Choose Lumen5 for recurring written-content videos in reusable templates. Choose Wave.video when text-to-video, editing, live streaming and hosting belong in the same program. Both accept written sources and uploaded media; Lumen5 also offers generated visuals and narration review.
Lumen5 vs Wave.video at a glance
| Question | Lumen5 | Wave.video |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Written-content repurposing in reusable templates | Video creation alongside broadcasting and hosting |
| Starting material | Articles, PDFs, pasted text, ideas and uploaded media | Text, article URLs, stock and uploaded footage |
| Editing | Script, voiceover, template, scene and media controls | Linked storyboard, scene media, text and timing |
| Review step | Edit the script and preview narration before video conversion | Prepare the text or summary, then refine generated scenes |
| Usage | Separate AI animation and voiceover allocations | Editor, streaming and hosting allowances; optional premium stock |
Start with the work your team repeats
For a steady article series, inspect script revision, narration and template reuse. For a program with guest broadcasts and hosted replays, inspect Wave.video’s distribution allowances. Treat Lumen5’s AI allocations separately from its unlimited-video label, and compare Wave.video’s required creation tier with the same billing term.
How Lumen5 works
Lumen5’s current product supports the following workflow. Lumen5 turns articles, PDFs, pasted text and ideas into videos. Choose the template and format, then use the AI script composer or keep your written script. Review and revise the voiceover before converting it to video. This workflow offers a review point before assembly, alongside controls for the resulting scenes.
Stock footage is one visual source, alongside uploaded media and current AI image, video and animation tools. Bring your own product footage when it supports the story. The relevant test is whether the template and scene controls explain your subject clearly, not whether every scene uses stock.
How Wave.video works
Wave.video’s current product supports the following workflow. Wave.video creates a video from text or an article URL. Keep the text or shorten it with AI, choose the stock preference, audio mood, template and format, then generate the project. Its storyboard links the script to scenes and lets you change text, footage and timing.
Replace suggested stock with your own clips or images where the explanation needs specific footage. The text-to-video guide notes that some premium stock can require an additional purchase; you see and approve that cost before rendering. This is an AI-assisted creation workflow alongside direct editing, not a manual-only suite.
Branding, review and delivery
Basic lists custom colors and a font library; Starter adds expanded stock and 1080p. Professional adds uploaded fonts, custom watermarks and more workspaces. Team offers bespoke brand templates, permissions, approvals, SSO and DAM integrations. Voice cloning and translation have plan-specific allowances.
Wave.video includes a brand manager, customizable hosted players and video landing pages. Its live studio supports guests, screen sharing, scenes and multiple broadcast destinations. Compare the actual hosting and streaming allowances when these are part of your weekly work.
Before publishing, review the message, factual details, visual choices and audio together. For localization, check the actual voice and terminology you need. The number of supported voices or languages does not establish output quality for your content.
Current pricing and usage units
Billing terms, regional offers and credit units are kept separate below.
| Tool | Checked plan reference | Usage to budget |
|---|---|---|
| Lumen5 | Monthly Basic $29, Starter $79, Professional $199; annual equivalents $19/$59/$149 | Separate AI animation and voiceover allocations |
| Wave.video | Monthly Streamer $20, Creator $30, Business $60; annual equivalents $16/$24/$48 | Editor, streaming and hosting allowances; optional premium stock |
| ngram | Basic $29 monthly or $23.20/month equivalent annually | Generation credits at the selected model rate |
Lumen5 pricing: Monthly prices were Basic $29, Starter $79 and Professional $199, with annual monthly equivalents of $19, $59 and $149. Team is custom-priced. Paid plans list unlimited videos, but AI usage is allocated separately: monthly animation minutes are 1/2/5 and voiceover minutes 20/60/180. Annual allocations are 12/24/60 animation and 240/720/2160 voiceover minutes. Compare the chosen billing period and export requirements rather than assuming unlimited AI generation.
Wave.video pricing: The selected monthly prices were Streamer $20, Creator $30 and Business $60; annual monthly equivalents were $16, $24 and $48. Creator includes videos up to 30 minutes, captions and text-to-speech. Business extends editing to two hours and 60fps and increases streaming and hosting allowances. Paid plans support MP4 downloads. Budget premium stock and the relevant traffic or storage needs separately.
ngram pricing includes 1,000 credits/month on Free. Basic costs $29/month with monthly billing and includes 3,000 credits per cycle; annual billing is $23.20/month equivalent with 36,000 credits supplied upfront. The base rate for premium AI video generation is 10 credits per second, with a cheaper model at 3. Share publicly or embed on Free; use a paid plan for MP4 downloads and Basic or above for unlisted links.
Compare the same billing term, creator count and delivery requirements. Estimate the initial generation and the revisions you expect. Do not divide one tool’s credits by another’s rate or compare different currencies as if the prices use the same units.
Automation and team workflows
Lumen5 workflow and plans: For an organization, Lumen5 documents Team/Enterprise workflow controls and DAM integrations. Match the required integration and permissions to the package in the vendor’s enterprise material.
