AI Video Playbook

Kling

Kuaishou's Kling 3.0 and the Kling 4.0 rollout, the multi shot and dialogue syntax, and what each clip costs in credits.

Kling 3.0 is the model to try for action, fights and dialogue with lip sync, and it is cheaper per second than Seedance 2.5. Start with the Standard plan (6.99 USD for the first month) and generate without native audio while you test, which cuts the credit cost by a third. Kling 4.0 is announced but not fully released, so do not pay for a bigger plan just to get it.

At a glance

Prices checked on 15 Oct 2026.

ItemDetail
MakerKuaishou
Current versionsKling 3.0 (also 3.0 Omni and 3.0 Turbo), generally available. Kling 4.0 Flash: limited rollout to Ultra yearly subscribers since 28 Sep 2026. Kling 4.0 full: announced for October 2026, not confirmed as released on 15 Oct 2026.
Max duration3.0: 3 to 15 s. 4.0: 3 to 30 s (announced). 4.0 Flash: up to 20 s.
Resolution3.0: 720p, 1080p, and 4K at 30 credits per second. 4.0: up to 4K, HDR "coming soon". 4.0 Flash: up to 720p.
Audio3.0: native mono audio, dialogue in Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. 4.0: stereo, 9 or more languages (announced). Vietnamese is not on the 3.0 list, and Kling does not name it for 4.0.
References3.0: up to 7 images or subjects, or 1 video (up to 15 s) plus 4. 4.0: up to 15 files (announced).
Appkling.ai on the web and in the mobile app
APIKling developer platform: 3.0 at 0.084 USD/second (720p, no audio) or 0.126 USD/second (720p, audio). Kling 4.0 is not on the API price page.
Cheapest way inStandard plan: 6.99 USD for the first month, then 8.80 USD/month, 660 credits. The free plan adds a watermark and is not for commercial use.

The site owner also saw a weekly Standard option at 1.49 USD for 100 credits on the Kling membership page on 15 Oct 2026. Kling's own credit guide does not list it, so check what renews before you buy.

Credits per second on Kling 3.0

Mode720p1080p
Native audio912
No native audio68
Voice control add onplus 2plus 2

A 5 s clip at 720p costs 30 credits without audio and 45 with audio. At the Standard renewal price that is about 0.40 USD and 0.60 USD. Kling has not published credit costs for 4.0 or 4.0 Flash.

Best for

From community reports:

  • Action, fights, tracking shots and orbits. This is the most repeated reason creators pick Kling over Seedance.
  • Dialogue timing and lip sync, including several speakers in one clip (praise partly from promoted posts).
  • A believable "real ad" look. In one organic test of a retro TV ad prompt, Kling looked most like a real 1980s family ad, while Seedance made a more cinematic montage.
  • Price. One organic comparison put Kling 4.0 Flash at about a quarter of Seedance 2.5's cost per second.

Weak at

  • Generated music. One organic tester said it sounds like an older music model. Add music in the edit.
  • Consistency between runs. Results vary more from run to run than on Seedance (community guides).
  • Long or complex edits. In a disclosed paid test, MiniMax H3 followed a detailed edit prompt better than Kling 4.0 Flash.
  • Copied dances. Motion Control remakes of existing TikToks get flagged as unoriginal by the platform (organic report).

How to prompt it

Structure

Kling's official structure for 4.0: subject, action, setting, camera, lighting, pacing, sound. Give every reference a role: character, product, scene, style, or a video for motion and camera. Kling has not published an @ syntax, so name references in plain words ("the woman from the first image").

For timing inside one clip, Kling 3.0 understands cues such as "At the 4th second".

Multi shot

Turn on Custom Multi Shot, set the number of shots and the length of each, then label them in the prompt: "Shot 1, ...", "Shot 2, ...". On kling.ai, all plans include 3 free Element AI Multi Shot uses per day (seen on the membership page on 15 Oct 2026).

Dialogue

Official format: speaker, then tone and language in parentheses, then the line in quotes.

Prompt
Boy (casual tone, Korean): "Are you coming or not?"
  • If a character Element already has a bound voice, do not set the tone again.
  • Lines in a language Kling does not support are translated to English. On 3.0, Vietnamese lines will come out in English.
  • Community tips for several speakers: give each one a unique label (never "he" or "she"), write the action before the line, give each voice a texture ("raspy, deep"), and link turns with "Immediately" so the voices do not merge.

Elements for consistent characters

Build a character Element from a short video (face and voice) or from 2 to 4 images taken from different angles. Recording an Element from video works in the app only.

Words to avoid

The content filter reacts to words like "shirtless" or "exposed". Describe the clothing that is there instead (community tip).

Example prompts

A two shot dialogue scene with Custom Multi Shot set to 2 shots of 5 s:

Prompt
Shot 1, wide: a rainy rooftop at night, neon signs below, a detective with an umbrella faces a woman by the door.
Detective (low gravelly voice, tired, English): "You came alone."
Immediately, Woman (clear voice, wary, English): "You told me to."
Shot 2, profile close up of the detective, camera tracking slowly left. Rain gets heavier, thunder rumbles.

An action shot with one clear camera move:

Prompt
A parkour runner in a grey hoodie sprints across a concrete rooftop, vaults a low wall and lands in a roll.
Camera: tracking shot from the side at running speed, low angle.
Late afternoon sun, long shadows, dust kicks up on landing. Fast pacing.
Sound: footsteps, cloth rustle, a hard thud on the landing.

Image to video with a clear end state:

Prompt
The cat on the windowsill stretches, yawns, then curls up and goes still.
Camera static. Soft morning light through the curtain. Ends with the cat asleep and the curtain settling.

A product shot with a timing cue:

Prompt
A white sneaker on a turntable in a bright studio. Slow orbit around the shoe, macro lens.
At the 3rd second, a splash of water hits the toe and beads off the fabric.
Clean white background, soft shadows. Sound: a light splash, then quiet.

Settings that save credits

  • Turn off native audio while you test. 720p drops from 9 to 6 credits per second. Turn it on for the final take only.
  • Test at 720p. 1080p costs a third more, 4K costs 30 credits per second.
  • Keep test clips to 5 s. Shorter clips also help with the "stuck at 99%" problem below.
  • Use the free extras on paid plans: VIDEO 2.6 Voice Control and 3 daily Multi Shot uses (seen on the membership page).
  • Watch the first month price. The 6.99 USD Standard price is for the first subscription only and renews at 8.80 USD.
  • Failed generations are not charged on the API.

Known issues

ProblemWhat to do
Generation stuck at 99%Add an end state ("then settles"), use 5 s instead of 10 s, lower the resolution, or try off peak (single community source)
Voices merge in a dialogueUnique speaker labels, action before each line, "Immediately" between turns
Music sounds datedGenerate with sound effects only and add music in the edit
Dialogue comes out in EnglishThe language is not supported. Record the voice yourself and lip sync it.
Prompt rejectedRemove filter words such as "shirtless" and describe the clothes instead
Kling 4.0 not in your accountFull 4.0 had not reached all users by 15 Oct 2026. A regular user still reported no access on 10 Oct.

Sources