Reference · licensing
Can you use AI tools commercially? Free vs paid rights
Whether you can monetize what 27 AI creator tools make, on the free plan and on paid plans, with the conditions that catch creators out. Every row links the vendor's own terms, pricing or help page.
| Tool | Free plan: commercial use? | Paid plans | What to watch | Official |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canva (AI features) | Yes | Yes, any plan | Canva's AI terms do not separate free and Pro users. You own your AI output, except where it contains licensed Canva library content. Do not prompt for brands, characters or real people without permission. | canva.com — Using Magic Studio Safely And Legally |
| CapCut | With limits | With limits | Rights depend on each asset, not the plan. Only templates, effects and tracks marked for commercial use are allowed, and one unmarked asset makes the whole video non-commercial. Pro does not change this. | capcut.com — Material License Agreement |
| VEED | Unclear | Unclear | Free exports carry a VEED watermark, and the stock library is royalty-free only for paid users. We could not find an explicit ownership or commercial-use clause in VEED's terms. | support.veed.io — 7056370 Will The Videos I Created Have A Veed Watermark On Them |
| Adobe Firefly | Yes | Yes, any plan | Outputs from Adobe's own Firefly models (non-beta features) can be used commercially. Outputs from partner models offered inside Firefly are your responsibility. IP indemnification is only for eligible enterprise customers. | helpx.adobe.com — Adobe Firefly Faq.Pdf |
| Ideogram | Yes | Yes, any plan | The terms treat free and paid users the same: Ideogram claims no ownership and does not restrict commercial use. Free-plan images are public; private generation needs Plus or Pro. | ideogram.ai — Tos |
| Leonardo.Ai | Unclear | Yes, any paid plan | Leonardo's pages disagree about the free plan: the FAQ says free users may use images commercially, while the terms say free-plan output belongs to Leonardo. Paid users own their output and keep it after downgrading. Free images are public. | leonardo.ai — Terms Of Service |
| Magnific | No | Yes (from Premium) | Free plans are personal use with attribution. Paid plans include a commercial license for AI-generated content. Magnific does not guarantee copyright in AI output. | magnific.com — Ai Content And Copyright |
| Midjourney | No free plan | Yes (from Basic) | There is no free plan. Subscribers own their images, and ownership continues after downgrading or cancelling. Companies (or their employees) with more than $1M yearly revenue must use Pro or Mega. Images are public unless you use Stealth mode (Pro and Mega). | docs.midjourney.com — 32083055291277 Terms Of Service |
| Suno | No | Yes (from Pro) | Free (Basic) songs are owned by Suno and are for non-commercial use only. On Pro or Premier you own the songs you make and keep commercial rights after cancelling. Suno does not say that songs made on the free plan become commercial after upgrading, so treat them as not covered. | help.suno.com — 2416769 |
| Udio | Unclear | Unclear | Udio's help center says downloading of audio, video and stems was disabled after its UMG partnership, so you currently cannot export songs for a YouTube video. Its terms page could not be read. | help.udio.com — 12683565 Changes Associated With The Universal Music Group Umg Partnership |
| OpusClip | No | Yes (from Starter) | Free use is personal and non-commercial, exports are watermarked, and free clips expire after 3 days. Any paid plan is licensed for commercial use. | opus.pro — Terms Of Service |
| Google Veo (Gemini app and Flow) | No free plan | Yes (from Google AI plan) | Personal accounts need a Google AI plan to generate video. Google does not claim ownership of what you make. Every video carries an invisible SynthID watermark. | support.google.com — 16353333 |
| Hailuo AI | Unclear | Unclear | The terms ban commercial use of the services without separating free and paid users, and say commercial use of generated content is at your own risk. Get written confirmation before monetizing. | hailuoai.video — Terms Of Service.Html |
| HeyGen | No | Yes (from Creator) | Free-plan output may not be monetized and is watermarked. Paid plans assign ownership of output to you. Uploading someone's likeness needs their consent. | heygen.com — Terms |
| Higgsfield | Yes | Yes, any plan | You own your output and commercial use is allowed on every plan, but free and lower plans add watermarks that Higgsfield itself says may not suit commercial use. Content may be used for model training outside Enterprise. | higgsfield.ai — Who Owns My Generations And Can I Use Them Commercially |
