MiniMax H3 vs Wan 2.2: Open Video Models Compared (2026)
MiniMax H3 is the newer, larger model and generates sound with the video; Wan 2.2 is lighter, Apache 2.0 licensed and silent. H3 (33B, weights released August 2026) makes 4–15 second clips with stereo audio and offers first/last frame and multi-reference control. Wan 2.2 (released July 2025) makes clips of about 5 seconds at 480P or 720P without audio, but its 5B model runs on a single 24 GB GPU and its Apache 2.0 license has no territory or revenue limits. H3's license excludes the EU, UK, US and South Korea.
Side by side
| MiniMax H3 | Wan 2.2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | MiniMax | Alibaba (Wan team) |
| Weights released | August 3, 2026 | July 28, 2025 |
| Models | One 33B model, in FL2VA and Ref2VA checkpoints | T2V-A14B and I2V-A14B (MoE, 27B total, 14B active per step), TI2V-5B |
| Clip length | 4–15 seconds | About 5 s by default (81 frames at 16 fps for A14B, 121 frames at 24 fps for 5B) |
| Resolution | 768p native locally; 2K through MiniMax's hosted API | 480P and 720P (A14B); 720P (5B) |
| Audio | Generated with the video, 32 kHz stereo | None in the base models |
| Inputs | Text, first/last frame, up to 9 images, 3 videos and 3 audio clips as references | Text, or text plus a starting image |
| Hardware (official guidance) | Comfy: runs on a GPU like the RTX 3060 with VRAM offloading | 5B: 24 GB GPU such as RTX 4090; A14B: 80 GB without offloading |
| ComfyUI | Native since August 3, 2026 | Native since July 28, 2025 |
| License | MiniMax H3 Community License | Apache 2.0 |
| Where you may use it | Worldwide except the EU, UK, US and South Korea | Anywhere |
| Commercial use | Separate permission above $20M revenue; Comfy says commercial use of local outputs needs a commercial license | Allowed; Wan claims no rights over generated content |
Audio is the biggest functional gap
H3 generates dialogue, sound effects and ambience in the same pass as the picture. The base Wan 2.2 models output silent video, so you add sound in another tool. Alibaba later released Wan2.2-S2V-14B, which animates an image from a speech track — useful for talking heads, but it is audio-driven video, not a model that creates sound.
License: the other deciding factor
- Wan 2.2 uses Apache 2.0: free commercial use, no revenue threshold, no territory limits.
- MiniMax H3 is licensed only outside the EU, UK, US and South Korea, and larger companies need separate permission.
If you are in one of H3's excluded territories and want a model you can run yourself, Wan 2.2 — or the newer LTX-2.5, which also generates audio — is the licensable choice.
Hardware and speed
Wan 2.2's TI2V-5B is the easiest to run: Wan's own instructions target a single 24 GB card like the RTX 4090 for 720P at 24 fps. The A14B MoE models produce better results but need far more memory unless you offload. H3 is a bigger model; Comfy's optimizations let it run on consumer GPUs with plenty of system RAM, but expect minutes per clip on a single card. Our MiniMax H3 ComfyUI guide lists the files and settings.
Which one should you use?
| You want… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Sound generated with the video | MiniMax H3 |
| Clips longer than 5 seconds in one generation | MiniMax H3 |
| First/last frame or multi-reference control | MiniMax H3 |
| A permissive license that works anywhere | Wan 2.2 |
| The lightest local setup | Wan 2.2 TI2V-5B |
| A large existing ecosystem of community LoRAs and workflows | Wan 2.2 |
H3 has LoRA support too — see our MiniMax H3 LoRA guide.
Try H3 in the browser
H3 Max, a faster post-trained version of H3, runs in the cloud on this site with no install and free credits for a first video. Start with the H3 Max video generator, or read how H3 Max differs from the base model in H3 Max vs H3.
FAQ
Is MiniMax H3 better than Wan 2.2? For a single clip with sound, longer duration or reference control, H3 is the more capable model. Wan 2.2 is lighter, older and has a far more permissive license.
Does Wan 2.2 generate audio? No. The base Wan 2.2 models generate video only. Wan2.2-S2V-14B animates video from speech you provide.
Can I use Wan 2.2 commercially? Yes. It is released under Apache 2.0, and Wan claims no rights over the content you generate.
Which model runs on a 24 GB GPU? Wan 2.2 TI2V-5B is designed for it. H3 can also run on consumer GPUs in ComfyUI with offloading, but it is slower.
Sources: Wan2.2 on GitHub (README and model configs), MiniMax H3 model card and license, ComfyUI MiniMax H3 guide, Comfy blog: MiniMax H3 Day-0 support. Last updated: October 1, 2026.
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