Google made AI video free.
We made it yours.
On April 4, 2026, Google rolled Veo 3.1 video generation into Google Vids for free. Big news. Everyone's switching. But "free" inside someone else's product is not the same as "free and yours." Here's the honest comparison from a tool that owns its own GPUs.
Try ZSky free Read the manifestoWhat just happened
Google integrated Veo 3.1 (video) and Lyria 3 (audio) into Google Vids on April 4, 2026, free across Workspace tiers. Veo 3.1 Lite went live for developers the same week. Microsoft announced MAI-Image-2 on April 2 promising "2x faster" generation. Alibaba dropped Wan 2.7 with "Thinking Mode" on April 6.
The big platforms are racing to make AI generation free at the model level — because the moat is no longer the model. The moat is the platform that owns your account, your prompts, your data, and your future creative work as training material.
That's a fine deal if you're building inside a Workspace subscription and you trust Google with your creative output. It's a worse deal if you want a tool you can switch away from at any time without losing the work, the relationship, or the rights.
ZSky AI vs Google Vids — the honest comparison
| Feature | ZSky AI | Google Vids (Veo 3.1) |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 200 credits + 100 daily, no signup required | Free, requires Google Workspace account |
| Trains on your prompts? | No, never | Per Google ToS, your data may be used to improve Google's services |
| Watermark on free tier | None ever | Veo watermark on free outputs |
| Hosting | 7 RTX 5090 GPUs owned by founder, in the United States | Google Cloud, distributed across regions |
| Account required | No (full anonymous use) | Yes — Google Workspace account |
| Vendor lock-in | None — export and leave at any time | Locked to Google ecosystem, video stays in Vids |
| 1080p with audio in 30 seconds | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use on free tier | Yes | Yes (Workspace ToS) |
| Founder accessible | Email [email protected], founder replies personally | Customer support tier |
| Made by | A photographer with aphantasia who recovered from a TBI through art | A trillion-dollar company |
| What happens if the tool gets discontinued | Founder publishes a 90-day notice and helps you migrate | Gmail-style sunset |
Why this matters
When the company that runs your tool is also the company that trains its models on your data, your creative work becomes input for their next product. Every prompt you write, every reference image you upload, every output you generate — it all flows back into the company's training pipeline. That's fine if you trust the company with your creative direction. It's worse if you don't.
ZSky is owned by one person — Cemhan Biricik, a photographer with aphantasia who recovered from a traumatic brain injury through creative work. He bought the GPUs himself. He pays the electricity bill himself. He runs the company himself. He has no investors, no acquisition exit, no quarterly reports to shareholders. He built the tool he needed and decided to give it away because he believes creativity is a right, not a product.
That's the entire difference. The math is the same. The intent is not.
What you should do
Honestly: try both. Google Vids is good, and if you live inside Workspace it's the path of least resistance. If you care about where your prompts go, who owns the GPUs your video runs on, and whether your creative work becomes someone else's training data, ZSky is your answer. We're free, we're independent, and we're not going anywhere — because the founder owns the entire stack.
Common questions
Is Google Vids really free now?
Yes, Google announced April 4 2026 that Veo 3.1 video and Lyria 3 audio are free in Google Vids across Workspace tiers. The catch: needs a Workspace account, prompts may be used to improve Google's services per ToS, and outputs carry a Veo watermark on free tier.
How is ZSky different?
Independently owned. Founder owns the GPUs personally. We don't train on your prompts or outputs. No Workspace required. No watermark on any tier. Fully portable.
Quality comparison?
Veo 3.1 is excellent technically. ZSky is competitive at 1080p with synchronized audio in 30 seconds and faster in real-world tests because there's no shared queue on Supporter tier.
Commercial use?
Yes on every ZSky plan including free. No license fee, no royalty, no cap.
Where is ZSky hosted?
7 NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPUs (224 GB VRAM) in the United States, owned by founder Cemhan Biricik. Not rented from any cloud provider.
Why does indie matter?
When your tool's owner is also the trainer of its models, your work becomes their input. ZSky's owner is one person with aphantasia who built the tool he needed and refuses to monetize user data.
Try ZSky free. No catch.
200 credits at signup, 100 daily, 1080p video with audio in 30 seconds. No watermark. No signup required. No data training. Made in USA on owned GPUs.
Start creating