The short answer
Kling AI is a video and image generator from Kuaishou Technology. Its newest model, Kling 4.0, became available to everyone on 15 October 2026 and makes 3 to 30 seconds of video in one generation with stereo audio, lip-synced dialogue, up to 10 keyframes and up to 15 references. Kling 4.0 Flash is the faster 720p option. Only paid plans allow commercial use and remove the watermark.
| Made by | Kuaishou Technology, China |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes (Basic): no 1080p or 4K, watermark, no commercial use |
| Models | Kling 4.0, Kling 4.0 Flash, Kling 3.0 and 3.0 Omni, Kling IMAGE 3.0 |
| Best at | Clips up to 30 seconds with audio, reference-driven video, character consistency |
| Shows sources | No. It generates video and images |
| Team plans | Business plans and team spaces with role permissions |
| Your data | Terms give Kling a licence to your inputs and outputs and allow training on inputs; revoke by emailing support@kling.ai |
What Kling AI is in late 2026
Kling AI is a video and image generator built by the Kling AI team at Kuaishou Technology, the Chinese short-video company. Its international service runs at kling.ai, operated by Kling AI Pte. Ltd., and its terms of service are governed by Singapore law. You give it a text prompt, images or reference videos, and it generates a clip, now with sound, dialogue and lip sync.
The current flagship is Kling 4.0, which became available to everyone on 15 October 2026. According to Kling's release notes it generates 3 to 30 seconds of video in a single generation, at 720p, 1080p or 4K, in 21:9, 16:9, 1:1 or 9:16, with two-channel stereo audio, although its own Kling 4.0 feature page still lists native 1080p and 4K output as coming soon, so check what your account offers. It accepts prompts of up to 8,000 tokens, up to 10 keyframe images and up to 15 reference items in one generation. Alongside it, Kling 4.0 Flash is the faster, cheaper option for frequent creation: 3 to 20 seconds at 720p.
The previous generation is still on the platform. Kling 3.0 rolled out on 31 January 2026, Kling 3.0 Turbo and improved editing in Kling 3.0 Omni followed on 17 June, native 4K arrived on 23 April, and Motion Control, which copies a real performance onto a character, launched on 4 March. There is also Kling IMAGE 3.0 for stills with 2K and 4K output.
What Kling AI is best at
Longer clips with sound in one go
Thirty seconds in a single generation is Kling 4.0's headline. Most rivals make shorter shots that you stitch together, which is where continuity breaks. With Kling you can ask for a whole moment, such as two people meeting, talking and walking off, with dialogue, ambient sound and music generated together. Kling 4.0 supports speech in Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Hindi and more, including British, American and Indian English accents.
Directing with references instead of words
Omni Reference lets you combine up to 10 images, up to 5 videos (30 seconds in total) and up to 7 elements, such as a character or product, in one generation. You can give it a character sheet, a storyboard grid, a wireframe or a reference video for camera movement and pacing. For marketers this is the most practical feature: Kling explicitly pitches it for recreating the pacing and composition of a proven video while swapping in your own product or character.
Story beats with keyframes
Up to 10 keyframes let you fix what the frame should look like at key moments, and Kling fills the motion between them. That gives you control over the story rather than hoping a text prompt lands in the right order.
Readable text and edits to existing clips
Kling 4.0 is designed to render legible on-screen text in several languages, plus emoji and logos, which older video models handled badly. It can also edit up to five input clips of 3 to 30 seconds (30 seconds combined), changing expressions, movement, camera, style or background while keeping the rest stable.
Where Kling AI falls short
- Some launch features are not live yet. Kling's Kling 4.0 feature page still lists native 1080p and 4K output with 10-bit HDR as coming soon, and at launch it also listed extending a video several times up to 2 minutes, as coming soon. Do not plan a project around them until they appear in your account.
- The free plan is very limited. Basic users do not get 1080p or 4K video, keep the watermark, make one video per generation and may not use outputs commercially.
- Credits run out fast. Long, high-resolution clips with audio are the most expensive kind of generation. Standard includes 660 credits a month and unused monthly credits expire when the subscription ends.
- Labelling and sharing rules. The terms ask you to label outputs as made with Kling AI unless you have written permission, and anything you publish on the platform can be reused by other users through features such as Recreate.
- Data and jurisdiction. Some organisations have rules about sending material to services run by Chinese-owned companies. Check your policy before uploading client work.
Commercial use and copyright: what Kling's terms say
From the Kling AI terms of service (updated 21 April 2026) and the membership page. This is a summary, not legal advice.
| Question | Basic (free) | Paid plans |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the output? | You own the rights in your content under applicable law; Kling AI says it does not claim ownership (section 4.4). | |
| Commercial use? | Not without Kling's written permission (section 4.6). | Yes. Paid subscribers may use, reproduce, distribute, modify and adapt outputs commercially, but not to build products that compete with Kling AI. |
| Watermark? | Kept. | Removed. |
| Labelling? | Without written permission you must label outputs with the Kling AI brand or state they were generated by Kling AI (section 4.5). | |
| Your responsibility | You must check portrait rights, name rights, copyright, trademarks, advertising rules and AI-content labelling laws before commercial use. | |
Two more points. You promise that you hold the rights to anything you upload, so references must be images and videos you are allowed to use. And content you publish on Kling can be used by others as a reference or for Recreate, so keep unreleased campaign work private.
How to get better results from Kling AI
- Set the controls in the interface, not the prompt. Choose the model (Kling 4.0 or 4.0 Flash), resolution, aspect ratio and duration with the creation page settings, and attach images, videos and elements in the single input box. The prompts below say what to attach first, then give the text to type.
