MiniMax H3 (Hailuo 3.0) vs Veo 3.1 (2026): Which AI Model Is Better?
Both are popular video models. Here is how MiniMax H3 (Hailuo 3.0) and Veo 3.1 stack up on price, strengths and weaknesses, and which one we would pick.
MiniMax H3 (Hailuo 3.0)
MiniMax's open-weight video model: native 2K, stereo sound, 15-second clips
8.2 /10
Pricing: Free plan, paid from $14.99/mo
Pros
- Native 2K with stereo audio
- Open weights for the 2026 flagship
- Strong at anime and stylised motion
- Paid plans grant commercial rights
Cons
- Free downloads are watermarked
- Self-hosting needs about 4 datacentre GPUs
- Custom community licence with regional application form
- No published per-second API price found
Veo 3.1
Google DeepMind's text- and image-to-video model with native sound, up to 4K
8.8 /10
Pricing: Paid
Pros
- Sound (dialogue, SFX, ambience) generated in the same pass
- 4K and native vertical output
- Three API tiers from $0.05 to $0.60 per second
- Available in many creator apps
- SynthID watermark on every clip
Cons
- 8-second base clips
- Standard tier is expensive per second
- Google says short dialogue lines are still hit-and-miss
- Google's newer video work is going into Gemini Omni
MiniMax H3 (Hailuo 3.0) vs Veo 3.1 at a glance
| MiniMax H3 (Hailuo 3.0) | Veo 3.1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Editor score | 8.2 / 10 | 8.8 / 10 |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | $14.99/mo | Free |
| Reader upvotes | 0 | 0 |
| Best for | text-to-video, image-to-video, open-weights | text-to-video, image-to-video, native-audio |
| Makes | Short-form video, Animation & motion, Video ads & UGC | Short-form video, Video ads & UGC, YouTube & long video, Animation & motion |
| Maker | MiniMax | Google DeepMind |
| Latest release | 2026-07 | 2025-10 |
| Apps offering it | 18 | 30 |
Our pick
Veo 3.1 edges it with a score of 8.8 versus 8.2. Veo 3.1 is the better fit if you value: sound (dialogue, sfx, ambience) generated in the same pass, 4k and native vertical output. Choose MiniMax H3 (Hailuo 3.0) instead if you need: native 2k with stereo audio, open weights for the 2026 flagship.
Other video models to consider
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Runway Gen-4.5 🧠 ModelFreemium
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Wan 3.0 🧠 ModelOpen source
Alibaba's video family: open-weight Wan 2.x and the 30-second Wan 3.0 API