Quick answers
- What it is: a viral video format that swaps new people into the 0:52–1:20 scene of the official Raindance music video — a wooden pier at golden hour, one person sitting, one singing to camera — set to the real song.
- The song is not AI. Raindance is by British rapper Dave featuring Nigerian singer Tems, released 23 October 2025; it hit No. 1 on the UK Official Singles Chart (announced 23 January 2026), Dave's fourth UK No. 1 and Tems' first (Wikipedia; Official Charts, read 2026-10-15).
- How fast it moved: the earliest AI edit we can date went up 25 September 2026 (two cats on the pier); Google Trends for "raindance ai" peaked at 100 on 3 October 2026 (seadanse.com capture, read 2026-10-15).
- Cost per video ranges roughly 29×: from about $1.32 (Tanvo, 8s at 480p) to $37.80 (raindance-ai.pro's larger packs) — all read 2026-10-15.
- Credits are not comparable across sites. 3,740 credits on trendai.video (≈$18.70) costs about the same as 530 credits on Popliqo (≈$18.08 at the Studio plan rate) — always convert to dollars first.
- Almost nothing is free. Among dedicated tools only CreateVision (200 free credits on Google sign-up) and Tanvo (5–20 credits plus weekly check-ins) give free credits; the commonly cited free route is a community CapCut template (read 2026-10-15).
- Popliqo's Raindance template runs about 28 seconds in 9:16 with no watermark for 530 credits, with failed generations refunded automatically (read 2026-10-15).
What is the Raindance AI trend?
The Raindance AI trend recreates one 28-second scene from the official Raindance music video with new people in it. In the original, one person sits at the end of a wooden pier over calm water; a second person walks the boardwalk, sings straight to camera beside the sea, and the two end up side by side on the sand. The swapped clips keep the original camera moves, cuts, lighting and lip movement, which is why commenters keep asking "es real o ia?" — is it real or AI? (TikTok comment on the 26 September viral edit, quoted by seadanse.com, read 2026-10-15).
The song behind it is a real, human record. Raindance is track 5 of Dave's album The Boy Who Played the Harp, runs 3:39, and was released 23 October 2025 on Neighbourhood Recordings (Wikipedia, page last edited 13 October 2026). It reached No. 1 on the UK Official Singles Chart in the week announced 23 January 2026 with 50,474 units — Dave's fourth UK No. 1 and Tems' maiden one — and is certified 2× Platinum in the UK by the BPI (Official Charts; Wikipedia, read 2026-10-15). The official video arrived 9 January 2026, directed by Nathan James Tettey and filmed in Lagos, Nigeria; seadanse.com reports it had 278 million views by 8 October 2026 (we could not re-open the YouTube page ourselves on 15 October to verify that count, so treat it as secondhand).
There is no dancing in the trend — Raindance is simply the song title, a point several generators make explicitly. And despite the name, the format has no connection to the Raindance Film Festival; searching "Raindance" often lands there first, which is why every tool page carries a "not affiliated with Dave, Tems or their labels" disclaimer.
The AI wave itself is three weeks old. According to seadanse.com's round-up (captured 8 October 2026, read by us 2026-10-15):
- 25 September 2026 — the earliest AI version found: a Portuguese-language channel put two cats in the scene (105,500 views by 8 October); worldwide Google searches for "raindance ai" first register at 3 on Google Trends' 0–100 scale the same day.
- 26 September 2026 — the human edit that took off: caption "I'm in love with this Dave song", 4.9 million views and 967,200 likes by 8 October. One top comment: "de tantas ya ni se cuál es la original" — there are so many now, I can't even tell which one is the original (23,657 likes).
- 30 September – 6 October 2026 — the tutorial wave: of 290 collected posts, 249 were how-to tutorials, with 29–46 new posts a day from 30 September.
- 3 October 2026 — Google Trends for "raindance ai" peaks at 100.
One honest caveat about community evidence: at three weeks old, the AI trend itself has next to no Reddit footprint — searches on 15 October 2026 surface the song's fan subreddit, the unrelated Raindance Film Festival and same-named brands, not the video format. The song-level discussion is there, though, and it explains the mood people are remixing. "Raindance is the best romantic movie I've listened to." — a post title on r/SantanDave, April 2026, months before the AI wave. And the song-identification requests that now fill TikTok comment sections have a Reddit twin too: "Dave - Raindance ft Tems" — a reply in r/helpmefindthissong, October 2026. Even before AI got involved, the track was a TikTok live staple: "belles on tiktok live trynna ragebait by playing 'raindance'" — r/LoveIslandTV, March 2026.
