Kling 4.0 Guide: Features, Pricing, API and What’s Live

Kling 4.0 is Kling AI’s newest video model. It became available to all users on October 15, 2026, after a September 28 early-access launch of the lighter Kling 4.0 Flash. The headline numbers are 30-second clips from a single generation, up to 10 keyframes and up to 15 reference files. Some of what was announced isn’t live yet, though. 10-bit HDR, 4K output in the new creator, 21:9 framing and a public API are all still marked “coming soon,” and Kling’s own pages disagree on whether 2-minute video extension is live yet.

Quick answer: what is Kling 4.0?

• What it is: Kling AI’s fourth-generation video model for text-to-video, image-to-video and reference-based video, with built-in video editing.
• Released: Flash in early access on September 28, 2026. The full model has been available to everyone since October 15, 2026, and a global press release followed on October 16.
• Key specs: 3 to 30 seconds per generation, up to 10 keyframes, up to 15 references, prompts up to 8,000 tokens and two-channel stereo audio.
• Price: about 15 credits per second at 1080p and 10 credits per second at 720p, so a 30-second 1080p clip costs 450 credits (Quantslant, Oct 15). It isn’t included in the Standard plan.
• API: no standard API yet. Kling says one is coming soon, and the official MCP and CLI tools already work.

Everything below is cited and dated. This guide is updated as Kling ships the features that are still marked coming soon.

Kling 4.0 release date and availability

Kling announced the model on September 28, 2026. On that day, only Kling 4.0 Flash went live, for a limited group of users that Kling’s post on X identified as Ultra Yearly subscribers. The full model was promised for “October” (Kling AI blog).

Kling’s release notes say the model “officially became available to everyone on October 15,” and the @Kling_ai account on X called it “fully available” that evening. It runs on kling.ai, in the mobile apps and through Kling’s official MCP and CLI tools (Quantslant, Oct 16, 2026). Kling AI’s global press release followed on October 16. It says the model is “fully available now on the Kling AI website” and that API access for enterprise customers and developers is coming soon (GlobeNewswire, Oct 16, 2026).

Adobe also said both the full model and Flash are “coming soon to Firefly.” No date has been given (same press release).

What’s live vs coming soon

Kling’s pages mix shipped features with promised ones. Here is the status as of October 16, 2026.

Kling contradicts itself on 21:9, 4K and video extension. Its user guide marks 2-minute extension “coming soon,” but the October 16 press release describes it as available. The model’s release notes list 21:9 and 4K as specs, but the October 16 press release and the feature page call 21:9, 4K and HDR “coming soon,” and Quantslant found 4K and HDR marked “Coming Soon” in the creator. Until Kling confirms otherwise, plan around 1080p SDR.

Kling 4.0 features

30-second generation

The model generates clips of 3 to 30 seconds in one pass, double Kling 3.0’s 15 seconds (Kling 4.0 feature page, read Oct 16). Kling says longer takes keep character actions, camera movement and scene progression more continuous.

Up to 10 keyframes

Kling 3.0 only let you set a start frame and an end frame. Now you can place up to 10 keyframe images along the timeline, and the model animates the movement between them. Kling suggests using keyframes for poses, scene changes, product reveals and shot transitions.

Omni Reference: 15 assets

One generation can combine up to 15 references. That breaks down to up to 10 images, up to 5 reference videos (30 seconds combined) and up to 7 subject elements, plus voice references (Kling FAQ). The press release adds that reference videos can include white-model (untextured 3D) and depth-map videos for guiding performance and camera work. According to Atlas Cloud’s read of the spec table, voice is the only audio input. Music and sound-effect clips aren’t listed.

Motion, camera and multi-shot direction

Kling’s main quality claim is steadier fast action, such as fights, sports and big crowd scenes, along with more realistic physical contact. It also says push-ins, pull-backs, pans, tracking shots and orbits stay steadier, and shot transitions look more natural. These claims come from Kling, and independent tests are still coming in (see early reactions).

Editing, recreation and audio

The model can also edit existing footage, changing characters, products, backgrounds, camera angles or style. It can also do “Creative Recreation,” which reuses the pacing and composition of a reference clip. Audio output is two-channel stereo. Kling lists Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French and Hindi “and more” for speech, with American, British and Indian English accents (press release; Quantslant).

Kling 4.0 vs Kling 4.0 Flash

Flash is the lighter version, and Kling says it’s “built for frequent creation” with fast generation and good value. Its official spec table is much shorter:

Source: Kling’s spec tables as compiled by Atlas Cloud (Oct 10, 2026). Kling hasn’t published a separate per-second price for Flash.

That means early Flash clips mostly show off motion and realism at 720p. They don’t test the 30-second, 10-keyframe workflow that sets the full model apart.

Kling 4.0 vs Kling 3.0

Sources: Kling feature page FAQ (Q4), Quantslant and Atlas Cloud. As Atlas Cloud points out, 4K itself isn’t new: Kling added native 4K output in April 2026. The big upgrades in 4.0 are clip length and control.

Kling 4.0 pricing

Kling bills the new model per second. According to Quantslant’s check of the kling.ai creator on the evening of October 15, 2026, a 30-second 1080p clip at 16:9 costs 450 credits (15 per second) and the same clip at 720p costs 300 credits (10 per second). The creator also notes that “input video duration is included in the total billed duration,” so reference videos and clips you edit count toward the bill.

Source: Quantslant, pricing checked Oct 15, 2026, 18:20, logged out, excluding VAT. Seconds are before the 10% discount. On regular monthly prices, a 30-second 1080p clip works out to about $4.30–$4.88, depending on the plan. The price for 4K isn’t known yet. Kling’s prices change often, so check the plans page before you buy. The plans page also lists an Ultra tier (about $159.99 a month, 26,000 credits, per Imgo’s Oct 10 pre-launch check) that isn’t in Quantslant’s table.