Wave.video workflow and plans: For distribution, Wave.video combines a live studio with hosted players and embeds. Check the channels, guests, duration and hosting allowances of the selected plan. Creation, broadcasting and hosting are distinct requirements even when one subscription includes all three.
See an article become a video with ngram
The example below uses GitHub’s published CI/CD guide. It shows the actual filled prompt, source, paper-cutout style and generated explainer. Read the input and watch the result, then adapt the brief for your own article. This is ngram output from a public article, not output from Lumen5 or Wave.video.
From this input to this video
GitHub’s published article becomes a paper-cutout explainer of its four-step workflow.
Prompt
Turn this blog post at https://github.blog/enterprise-software/ci-cd/build-ci-cd-pipeline-github-actions-four-steps/ into a 30-second explainer video. Pull the key takeaways and summarize them as short, punchy paper-cutout scenes. Keep the article's own tone: friendly and practical. Format it for LinkedIn in landscape 16:9. Close on a call to action to read the full GitHub guide.
Selected style
Paper cutout
Read the video transcript
CI/CD used to belong to DevOps experts. With GitHub Actions, it lives right in your repo. Setup is simple: drop one file in your repo, and it works. No hardware to buy, no webhooks to wire. Then, four steps. Pick a repository. Open the Actions tab and choose a workflow. Push a change to trigger it. And watch it run in the visualizer and live logs. Start small, and make it work for you. The payoff: trusting your code works after you merge. Read the full guide on the GitHub Blog.
Turn a published article into an explainer
Watch the actual ngram video made from GitHub’s CI/CD guide. Read its input, then adapt the brief for your own article.
Bring the article
Paste a public article URL or provide its text. Upload exported footage from Pictory when it helps tell the story.
Adapt the brief
Fill in your audience, takeaways and call to action. Choose the style, duration and aspect ratio, then attach any files and select your Brand Kit in ngram.
Approve and refine
Review the plan containing the script, approve generation and inspect the result. Request revisions or another version when needed.
Make it yours
Fill in your details here, or continue and finish your brief in ngram.
Video generation uses credits. Review your estimate in ngram. MP4 downloads require Basic or higher.
How credits workPaste your public source URL or provide the article text. Fill in the audience, takeaways and call to action, then choose the style, aspect ratio and duration. In ngram, attach any supporting files, select your configured Brand Kit and enable captions when wanted. Review and approve the plan containing the script before generation.
For existing footage, export an authorized video from Lumen5 or Wave.video and upload the file. Describe the new audience and message; the export becomes source footage while the editable project stays in its original app. After updating your article, tell ngram what changed and request a revision. For a second format, request another version and select its aspect ratio and duration.
Continue with the blog-to-video template, blog-to-video workflow, ngram vs Lumen5 or ngram vs Wave.video.
How to choose
Choose Lumen5 for recurring written-content videos in reusable templates. Choose Wave.video when text-to-video, editing, live streaming and hosting belong in the same program. Both accept written sources and uploaded media; Lumen5 also offers generated visuals and narration review.
Consider ngram when your recurring job is turning business material into an explanation with a reusable brief and a plan you approve. Use the demonstrated article workflow to judge that fit. Keep the original editor when you need to continue working on its native project.
How this comparison was reviewed
This comparison uses the official product, help, pricing and developer sources linked here. The recommendations describe workflow fit; they are not a timed or scored competitor-output test. The ngram example is a real generated video with its input shown. No anonymous reviewer claim or weighted numerical score is used to establish a winner.
Frequently asked questions
Can both Lumen5 and Wave.video create videos with AI?
Yes. Lumen5 turns articles, PDFs, pasted text and ideas into videos. Choose the template and format, then use the AI script composer or keep your written script. Review and revise the voiceover before converting it to video. This workflow offers a review point before assembly, alongside controls for the resulting scenes. Wave.video creates a video from text or an article URL. Keep the text or shorten it with AI, choose the stock preference, audio mood, template and format, then generate the project. Its storyboard links the script to scenes and lets you change text, footage and timing.
How do Lumen5 and Wave.video compare on price?
Lumen5 Basic is $29/month or $19/month equivalent annually. Starter adds 1080p and expanded stock at $79/month or $59/month equivalent annually; AI animation and voiceover have separate allowances. Wave.video Streamer is $20/month or $16/month equivalent annually. Creator, which includes editing videos up to 30 minutes, is $30 or $24; streaming, hosting and premium stock have their own allowances.
Can I move an editable project into ngram?
Bring supported source material: export the footage you want to reuse, upload it and add the audience and message. Keep the editable original in its source app. Approve ngram’s new plan before generation.
Should I choose Lumen5 or Wave.video for marketing videos?
Lumen5 suits recurring written-content videos in reusable templates, with script and narration review. Wave.video combines text-to-video creation with live broadcasting, hosted players and landing pages. Choose around whether your team mainly repurposes articles or also manages broadcasts and hosted delivery.
How do ngram branding and Free sharing work?
Select your configured Brand Kit in the composer and turn captions on when wanted. Free includes 1,000 credits/month, public sharing and embeds. Choose a paid plan for MP4 downloads; unlisted links start with Basic.
Create your first video with ngram, or talk to sales.
