In short: three options
| Free domestic services | Official model services | Russian aggregators | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examples | Shedevrum, Alice AI, GigaChat | Kling AI, Hailuo, Dreamina | KADR, Telegram bots |
| Price | free with limits | subscription in foreign currency | rubles per generation or subscription |
| VPN needed | no | usually yes | no |
| Realism of facial expressions | medium | high | high (the same models) |
| Choice of model | one of their own | one of their own | several |
How to animate a photo step by step, which prompt to write and how to avoid a «melting» face is covered in a separate guide: how to animate a photo with AI. Here it is only about where to do it.
Free services
Shedevrum (Yandex). The app has a «Photo animation» feature that used to be available only in Alice AI. Free, no VPN, runs on Yandex’s own model.
Alice AI (Yandex). Photo animation right in the chat with Alice. Convenient if you already use her.
GigaChat with Kandinsky (Sber). Video generation on the web and in a Telegram bot, about 10 clips a day free after signing in.
When they fit: family photos, greetings, experiments, «just to see how it works».
When they fall short: you need natural facial expressions in close-up, complex motion, a clip for an ad or a client.
Official model services
Kling AI, Hailuo, Dreamina (Seedance) and others. These are the developers’ own sites.
Pros: top quality, new features appear there first.
Cons: from Russia you need a VPN and a foreign card or an intermediary. One model per service: to compare Kling and Hailuo on one photo, you need two accounts. Payment is covered in detail in the article on how to pay for AI services from Russia.
Russian aggregators
The same models (Kling, Seedance, Veo, Hailuo, Wan), but paid in rubles and without a VPN.
The main advantage is not the price but the choice: you can animate the same photo in two models and compare. This matters because models handle different photos differently, and you cannot guess in advance.
What it costs on KADR, 6 seconds, October 2026:
| Model | Resolution | Tokens | Rubles | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seedance 1.5 Pro | 480p | 19 | ~30 | a draft, testing the idea |
| Veo 3.1 Lite | 720p | 33 | ~52 | inexpensive and neat |
| Hailuo 2.3 | 768p | 33 | ~52 | natural motion |
| Kling v3 | 720p | 80 | ~126 | realistic faces |
| Kling v3 | 1080p | 106 | ~168 | the final, close-ups |
This is not a public offer.
KADR has a separate «Animate a photo» mode for this: upload a picture, choose a model, get a clip. If you do not know how to describe the motion, press «Improve» and the AI will suggest a prompt and settings.
Which service to choose
- An old family photo, just to see → Shedevrum or Alice.
- A greeting or a card → free services if the quality suits you, otherwise an inexpensive model like Veo 3.1 Lite.
- A portrait for social media or an ad → Kling v3 through an aggregator or the official service.
- A product in the photo → see the article on product video with AI.
- You need to compare several models on one photo → an aggregator.
If the photo will not animate
The most common reason: moderation. Models filter realistic photos of people so they cannot be used for deepfakes. Seedance is especially strict about real faces. If you got a refusal, try Kling or Hailuo: developers have different policies.
And a short rule: you may animate your own photos and photos of people who do not mind. Someone else’s face without consent is already a deepfake.
In short
For free animation there are Shedevrum, Alice and GigaChat; they work without a VPN. For realistic facial expressions and clips for an audience you need models on the level of Kling v3 and Seedance: through the official sites with a VPN and a foreign card, or through Russian aggregators for rubles. If the result matters, animate one photo in two models and pick the best.