| InVideo AI | With limits | Yes, any paid plan | The terms license outputs for commercial use without a free-plan exception, and monetizing videos with InVideo avatars is allowed. Free exports are watermarked, and after a downgrade any edit needs a paid plan again to export without one. Stock media keeps its own license. | invideo.io — Terms And Conditions |
| Kling AI | No | Yes, any paid membership | Non-members need written permission for commercial use. Paid members may use output commercially (except to build competing products) and can remove watermarks. The policy does not say whether earlier output stays licensed after membership lapses. | kling.ai — Payment Policy |
| Luma Dream Machine | No | Yes (from Plus) | Free and Lite output is personal use only and keeps its watermark, even after a later upgrade. Commercial rights cover only videos made while a commercial plan was active; they survive cancellation for those videos. | lumalabs.ai — Terms Of Service |
| Pika | No | Yes (from Creator) | Free and Starter do not include a commercial license; it starts at Creator ($28/month billed yearly). The pricing page lists no watermark on every plan. | pika.art — Pricing |
| Runway | Yes | Yes, any plan | Runway claims no ownership and does not restrict commercial use on any plan. Free exports carry a watermark; watermark removal starts at Standard. | runway.com — Terms Of Use |
| Synthesia | With limits | With limits (from Starter) | Stock avatars may be used in organic YouTube videos but never in paid ads, on any plan. Free videos carry a Synthesia watermark. Custom avatars need the person's informed consent. | help.synthesia.io — 6341928 Synthesia Video Licensing |
| Topaz Video AI | No free plan | With limits (from Standard (Pro above $1M revenue)) | Standard plans allow commercial use only for organizations under $1M annual revenue; Pro removes the cap. Topaz counts paid distribution on video platforms as commercial use. | topazlabs.com — Pricing |
| ElevenLabs | No | Yes (from Starter) | The free plan has no commercial license. Publishing free-plan audio requires crediting ElevenLabs (for example elevenlabs.io in the title). Beta features are excluded from the commercial license, and you must hold the rights to any voice you clone. | help.elevenlabs.io — 13313564601361 Can I Publish The Content I Generate On The Platform |
| Fish Audio | No | Yes (from Plus) | The plan page FAQ and the terms say free use is personal and non-commercial. On paid plans only verified voices you own can be used commercially. | fish.audio — Plan |
| Fliki | No | Yes (from Standard) | Free videos carry a Fliki watermark and the free plan does not include commercial rights. Standard and Premium include commercial rights with no watermark. | fliki.ai — Pricing |
| PlayHT | Unclear | Unclear | The only official statement is an older help article that grants commercial use without separating plans. Confirm the current plan terms and that the service is still operating before relying on it. | help.play.ht — Can I Use Play For Commercial Purposes Ex Youtube Tv Etc 19Tq04O |
| Speechify Studio | No | Yes (from Studio Starter) | Only Speechify Voice Over Studio is licensed for commercial use; the reading app is not. Paid Studio plans give you ownership and commercial rights in perpetuity. Voice clones need the speaker's explicit consent. | speechify.com — Pricing Studio |
"With limits" means commercial use is allowed only under conditions in the notes. "Unclear" means the vendor's own pages contradict each other or say nothing definite; get written confirmation before monetizing. For prices, see the pricing index and the free plans list.
Questions creators ask
- Can I use AI-generated content on a monetized YouTube channel?
- Usually only on a paid plan. Most creator AI tools treat a monetized channel as commercial use, and many free plans (Suno, ElevenLabs, HeyGen, OpusClip, Luma, Pika, Kling AI) exclude it. Runway, Ideogram, Higgsfield, Canva and Adobe Firefly's own models allow commercial use on free plans, often with a watermark.
- If I upgrade later, can I monetize what I made on a free plan?
- Do not assume so. Luma states that free and Lite output stays personal-use only after an upgrade, and Suno does not say free-plan songs become commercial. Make the content you plan to monetize while the paid plan is active.
- Do I keep commercial rights after cancelling?
- For several tools, yes, for content made while you were subscribed: Suno, Midjourney, Speechify Studio and Luma say so explicitly. Kling AI's policy does not say either way.
- Are there revenue caps?
- Midjourney requires Pro or Mega for companies with more than $1M yearly revenue, and Topaz Video AI's standard plans cover organizations under $1M yearly revenue; above that a Pro license is needed.