Is MiniMax H3 (Hailuo 3) Free? Free Ways & Costs (Oct 2026)
Is MiniMax H3 free? Partly: fal.ai gives 5 free runs a day, the open weights run on your own GPU, and Kensa gives Google sign-ups one free 6s 768P clip.
Partly. As of October 2026, MiniMax H3 (Hailuo 3) has three verified free routes: fal.ai gives signed-in users five H3 Max generations a day; the open weights run free on your own GPU (768p only, and the license excludes the US, EU, UK and South Korea); and Kensa gives new Google sign-ups 15 credits, enough for one 6-second 768P clip with audio. After that, a 6-second 768P clip costs $0.48 on MiniMax's API and $0.42–$0.53 on Kensa's monthly plans.
Verification note: Checked on October 4, 2026 against each provider's official page (see Sources). Kensa figures come from Kensa's own billing configuration. Where a provider does not state a number the cell reads "Not published"; where we could not confirm it, "Not verified". Kensa publishes this page and sells access to MiniMax H3; we list other options even where they are cheaper or more generous.
Every free way to use MiniMax H3 (October 2026)
fal.ai's daily sandbox is the most generous free option we could verify; Kensa's free offer is a single clip.
| Route | What's free | Refresh | Max resolution (free) | Max length (free) | What you need | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fal.ai sandbox (H3 Max) | 5 generations | Rolling 24 hours | 768p | 15 s | fal account (sign-in), no subscription | Verified Oct 4, 2026 |
| Open weights (ComfyUI, diffusers) | The software; you pay for the GPU | Unlimited | 768p (the 2K model is API-only) | Not published | Your own GPU; the license excludes the US, EU, UK and South Korea | Verified Oct 4, 2026 |
| Kensa | 15 credits: one 6 s 768P clip or one 10 s 480P clip, with audio | One-time, expire 72 hours after sign-up | 768P (2K is paid) | 6 s at 768P / 10 s at 480P | Google sign-up (email sign-ups get no credits), no card | Kensa billing config, Oct 4, 2026 |
| Hailuo AI app (MiniMax) | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | MiniMax account | Not verified: sources conflict |
| MiniMax Hub / MiniMax Design launch offers | Launch offers were reported; current status Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | MiniMax account, desktop app | Not verified |
| Other web apps advertising "free H3" | Page claims vary | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Varies | Not verified |
What the table tells you:
fal.ai has the biggest recurring allowance. Signed-in users get five H3 Max generations in every rolling 24 hours, each up to 15 seconds at 768p with audio.
The open weights are unlimited but not easy. You need a GPU that can run the model, and the community license does not cover the US, the EU, the UK or South Korea. The released weights stop at 768p; 2K runs only through MiniMax's API.
Kensa is one no-code test clip with audio. New accounts that sign up with Google get 15 credits for 72 hours: one 6-second 768P clip, or one 10-second 480P clip. It runs in the browser with no API key, and email sign-ups get no credits.
We found no verified free route to 2K. fal's free tier and the open weights stop at 768p, and Kensa's 2K tier needs a paid plan.
Several look-alike domains use "MiniMax H3" in their name and are not affiliated with MiniMax; some "free H3" generators say in their own fine print that they run other open models.
What a MiniMax H3 clip costs once the free part runs out
At list prices a 6-second 768P clip costs $0.48 on MiniMax's API; on Kensa's monthly plans the same clip is $0.42–$0.53, with no API key.