Two source discrepancies are worth knowing before you quote dates elsewhere: the song's release is 23 October 2025 on Wikipedia but 24 October on two generator sites, and the music video is dated 9 January 2026 on Wikipedia but 8 January on raindanceai.info (all read 2026-10-15). We use the Wikipedia and Official Charts figures here.
Raindance AI video generators compared (prices read 15 Oct 2026)
Nine tools had a dedicated Raindance page or app on the day we checked. The table lists what one video costs in dollars — credits are converted at each site's own published rate, with the basis noted.
| Tool | Output | Price per video (USD) | Free credits | Watermark | Not stated on page | Source (read 2026-10-15) |
|---|
| Popliqo | ~28s, 9:16, ~10 min, auto-refund on failure | 530 credits ≈ $18.08 (Studio plan rate $89/2,610 cr); ≈$23.56 at Creator $12/270 | None (entry is the $4.99 7-day trial, 110 credits — not enough for one run) | None | Whether audio is included | popliqo.com/template/raindance; popliqo.com/pricing |
| Tanvo | 8s, 480p, 9:16 (MiniMax H3, ≈120 cr) | ≈$1.32 (Starter $9.90/mo, 900 cr) | 5 without account, 20 on sign-in, up to 100/week check-ins | Not stated | Watermark; render time | tanvo.ai |
| raindanceai.info | 10s with audio track (original song not guaranteed) | ≈$2.38 at 480p (240 cr) / $4.95 at 720p (500 cr) / $9.90 at 1080p (1,000 cr); packs $9.90–$49.90 | None | Not stated | Watermark; commercial terms; render time; model | raindanceai.info |
| raindance-ai.org | 12s, 720p, 9:16 default (5–15s; Pro/Ultra to 1080p, Ultra to 30s) | $2.99 on the $29.90/mo plan (100 cr ≈ 10 videos); first one-time video $3.99; biggest one-time pack ≈$1.00 | None | None on paid clips | 1080p single-video list price | raindance-ai.org |
| raindanceai.site | 15s, up to 1080p, trend soundtrack added post-render (Seedance 2.5) | $7.90 single → $4.99 in the 8-video pack ($39.90); 20 cr per video | None | None | Free tier; commercial terms | raindanceai.site |
| seadanse | 28s, 4:3, 480p or 720p, original song included | $9.90 at 720p (500 cr); ≈$7.43 at 480p (375 cr); $9.90 pack = 500 cr, no account needed | None | Not stated | Watermark; commercial terms | seadanse.com |
| CreateVision | 15s/30s; face-only swap or full-scene rebuild; original audio included |
Not stated = the page doesn't say, and we didn't borrow a number from elsewhere. Credit conversions use each site's own published pack or plan rates.
Media.io (Wondershare) also covers the trend, but as a prompt-and-workflow guide — two character images plus a reference clip — not a one-click generator, and its trend page lists no per-video price (read 2026-10-15).
The cheap cluster: $1–$10 one-click tools
Five tools will make the clip for under $10, and they split by what you give up. Tanvo is the cheapest entry at roughly $1.32 for an 8-second 480p vertical clip (120 credits at the Starter plan rate), and it's the only one of the five that gives free credits on sign-in — but 8 seconds covers just the hook, and its plans all bundle a commercial-use license. raindance-ai.org is the most configurable of the five: 5–15 seconds, 480p to 1080p, four Seedance models, from $2.99 per video on its $29.90/month plan or $3.99 for a single one-time video, rendering in about three minutes. raindanceai.site charges $7.90 for one 15-second video and $4.99 each in the 8-video pack, with the trend soundtrack added after rendering. seadanse is the only cheap tool that outputs the full 28 seconds with the original song for $9.90 at 720p, no account required — the trade-off is a 4:3 frame and a 12-month credit expiry. raindanceai.info is the cheapest per pack ($9.90 for 1,000 credits, ≈$2.38 per 480p video) but states no render time, no watermark policy and no model name.
