Alibaba's open-source video generation model. State-of-the-art quality, free to run locally.
WAN Video is Alibaba's open-source video generation model that's shaken up the AI video space. With a 14-billion parameter model released under Apache 2.0, it's the first truly open model that competes head-to-head with commercial offerings from OpenAI and Runway. We tested it locally and via API over two weeks.
Who it's for: Developers and creators who want full control over their video generation pipeline without API costs or content restrictions.
Apache 2.0 license means you can use it commercially, modify it, and fine-tune it. No API keys, no usage limits, no content filters imposed by a platform.
720p output that's genuinely competitive with Sora and Runway on many prompts. Especially strong on landscapes, products, and abstract content.
With 24GB VRAM (RTX 4090, A5000), you can run it locally. ComfyUI integration makes it accessible without coding. No cloud dependency.
LoRAs, fine-tunes, and workflow templates are emerging daily. The community is building tools faster than Alibaba's own team.
WAN Video is the open-source video model the community has been waiting for. If you have the hardware (or are willing to use a cloud GPU provider), it gives you Sora-level quality at zero ongoing cost. The trade-off is setup complexity and slower generation, but for developers and creators who value control and cost savings, it's the clear winner.