Comparison · Video models
Wan 3.0 vs MiniMax H3
Wan 3.0 or MiniMax H3? Clips up to 30 s and 4K versus fast 15 s clips in 2K with stereo audio. Differences, per-second rates and my own test results.
Specs side by side
| Wan 3.0 | MiniMax H3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Alibaba | MiniMax |
| Type | Video | Video |
| Modes | text-to-video image-to-video first-last-frame reference-to-video | text-to-video image-to-video first-last-frame reference-to-video |
| Released | 2026-08 | 2026-07 |
| Duration | 2-30 s or auto (-1) | 4-15 s |
| Resolutions | 480p, 720p, 1080p, 2K, 4K | 768p, 2K |
| Aspect ratios | adaptive, 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:3, 3:4 | 21:9, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 3:4, 9:16, adaptive |
| Reference images | up to 10 | up to 9 |
| Reference videos | up to 5 | up to 3 |
| Frames | first and last frame | first and last frame |
| Audio | native audio, on/off switch | native audio |
| Prompt length | up to 20,000 chars | up to 7,000 chars |
Price per unit and per clip
| Model | Variant | Rate | 5 s clip | 10 s clip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wan 3.0 | 480p | $0.0777 / s | $0.388 | $0.777 |
| 720p | $0.155 / s | $0.777 | $1.55 | |
| 1080p | $0.311 / s | $1.55 | $3.11 | |
| 2K | $0.453 / s | $2.27 | $4.53 | |
| 4K | $0.521 / s | $2.61 | $5.21 | |
| MiniMax H3 | 768p | $0.161 / s | $0.804 | $1.61 |
| 2K | $0.261 / s | $1.30 | $2.61 |
Prices exclude taxes and are charged from your prepaid USD balance. Failed generations cost nothing.
Pick Wan 3.0 for long scenes (up to 30 s), 4K, and work with many references or a document as input. Pick MiniMax H3, also released as Hailuo 03, for short shots up to 15 s in 2K with a stereo track, when waiting time and the 2K price matter. In my test H3 spoke a Polish sentence better, while Wan produced the better image.
Key differences
- Length. Wan 3.0 2-30 s, MiniMax H3 4-15 s.
- Resolution. Wan: 480P, 720P, 1080P, 2K, 4K. H3: 768P (1344x768) and 2K (2560x1440).
- Audio. H3 always generates a stereo track described in the prompt. Wan has audio on by default and lets you turn it off. Neither charges extra for it.
- References. Wan: up to 10 images, 5 clips and 5 audio clips, plus a document or web page. H3: up to 9 images, 3 clips and 3 audio tracks (identity, motion, voice).
- Aspect ratios. H3 has 7, including 21:9. Wan has 6, no 21:9.
- Prompt. Wan up to 20,000 characters, H3 up to 7,000.
When to pick Wan 3.0
- A 20-30 s scene in one pass.
- 4K footage, or cheap drafts at 480P.
- A video built from a slide deck, a report or a product page.
- Projects with more than 3 reference clips or audio tracks.
When to pick MiniMax H3
- A 2K shot, where H3 is clearly cheaper.
- A short spoken line in Polish (1 error in 12 words in my test).
- Fast iteration: in my test H3 returned a clip in well under half a minute.
- A wide 21:9 frame.
Cost in practice
At the lowest shared tiers the prices are nearly equal: H3 at 768P costs about 4% more per second than Wan at 720P. At 2K Wan costs about 1.74 times as much as H3, and H3 at 2K is even cheaper than Wan at 1080P (Wan about 1.19x). Wan wins where H3 has no offer: 480P drafts and 4K. Extras: both add reference clip seconds to the bill, H3 also charges for reference images six to nine, and in Wan duration: -1 is billed as 30 s. Rates: from $0.0777 per second (1080P) and from $0.161 per second (2K); every tier on /pricing.
In my video ranking (Polish blog, on other providers, 5 s clips, H3 at 768p) Wan 3.0 scored 7.75/10 and H3 7.25. Coffee shot: Wan 8.0, H3 6.5 (the porcelain looked translucent). Polish sentence: H3 8.0 with one mangled word, Wan 7.5 with two. Time: H3 14-28 s, Wan 154-170 s, a huge gap, but measured on other providers, so times on Jantaris may differ. More on H3: MiniMax H3 (Hailuo) API.
FAQ
Wan 3.0 or MiniMax H3: which is better?
In my test Wan had the higher average (7.75 vs 7.25) and the better image; H3 had better Polish speech and was many times faster. Wan for long clips and 4K, H3 for short 2K shots.
Which is cheaper?
It depends on the tier. At the bottom they are nearly equal, at 2K H3 is cheaper, and 480P and 4K exist only in Wan.
Can MiniMax H3 make 30-second clips?
No, the maximum is 15 s. Wan 3.0 makes 30 s in one pass.
Can I turn off audio in MiniMax H3?
There is no audio switch in the H3 form; the stereo track is part of the output. In Wan 3.0 you turn it off with generate_audio: false.
Vendor examples
Wan 3.0
MiniMax H3
Official examples from the model vendors, not our generations.