MiniMax H3 (Hailuo 3.0) 🧠 Model Freemium

What it is

Hailuo is MiniMax's video model line. It powers the Hailuo AI app. The current generation, MiniMax H3 (also called Hailuo 3.0), launched on 31 July 2026. It takes text, images, video and audio as input and returns video with stereo sound generated in the same pass. Unlike the earlier Hailuo 02 and 2.3, H3 is also published as open weights on Hugging Face. Some parts stay API-only, including the 2K regeneration stage.

Key features

• Native 2K output (2560x1440, 24 fps), with a cheaper 768p mode
• Clips up to 15 seconds with stereo dialogue, ambience and music
• Up to 9 reference images, 3 video clips and 3 audio clips per request
• Instruction-based editing that changes one element and leaves the rest of the shot alone
• Open weights (33B parameters) under the MiniMax H3 Community License

Where you can use it

The Hailuo AI app and the MiniMax API. H3 or Hailuo 2.3 is documented in Krea, Leonardo.Ai, Luma's app, Higgsfield, Freepik, invideo AI and ComfyUI partner nodes. OpenArt lists Hailuo 02. The open weights (MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-H3) need a multi-GPU server to run.

Pricing and rights

The Hailuo AI app's free users get watermarked downloads. Standard costs $14.99 a month for 1,000 credits, and plans go up to Max at $199.99. Hailuo's subscription terms say paid users keep the rights to their output, including commercial use, and get watermark-free downloads. MiniMax says H3's API costs a fraction of competitors' prices per second, but we did not find a published rate. The open-weight licence has an application form for the USA, EU, UK and South Korea.

Who it is for

Anime and stylised creators, short-form video makers, and studios that want an open-weight model they can host themselves.

Verdict

H3 moves Hailuo from a budget favourite to a front-line model with sound and open weights. Self-hosting needs serious hardware, and the licence is not a standard open-source licence.