Prices as of October 2026 (third-party list prices, not promotions):
| Where | 6 s 480P | 6 s 768P | 6 s 2K | 10 s 768P | 10 s 2K | What you need |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiniMax API (international) | $0.30 (H3-Max) | $0.48 | $0.78 | $0.80 | $1.30 | API key + code |
| MiniMax API (China) | ¥1.98 (H3-Max) | ¥3.00 | ¥4.80 | ¥5.00 | ¥8.00 | China platform account + code |
| fal.ai H3 Max (list) | $0.30 | $0.48 | Not offered | $0.80 | Not offered | API or playground |
| fal.ai H3 Max Turbo (fal-only variant) | $0.15 | $0.24 | Not offered | $0.40 | Not offered | API or playground |
| Replicate | Not offered | $0.48 | $0.78 | $0.80 | $1.30 | API or web form |
| Kensa credits per clip | 9 | 15 | 24 | 25 | 40 | Browser, no API key |
| Kensa Basic ($9.90/mo) | $0.32 | $0.53 | $0.85 | $0.88 | $1.41 | Browser, no API key |
| Kensa Pro ($29.90/mo) | $0.28 | $0.47 | $0.75 | $0.78 | $1.25 | Browser |
| Kensa Ultimate ($79.90/mo) | $0.25 | $0.42 | $0.67 | $0.70 | $1.12 | Browser |
| Kensa Starter pack ($14.90 one-time) | $0.48 | $0.80 | Not available (2K needs a plan) | $1.33 | Not available | Browser |
Kensa's dollar figures are credits × plan price ÷ plan credits: Basic is $9.90 for 280 credits a month, Pro $29.90 for 960, Ultimate $79.90 for 2,850, and the Starter pack $14.90 for 280.
On monthly plans Kensa's price per clip lands within about 15% of MiniMax's API list price. For the 6- and 10-second clips above, Basic is 6–11% above it, while Pro and Ultimate are 3–16% below it. One-time packs cost more per clip.
Hailuo AI, MiniMax's own app, sells H3 on subscription plans and can work out cheaper per second than Kensa, especially at 2K and on yearly billing; see its pricing page.
Full per-second and per-clip breakdown: MiniMax H3 price per clip.
Where to use MiniMax H3 without an API key or a GPU
Four kinds of places run MiniMax H3 in a browser: MiniMax's own apps, developer playgrounds, creative suites and multi-model web apps.
- MiniMax's own apps: Hailuo AI (hailuoai.video), which sells H3 on subscription plans, and the MiniMax Hub desktop app (hub.minimax.io).
- Developer playgrounds: fal.ai (5 free H3 Max runs a day) and Replicate (pay per run).
- Creative suites: Krea, OpenArt and Higgsfield each had a MiniMax H3 page on October 4, 2026.
- Multi-model web apps: Kensa. H3 sits next to Veo 3.1, Seedance 2.0, Seedance 1.5 Pro and Grok Image Video on one credit balance, at 480P, 768P or 2K, 5–15 s with audio. Try it in Text to Video or Image to Video.
Kensa is an independent web app and is not affiliated with MiniMax.
How to make your free MiniMax H3 clip on Kensa
It takes four steps, and the clip itself comes back in about 25 seconds.
- Sign up with Google; no card is needed. Email (magic-link) sign-ups don't get the 15 credits.
- Open Text to Video, or Image to Video to start from a photo, and choose MiniMax H3.
- Pick 768P and 6 seconds, or 480P and 10 seconds: each costs exactly 15 credits. Choose 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1.
- Describe one shot (subject, action, setting, camera, light) and generate within 72 hours of signing up.
MiniMax H3 specs that matter before you spend credits
On Kensa, 480P and 768P clips come back in about 25 seconds; 2K takes about 3 minutes for 5 seconds.
| Tier | Output size (16:9) | Upstream model | Generation time on Kensa | Credits per second | 6 s / 10 s clip | Free accounts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 480P | 704×480 | MiniMax-H3-Max | ~25 s | 1.5 | 9 / 15 credits | Yes |
| 768P | 1344×768 | MiniMax-H3-Max | ~25 s | 2.5 | 15 / 25 credits | Yes |
| 2K | 2560×1440 | MiniMax-H3 | ~3 min per 5 s | 4 | 24 / 40 credits | Paid plans (from $9.90/mo) |
Clips run 5 to 15 seconds (any whole second) in 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1, from a text prompt or one first-frame image, and every clip includes audio at no extra cost. Credits are rounded up per clip, so a 5-second 480P clip costs 8 credits and a 6-second 768P clip costs 15 credits.