Kling 4.0 API

There’s no standard API yet. The October 16 press release says the model will be “made available soon to enterprise customers and developers through API access.” According to Quantslant, Kling’s developer page read “Kling 4.0 API Coming Soon” on October 15. OpenRouter, Higgsfield API, reAPI and kie.ai didn’t offer it, and fal.ai’s 4.0 endpoints returned the same canned clip no matter the prompt.

For now, the only working programmatic routes are Kling’s official MCP server and CLI, which require signing in with a Kling account. If you build pipelines, watch Kling’s developer platform for a release date, and be wary of resellers that claim “Kling 4.0 API” access before Kling announces it.

Kling 4.0 vs Seedance 2.5

Both models can make clips up to 30 seconds in a single generation, but they handle inputs differently. Seedance 2.5 accepts up to 50 references, including audio clips. Kling caps references at 15 (with voice as its only audio input) and adds 10-keyframe control. Seedance 2.5 has been out since July 31, 2026 (Atlas Cloud).

• Pick Kling’s model when a shot needs to hit specific beats you can draw or render as keyframes, or when you need fast action and camera moves.
• Pick Seedance 2.5 when you want to give the model lots of reference material, including music or sound.

We haven’t found an independent side-by-side test of the same prompts yet. For Seedance’s modes, prompts and costs, see our Seedance 2.5 guide.

Early reactions and hands-on results

Independent testing is just getting started. Here’s what has been published so far:

• Professional users (via Kling). Evolutionary Films, which is making the animated feature Minibots with Kling as its technology partner, said directing with Omni Reference “feels increasingly like directing a film rather than prompting an AI.” Director Sung-Soo Kim (12.12: The Day) used the 4.0 Preview in September for a subway scene in his AI short Worm Train and praised its “realistic physical interaction and sense of weight” (press release, Oct 16).
• Official samples. Kling’s YouTube channel posted “Meet KLING 4.0 | You Call the Shots” on September 28 and “King Card | Made with Kling 4.0” on October 15. Kling also released a short film, The Beat.
• Benchmarks. As of October 16, the model isn’t listed on the Artificial Analysis video leaderboard yet (Quantslant).
• Language gaps. Quantslant points out that languages outside the nine named, such as Polish, aren’t listed, and recommends adding that dialogue separately for now.
• Flash early testers. A roundup of a YouTube test and Reddit threads by reAPI (Oct 1–3) found that Flash’s motion, prompt understanding and dialogue were strong, even though its spec sheet doesn’t mention audio. The complaints were music nobody asked for, cuts to new shots when the prompt asked for one continuous take, and soft detail in wide 720p shots.
• Launch-night hands-on. A DEV Community tester who tried the full model on October 15 said long takes and camera-plus-action continuity held together better. They recommended exploring a shot in Flash first and saving the full model for the finishing pass.

Kling made or commissioned the first two items above, and the tester reports are early and small. We’ll add more third-party tests as they appear.

How to use it: step by step

1. Open Video Generation on kling.ai or in the app, and select Kling 4.0. Make sure your plan includes it, since Standard doesn’t list it.
2. Pick an entry point. Kling’s official user guide lists two: Omni Reference (the default, which also covers text-to-video and keyframe generation) and Keyframes (the classic first-frame or first-and-last-frame workflow).
3. Add your inputs: a text prompt, an image, or up to 15 reference assets.
4. For beat-by-beat control, place keyframes along the timeline (up to 10) and describe the action and camera movement between them in the prompt.
5. Choose the duration (3–30 s), aspect ratio and resolution. Run tests at 720p for 10 credits per second, then render finals at 1080p for 15 credits per second.
6. Generate, then edit the clip or recreate it from a reference if a detail is off.

Long clips need consistent characters. Our guide to consistent AI characters shows how to build reference packs that hold up across shots. If you’re new to AI video, start with AI Video for Beginners.

FAQ

When was Kling 4.0 released?

Flash opened to early access on September 28, 2026. The full model has been available to all users since October 15, 2026, and Kling AI announced the global launch on October 16.

Is Kling 4.0 free?

No. The model uses credits: about 15 per second at 1080p and 10 per second at 720p. It isn’t listed in the Standard plan’s benefits, and Pro and higher plans get 10% off (Quantslant, Oct 15).

How long can Kling 4.0 videos be?

3 to 30 seconds in one generation. Kling also describes extending a video up to 2 minutes, but its user guide still marks that feature “coming soon.”

Does Kling 4.0 support 4K?

Kling lists 4K as a spec, but as of October 16, 4K and 10-bit HDR are marked “coming soon” in the Kling 4.0 creator and press release. Right now you can generate at 720p and 1080p.

Is there a Kling 4.0 API?

Not yet. Kling says API access is coming soon. Until then, the official MCP and CLI tools work with a Kling account.

What is Kling 4.0 Flash?

Flash is a faster, cheaper version of the model for everyday content. It makes clips of 3 to 20 seconds at 720p in 8-bit SDR, and its spec table doesn’t list multi-keyframes.

Is there a Kling 3.5?

No. Kling’s release history goes from Kling 3.0 (early 2026) to 3.0 Turbo (June) to 4.0 (September–October), according to Atlas Cloud.

Should you switch?

If you need longer takes or shots that hit specific beats, yes. The 30-second limit and 10 keyframes are a real step up from Kling 3.0, and 720p tests are cheap enough to try. If your work depends on HDR, 4K, 21:9 or an API pipeline, wait until those “coming soon” features actually ship. We’ll update this table as they do.