Leonardo AI free vs generatorvideo.ai: image studio or video-first?

Leonardo AI free is popular because of its daily free tokens, which you can spend on images and, through its Motion feature, on image-to-video. It is an image platform first, with video as an add-on. generatorvideo.ai is the other way round: video only, with text-to-video and image-to-video, 3 free videos after signup and then $1 per video, no subscription and no expiring credits. If you already make stills in Leonardo, the question is whether to animate them there or bring them here. Let's look at both honestly. You can upload a still and animate it right away to see the difference yourself.

How Leonardo AI free works for video

As of September 2026, Leonardo offers free daily tokens, and its paid plans are token-based subscriptions. Tokens are shared across what you make, so every Motion video you generate draws from the same pool you would otherwise use for images. How many tokens a Motion clip costs, what length and resolution you get on free, and whether free outputs carry any restrictions are details we can't confirm here, and they change. Check Leonardo's official pricing page for current plan prices and token costs.

The big plus: daily tokens refresh, so light users can keep experimenting without paying. The trade-off is that a daily budget shared with images doesn't stretch far if video is your main output.

Details as of September 2026. Check Leonardo's official pricing page before buying.

Head-to-head table

Where Leonardo is ahead

If your project starts with images, Leonardo keeps everything in one place: generate the key art, refine it, then add motion without exporting anything. Its image tooling is the core product and it is deep. For artists who mostly publish stills and occasionally want a moving version, that single workspace is hard to beat, and the free daily tokens make casual use cost nothing.

Where a video-first tool helps

When the moving clip is the deliverable, a few specifics matter:

• Mode choice per clip. Turbo for fast drafts and Pro for higher-quality renders, with sound on or off.
• Length control. Pick anything from 3 to 30 seconds.
• Platform presets. 9:16 for TikTok, Reels and Shorts; 16:9 for YouTube and X; 1:1 and 4:5 for Instagram; 2:3 for Pinterest.
• Flat pricing. $1 per video, never a variable token cost.
• No watermark on MP4 downloads, including the free three.

Our image-to-video prompts guide shows how to describe motion for a still so it doesn't just wobble.

Cost example: animating a portfolio

An illustrator wants to turn 12 finished pieces into short loops for Instagram in 4:5. Here, that is 3 free clips plus 9 paid ones: one $20 top-up, with 11 credits left over and no deadline to use them. In Leonardo, the same job would be paid in tokens, and whether 12 Motion clips fit in the free daily allowance or need a paid plan depends on current token costs. Spreading the work over several days on free tokens might work if you are patient.

One difference to be aware of: videos generated here go to our public feed by default, which some artists like for exposure. You can Unpublish any clip at any time.

Our recommendation

Keep Leonardo for image creation. If video is occasional, its free daily tokens may be enough. If you animate regularly, want predictable costs, or need exact social formats, generate the motion here: start from a Leonardo still, upload it on the create page, and compare. For more choices, see Leonardo AI alternatives and our photo to video guide.