H3-Max is the faster H3 variant MiniMax released with fal.ai; on MiniMax's API it stops at 768P, while the full H3 model goes to 2K. On Kensa you pick a resolution, not a variant. Kensa's H3 is also narrower than MiniMax's own API: no last frame, no reference images, no video input or editing, and three aspect ratios.
More detail: How to use MiniMax H3 and What is MiniMax H3?
Comparing models instead?
If you are choosing a model rather than hunting for a free clip, start with these side-by-side pages.
For free plans across AI video tools in general, see Best AI video generators with free credits; for other ways to get Hailuo-style video, see Hailuo alternatives.
FAQ
Is MiniMax H3 free?
Partly. Nobody offers MiniMax H3 free without limits. As of October 4, 2026 the verified free routes are fal.ai's sandbox (five H3 Max generations a day after sign-in, up to 15 seconds at 768p), the open weights on your own GPU (768p; the license excludes the US, EU, UK and South Korea) and Kensa's 15 sign-up credits for new Google accounts (one 6-second 768P clip with audio). We found no verified free route to 2K.
How can I use MiniMax H3 for free without a GPU?
Use a hosted free allowance. fal.ai gives signed-in users five free H3 Max generations in every rolling 24 hours, with no subscription. Kensa gives new accounts that sign up with Google 15 credits, valid for 72 hours: enough for one 6-second 768P clip or one 10-second 480P clip, with audio.
Is Hailuo AI free?
We could not verify it. Hailuo AI is MiniMax's own app, and published descriptions of its free tier conflict in 2026: some describe daily free credits, others a one-time trial. We did not open a new Hailuo account for this page, so we mark it "Not verified". Check hailuoai.video/subscribe for the current terms.
Can I make 2K MiniMax H3 videos for free?
Not through any route we could verify. The open weights stop at 768p because the 2K model is API-only, fal's free tier runs H3 Max at up to 768p, and Kensa's 2K tier (2560×1440) needs a paid plan from $9.90 a month. A 5-second 2K clip costs 20 credits there.
Is the open-weights MiniMax H3 free for commercial use?
Only under its community license. The MiniMax H3 Community License is royalty-free below $20 million in annual revenue, excludes the US, the EU, the UK and South Korea, and requires products built on the weights to display "MiniMax H3". Using H3 through a hosted service (MiniMax's API, fal.ai, Replicate, Kensa) is governed by that service's terms instead. On Kensa, commercial use comes with Pro, Ultimate or the Premium pack.
Do I lose free credits if a generation fails?
Not on Kensa. Credits are reserved when a clip starts and returned automatically if the generation fails.
Why didn't I get free credits on Kensa?
The 15 credits go only to new accounts created with Google sign-in; email (magic-link) sign-ups don't receive them. They expire 72 hours after sign-up.
Sources
- MiniMax pay-as-you-go pricing (international), checked October 4, 2026
- MiniMax pay-as-you-go pricing (China), checked October 4, 2026
- fal.ai: MiniMax H3 Max, free tier and list prices, checked October 4, 2026
- Replicate: MiniMax H3, checked October 4, 2026
- MiniMax H3 launch post, checked October 4, 2026
- MiniMax H3 open-weights announcement, checked October 4, 2026
- Hugging Face: MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-H3, model card and license, checked October 4, 2026
- Hailuo AI: MiniMax H3, names "Hailuo 3" and "Hailuo H3", checked October 4, 2026
- Hailuo AI pricing, link only
- MiniMax video generation API guide, H3 and H3-Max variants, checked October 4, 2026
- Comfy: MiniMax H3 license, secondary summary, checked October 4, 2026
- Kensa plans and credits: kensa.cc/pricing, from Kensa's billing configuration
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