CineGen Beta FAQ; pricing, what's different from Runway/Kling/Pika, and what's next?

Posting this ahead of the comments so the basics are covered in one place. Happy to answer anything else below.

What is CineGen, in one line?

An AI video production platform that takes you from a written idea to a finished, exported video in one workspace; storyboarding, character/voice consistency, AI clip generation, a real multi-track timeline editor, and team review, without switching tools.

Is there a free tier? Do I need a card to try it?

Yes! sign up free, no credit card required. You get starter AI tokens to try storyboarding, generation, and the editor.

How is this different from Runway / Kling / Pika?

Those are excellent at one step; prompt in, clip out. CineGen treats "make a video" as the actual job: storyboard multi-scene sequences with shot types and dialogue, lock a character's look and voice once and keep it consistent across every generated scene, then cut everything together on a real multi-track timeline (not a single-clip preview) and export. You can absolutely use CineGen for just the generation step too, but the editor and character consistency are the parts that usually surprise people.

What can I actually do in the beta today?

- AI Storyboarder: prompt → sequenced shots with shot types + dialogue

- Character Creator: consistent look/voice across scenes, one-click voiceovers

- Scene generation with batch processing, auto-added to your media bin

- Multi-track timeline editor: trimming, transitions, keyframes, transforms

- AI enhance/upscale, stabilize, denoise, interpolate

- Render/export presets for YouTube, TikTok, and ProRes

- Review links (no account needed for reviewers) with timestamped comments and approvals

- 3D Scene Creator (beta): block a shot in a gaussian-splat environment and let AI interpolate the camera move into a clip

What does it cost after the free tier?

Editor $9.99/mo (create/edit/export, no AI), Editor+ $14.99/mo (adds free cloud processing), then AI plans: Creator $19/mo, Pro $49/mo, Studio $99/mo, each with a monthly AI token allowance. Token packs and custom top-ups are also available. Team plans use pooled seat-based billing.

Can I import my own footage and audio?

Yes! upload your own media into the project media bin and mix it with AI-generated content on the timeline.

Do reviewers need an account to leave feedback?

No! share a review link, anyone can comment and approve, no signup required. Links can be revoked anytime.

What's next on the roadmap?

Direct publish to YouTube/TikTok/Instagram from the export flow, an AI-powered green-screen keyer, and more generation model options.

Where do I send bugs/feedback?

Right here, or through the in-app feedback link; I read all of it.