Every week a new AI video model drops. Every week, Twitter fills with cherry-picked demos that make each one look like the greatest thing ever.
But what happens when you run the same prompt across all of them? That's what we did. We tested Veo 3.1, Sora 2 Pro, Kling 2.6, and Seedance 1.0 Pro with identical prompts across different categories — and the results were surprising.
Here's our honest comparison.
The Models at a Glance
| Model | Company | Max Duration | Max Resolution | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 | 8s | 720p | Photorealism, natural motion | |
| Sora 2 Pro | OpenAI | 10s | 1080p | Narrative coherence, characters |
| Kling 2.6 | Kuaishou | 10s | 1080p | Cost efficiency, speed |
| Seedance 1.0 Pro | ByteDance | 10s | 1080p | Dynamic motion, dance scenes |
Test 1: Cinematic Landscape
Prompt: "Aerial drone shot of a misty valley at sunrise, river winding through autumn forest, volumetric light rays through the trees, cinematic color grading, shot on RED camera"
Results
Veo 3.1 — The clear winner here. The volumetric lighting was the most convincing, with natural light rays that actually looked like they were interacting with the mist. The color grading had that organic, film-like quality. The camera movement was smooth and felt like real drone footage.
Sora 2 Pro — Strong overall quality, but the lighting felt slightly "digital" compared to Veo. Good camera movement. The autumn colors were vivid, perhaps too saturated.
Kling 2.6 — Surprisingly good for the cost. The overall composition was solid, though the fine details in the trees were a bit soft. Motion was smooth.
Seedance 1.0 Pro — Decent result but the weakest in this category. Landscapes aren't its strong suit. The mist rendering was less convincing.
Winner: Veo 3.1 — For photorealistic landscapes, Veo is still the king.
Test 2: Character Action Scene
Prompt: "Medium shot of a chef in a busy kitchen, flames erupting from a wok as they toss vegetables, steam rising, warm tungsten lighting, handheld camera feel, shallow depth of field"
Results
Sora 2 Pro — Best character consistency and most natural human motion. The chef's hands looked correct (a notoriously hard problem for AI), and the tossing motion was fluid. The flames were dynamic and realistic.
Veo 3.1 — Good lighting and atmosphere, but the hand movements were slightly awkward. The flames looked great. Overall a close second.
Kling 2.6 — The motion was a bit stiff, and there was a noticeable "AI shimmer" on the chef's face. But the kitchen environment was well-rendered and the overall composition was solid.
Seedance 1.0 Pro — Good dynamic motion for the flames and tossing action. Character consistency was a slight issue — facial features shifted between frames.
Winner: Sora 2 Pro — When humans are the subject, Sora produces the most believable results.
Test 3: Dynamic Motion / Dance
Prompt: "Full body shot of a dancer performing contemporary dance in an empty warehouse, dramatic side lighting, dust particles floating in the air, slow motion, 1080p"
Results
Seedance 1.0 Pro — This is where Seedance earns its name. The dance motion was the most fluid and physically accurate. The body movements felt like actual choreography rather than AI interpolation. The dust particles added beautiful atmosphere.
Sora 2 Pro — Very good motion, but slightly less natural than Seedance for dance specifically. The slow motion was smooth. Good lighting.
Veo 3.1 — Solid but at 720p max, you lose some of the detail that makes dance footage compelling. The motion was good but not exceptional.
Kling 2.6 — Decent result. The motion was recognizable as dance but had some unnatural transitions between poses.
Winner: Seedance 1.0 Pro — For anything involving complex human movement, Seedance is the clear choice.
Test 4: Image-to-Video
Prompt: We used the same reference image — a still photo of a cat sitting on a windowsill — and asked each model to animate it.
Results
Kling 2.6 — The best at preserving the original image's look while adding natural, subtle motion. The cat's breathing, ear twitches, and the curtain moving in the background all felt natural.
Seedance 1.0 Pro Fast — Strong motion quality but took some creative liberties with the background that diverged from the original image.
Sora 2 Pro — Good animation but the color palette shifted noticeably from the source image.
Veo 3.1 — Doesn't support image-to-video in this generation.
Winner: Kling 2.6 — Best balance of source fidelity and natural animation.
Cost Comparison
Here's what it costs per video (approximate, based on standard resolution and duration):
| Model | ~Cost per 5s Video | ~Cost per 10s Video |
|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 | $0.25 | $0.50 |
| Sora 2 Pro | $0.40 | $0.80 |
| Kling 2.6 | $0.08 | $0.15 |
| Seedance 1.0 Pro | $0.15 | $0.30 |
Kling is significantly cheaper. If you're iterating on prompts or producing high volumes, this adds up fast.
Speed Comparison
Average generation time for a 5-second video:
| Model | Average Wait Time |
|---|---|
| Kling 2.6 | ~30 seconds |
| Seedance 1.0 Pro | ~45 seconds |
| Veo 3.1 | ~60 seconds |
| Sora 2 Pro | ~90 seconds |
Our Recommendation
There's no single "best" model. The right choice depends on what you're making:
- Landscapes, nature, product shots → Veo 3.1
- Stories with people, talking heads → Sora 2 Pro
- High-volume social content, iteration → Kling 2.6
- Dance, action, dynamic motion → Seedance 1.0 Pro
- Image-to-video → Kling 2.6 or Seedance 1.0 Pro Fast
The real power move? Use multiple models for different shots in the same project. A landscape establishing shot with Veo, character close-ups with Sora, action sequences with Seedance. That's how pros are working in 2026.
And that's exactly why we built NiceVid — so you don't have to juggle five different platforms to access five different models.
Try all these models side-by-side. Start creating on NiceVid — one prompt, every model.
