runway, making it one of the most technically advanced domestic AI video tools.
On 2026-09-01, Hailuo 3 went live, bringing the Hailuo 3 video model with 2K output at 0.4 CNY per second and 768P at 0.23 CNY per second. The model uses H3VAE and the Hailuo 3 Omni Transformer, ships with open weights for local deployment and customization, and passed 24 million downloads within three weeks of release. On the product side, the AI long-form drama Journey to the West: Aftermath launched, extending horizontal video into long-form content, with use spanning advertising, e-commerce product design, UI/UX and games.
Key Features
- High-quality video generation: Video quality and natural motion lead among domestic tools; Hailuo 3 supports 2K output
- Vivid facial expressions: Particularly skilled at generating micro-expressions and subtle movements
- Text-to-video + Image-to-video: Supports both text description and image-driven generation methods
- Hailuo 3 model: Uses H3VAE and the Hailuo 3 Omni Transformer, with 2K output at 0.4 CNY per second and 768P at 0.23 CNY per second
- Open weights: Ships with open weights for local deployment and customization; passed 24 million downloads within three weeks of release
- Long-form content: The AI long-form drama Journey to the West: Aftermath extends horizontal video into long-form content, with use spanning advertising, e-commerce product design, UI/UX and games
- Optimized for Chinese prompts: Good understanding of Chinese descriptions
Use Cases
- Short video creators making AI video materials
- Content creators with high video quality requirements
- Video creation involving facial expressions and movements
- Users comparing with Kling AI
- Long-form video content such as AI drama
- Advertising, e-commerce product design, UI/UX and game content
Pros
- High video quality: Excellent image details and natural motion, with Hailuo 3 supporting 2K output
- Good character generation: Delicate micro-expressions and movements
- Open weights: Supports local deployment and customization
- Continuous updates: Hailuo 3 went live on 2026-09-01 and model capabilities are rapidly iterating
- Available in China:
Pricing
Hailuo 3 offers 2K output at 0.4 CNY per second and 768P at 0.23 CNY per second.
Summary
Hailuo AI is the 'tech expert' of domestic AI video—it can compete with Kling AI in video quality, especially excelling in character generation. With Hailuo 3 going live on 2026-09-01, it now offers 2K output at 0.4 CNY per second and 768P at 0.23 CNY per second, open weights for local deployment and customization, and has extended into long-form content with the AI long-form drama Journey to the West: Aftermath. It is recommended to try it alongside Kling AI and choose your primary tool based on your specific needs (Kling for longer duration vs Hailuo for finer image quality).
Version History
- Hailuo 3 goes live, AI long-form drama released (2026-09-01): Hailuo AI adopted the Hailuo 3 video model with 2K output at 0.4 CNY per second and 768P at 0.23 CNY per second. The model uses H3VAE and the Hailuo 3 Omni Transformer, ships with open weights for local deployment and customization, and passed 24 million downloads within three weeks of release. On the product side the AI long-form drama Journey to the West: Aftermath launched, extending horizontal video into long-form content, with use spanning advertising, e-commerce product design, UI/UX and games.
- Hailuo 02 / 02 Pro (2026): MiniMax Hailuo second-generation video model, with significant upgrades in image quality and physical consistency, entering the global first tier of video models; simultaneously launched Image-01 image model
- Hailuo 01 (2024-2025): Video generation model launched by MiniMax, gaining popularity in 2024 for natural character movements