Open Source Text to Video 2026: Open-Sora (29k Stars) vs Wan 2.1 vs HunyuanVideo - Run on Your GPU
Sora remains closed and expensive, but open-source video models have caught up fast. Four serious open models now generate 5-15 second clips on a single consumer GPU - here is how to pick and run one.
💡 What You Will Learn
Sora remains closed and expensive, but open-source video models have caught up fast. Four serious open models now generate 5-15 second clips on a single consumer GPU - here is how to pick and run one.
📜 Table of Contents
The short answer
In 2026 the four serious open-source text-to-video models are Open-Sora (29,230 stars, Apache-2.0, HPC-AI Tech), Wan 2.1 (16,717 stars, Apache-2.0, Alibaba), HunyuanVideo (12,399 stars, Tencent) and LTX-Video (10,793 stars, Apache-2.0, Lightricks). All generate 5-15 second clips locally; Wan 2.1 leads on quality-per-VRAM, LTX-Video leads on speed.
Model comparison (real data, Aug 2026)
| Model | Stars | Best for | VRAM (fp16) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open-Sora | 29,230 | Community + tooling | 24GB (1.1) |
| Wan 2.1 | 16,717 | Quality at 14B / 480p | 8GB (T2V-1.3B) |
| HunyuanVideo | 12,399 | Long clips, motion | 24GB (13B) |
| LTX-Video | 10,793 | Speed (real-time-ish) | 12GB (2B) |
Getting started
All four ship as Python packages with a ComfyUI workflow. The fastest path: install ComfyUI and drag in the model's workflow JSON from its GitHub repo - no coding required.
For Wan 2.1 via CLI:
pip install modelscope # or huggingface_hub
# download Wan2.1-T2V-1.3B weights, then run generate.py
python generate.py --task t2v-1.3B --size 480p --ckpt_dir ./Wan2.1-T2V-1.3B --prompt "a cat astronaut walking on the moon"
Practical tips
- Prompt style: motion verbs + camera terms beat adjectives: "slow dolly-in, hand pouring coffee, steam rising" works far better than "beautiful coffee".
- Resolution: 480p first, then upscale (pair with Real-ESRGAN for free).
- Frame count: 81 frames at 24fps (~3.4s) is the sweet spot for coherence on consumer GPUs; longer clips drift.
- LoRA support: Wan and Hunyuan have LoRA ecosystems for consistent characters/styles.
FAQ
Can I run these on my gaming GPU? Wan 2.1's 1.3B T2V model runs in ~8GB VRAM; the 14B models need 24GB or quantized versions.
Are generations commercially usable? Apache-2.0 models (Open-Sora, Wan 2.1, LTX-Video) permit commercial use; check each license for attribution requirements.
How long are the clips? 3-15 seconds depending on model and VRAM; longer coherent clips remain a research frontier.
Related
❓ FAQ
Can I run these on my gaming GPU?
Wan 2.1's 1.3B T2V model runs in ~8GB VRAM; the 14B models need 24GB or quantized versions.
Are generations commercially usable?
Apache-2.0 models (Open-Sora, Wan 2.1, LTX-Video) permit commercial use; check each license for attribution requirements.
How long are the clips?
3-15 seconds depending on model and VRAM; longer coherent clips remain a research frontier.
Written by our editorial team; tools listed here are tested or verified against public sources. Links point to official sites or GitHub repos for reference only โ no paid placements.
