Free-tier AI video stack: PixVerse, Hailuo, Kling and Pika credits
The post lists this week's free tiers (PixVerse 30 daily credits, Kling 3.0 66 daily, Pika 2.5 80 monthly, Hailuo 2.3 daily credits) and a phone-only workflow for a 60-second animated short.
This is going to hurt. Free. Phone. $0. You can ship a 60-second animated short tonight using only free-tier AI tools. Most people pay for one of these when the free tier of the next one would do the job. the free pieces, as of this week: > PixVerse AI. Web + iOS + Android. 30 daily credits free. Image-to-animation, 540p, watermark. > Hailuo 2.3 by MiniMax. Web + mobile app. Daily free credits for expressive character motion. > Kling 3.0. Web. 66 credits per day, they expire each day. Longer action shots. > Pika 2.5. Web. 80 credits per month at 480p, no watermark. > ElevenLabs. 10,000 character voice credits per month, non-commercial, attribution. the free stack that actually ships a short: > write the script in Claude or ChatGPT free tier > generate character stills with Google ImageFX or Bing Image Creator > animate the stills in PixVerse or Hailuo on your phone > extend scenes with Kling and Pika on the browser > add voice and SFX in ElevenLabs > stitch in CapCut, also free, also on your phone the one gotcha: Kling credits reset daily, Pika credits reset monthly. If you plan a 60-second short across 4 scenes, you spread the generation across two days or burn credits waiting for a scene to re-roll. three years ago this short cost $300 in licenses and a laptop. tonight it costs the time to install five apps on your phone. the full tool list and the step-by-step is in the article below. the only skill left to buy is taste.