- Lead with references. A product photo, a character image and a short reference video for movement will beat a long paragraph of description. Use the 15 reference slots before you add words.
- Write the shot, then the sound. Describe the length, the action, the camera and the light, then add a separate sentence for audio: footsteps, street ambience, music, and the exact dialogue in quotation marks with the language and accent.
- Use keyframes for story order. If the order of events matters, set keyframes for the start, the turn and the end rather than relying on the prompt.
- Draft in Flash, finish in 4.0. Test the idea with Kling 4.0 Flash at 720p, then spend credits on Kling 4.0 at the highest resolution your account offers once the shot works.
- Edit, do not regenerate. If one expression or the background is wrong, use video editing to change just that part.
- Keep dialogue short. One or two lines per character per clip gives cleaner lip sync than a monologue.
A worked example: a 30-second user-style product video
Suppose a skincare brand wants a vlog-style clip of a presenter introducing a new serum. Upload a photo of the presenter you have rights to as an element, a product photo as a second element, and a short reference clip of a handheld selfie camera. Prompt: "A 20-second vlog in a bright bathroom. The woman holds up the serum, says in a British accent: 'This is the one I use every morning', applies a drop and smiles. Handheld selfie camera, natural light, realistic image quality. Include room tone and soft background music." Draft it in Kling 4.0 Flash, fix the wording, then render the final in Kling 4.0. Because the brand is paying for a subscription, it can use the clip in ads, but it still has to check advertising rules in each market and label the content as AI-generated where required.
Privacy: what Kling does with your uploads
Kling's terms give it a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use your inputs and outputs (section 4.7.1), and section 4.7.3 lets it use your inputs, usage data and aggregated data to create, test, improve and train its AI models. There is no in-app switch described in the terms, but section 4.7.4 says you can revoke this authorisation by emailing support@kling.ai. Team spaces, launched on 16 March 2026 with a desktop app, add asset sharing and role-based permissions for groups. Treat Kling like any consumer creative tool: do not upload confidential footage, real customers' faces or unreleased products unless your organisation has approved it.
Which Kling AI plan suits whom
Prices change often and include first-month offers, so check the official membership page. The plans are Basic (free), Standard, Pro, Premier and Ultra+, with a separate Business option.
- Basic: for testing prompts with the monthly free credits non-subscribers can claim at login. No 1080p or 4K, watermark kept, no commercial use.
- Standard (660 credits a month): 1080p and 4K, no watermark, commercial use, up to 4 videos per generation. Enough for a few short clips a month.
- Pro (3,000 credits a month): adds priority access to new features. The sensible plan for regular social or ad content.
- Premier (18,000 credits a month, with 8,000, 28,000 and 38,000 sizes also offered) and Ultra+ (57,000 credits a month): for agencies and studios producing at volume.
Kling AI is not the right choice if you mainly edit your own footage inside Premiere or DaVinci Resolve, where Runway fits better, or if your organisation cannot use Chinese-owned services. Kling models are also available inside Runway on paid plans, which is handy if you want both. Compare the options in Runway vs Kling and Kling vs Hailuo, see the best AI for video and the step-by-step guide to making an AI video, add music with Suno, and practise with our Kling lessons or a ready-made AI stack.
Prompts to copy
Vlog-style product clip
Attach first: the presenter photo and the product photo as elements. Prompt: A 20-second vlog in [setting]. The presenter picks up the [product], says in a [accent] accent: "[one short line]", uses it and smiles at the camera. Handheld selfie camera, natural light, realistic image quality. Include room tone and soft background music.
You get: A natural, user-style product video with dialogue
Recreate a proven format
Attach first: a reference video of an ad whose pacing you like, and a photo of your product. Prompt: Keep the pacing, shot order and camera movement of the reference video, but replace the product with the one in my reference image and change the setting to [setting]. No logos from the reference video.
You get: Your own version of a format that already works
Story with keyframes
Attach first: three keyframe images (opening frame, turning point, final frame). Prompt: A 15-second continuous shot that moves from the first keyframe to the last. [Describe what happens between each keyframe.] Slow tracking camera, warm cinematic light. Include [ambience] and [music style].
You get: A clip where the story beats land in the right order
Two-person scene with dialogue
A continuous 10-second shot in [location]. Two colleagues meet at a coffee machine. Person A says: "[line]". Person B laughs and replies: "[line]". English dialogue, British accents, natural expressions, handheld camera with subtle shake, soft daylight. Include office ambience.
You get: A short scene with matched lip sync for training or social videos
Animated explainer opener
Claymation style. A small clay character opens a giant envelope labelled "[topic]" in clear English text. Paper confetti bursts out. Bright pastel colours, playful camera push-in, 8 seconds, cheerful music and a pop sound effect.
You get: A playful opener with readable on-screen text
Character consistency across shots
Attach first: a character sheet with front, side and back views as an element. Prompt: The same character walks into [location] at dusk, wide shot, 6 seconds. Keep the face, hair and clothing exactly as in the element.
You get: Shots you can cut together without the character changing
Fix one detail with video editing
Attach first: your clip as the primary video in video editing. Prompt: Keep everything the same except the background: replace the plain wall with a bright city view through a window. Do not change the person's face, movement or the camera.
You get: A targeted fix without a full regeneration
Quick draft in Kling 4.0 Flash
Settings: Kling 4.0 Flash, 9:16, 6 seconds. Prompt: [Subject] [action] in [setting], [camera move], [lighting]. Simple composition, one clear action.
You get: A cheap test shot before you render the final in Kling 4.0