The premium cluster: $11–$40 per video
CreateVision is the interesting middle: 150 credits (≈$0.95) buys a face-only swap into the original frames, while the full-scene "Best" rebuild costs 1,780 credits (≈$11.27 at the Basic plan rate) because it first builds two character sheets (160 credits) that are reused free on retries. It also hands new Google accounts 200 free credits — enough for one face-only 15-second clip. trendai.video charges 3,740 credits per video, ≈$18.70 at its largest pack rate, for a ~28-second 4:3 rebuild that keeps the original shot order, lip-sync and song. raindance-ai.pro is the outlier: 200 credits per video sounds small until you see the packs — $19.90 for one video, and $37.77–$39.50 per video in the larger packs, payable only in cryptocurrency with card checkout unavailable 🔴 (read 2026-10-15).
Where Popliqo's Raindance template sits
Popliqo's Raindance template sits at the premium end of the per-video range: 530 credits, ≈$18.08 at the Studio plan rate ($89/month for 2,610 credits, read 2026-10-15) — more than any of the five one-click tools, about the same as trendai.video's ≈$18.70, and below raindance-ai.pro's packs. The honest case for it is threefold: the output is about 28 seconds in 9:16 vertical, matching the original scene's length exactly while most tools ship 8–15 seconds; the credits are shared across every other template on the site (42 templates listed on popliqo.com/templates, read 2026-10-15), so the same balance also covers the and the rest of the library; and failed generations are refunded automatically, which the template page states explicitly. It is not the cheapest way to make one clip — Tanvo at 8 seconds and raindance-ai.org at 12 seconds both undercut it — but if you want one balance for every trend template and a native-length 28-second vertical cut, it's the simplest.
Sound strategy: silent clips vs baked-in audio
Most tools hand you a silent MP4 and expect you to add the official Raindance sound inside TikTok, Reels or CapCut — Tanvo, raindance-ai.org and raindance-ai.pro state this explicitly, and Popliqo's template page simply doesn't say whether audio is included (read 2026-10-15). That keeps your post attached to the trend's real sound page and avoids publishing copyrighted audio yourself. A minority bake the song in: seadanse and CreateVision include the original recording, and raindanceai.site adds the soundtrack after rendering. Those sites all disclaim any affiliation with the artists, and the licensing of a baked-in commercial track is a grey area worth knowing about before you post. raindanceai.info includes an audio track but explicitly does not guarantee it's the original song.
Aspect ratio: the trend is 4:3, most tools ship vertical
The original 28-second scene runs 0:52–1:20 of the music video in a 4:3 frame — the earliest viral posts measure 960×720 pixels (seadanse.com, read 2026-10-15). Most generators, though, default to 9:16 vertical for TikTok: Popliqo (9:16, ~28s), Tanvo (9:16, 8s), raindance-ai.org (9:16, 12s default), raindanceai.site (9:16 optional alongside 4:3). If you want the original look, choose a 4:3-capable tool: seadanse (4:3, 28s), trendai.video (4:3, ~28s), or raindanceai.site's 4:3 option at 15 seconds.
How to make a Raindance AI video
- Pick your budget band. Under $10: Tanvo (8s), raindance-ai.org (12s+), raindanceai.site (15s). Full 28 seconds with the song: seadanse ($9.90, 4:3). Vertical 28 seconds on a platform whose credits cover every trend template: Popliqo (530 credits, ≈$18.08 at the Studio plan rate).
- Prepare two photos. Every tool asks for one clear, front-facing photo per person — waist-up or full body, face unobstructed, one person per frame (createvision.ai and trendai.video photo guidance, read 2026-10-15). The two photos never need to be from the same shoot, or even the same year (raindance-ai.org).
- Check the price before you generate. Credits per video, length, resolution and format are all shown pre-purchase on the tools we read; failed renders are refunded on raindanceai.site, raindanceai.info, raindance-ai.org, raindance-ai.pro, trendai.video and Popliqo (each page, read 2026-10-15).
- Generate and wait. Renders run from about 3 minutes (raindance-ai.org) to about 10 minutes (Popliqo) to "several minutes" (trendai.video, createvision.ai); raindanceai.info states no time at all.
- Add the sound and post. In TikTok or CapCut, lay the official Raindance track under your clip, trim so the vocal starts where the mouth moves, and label the post as AI-generated — a step the tools themselves ask for and TikTok's own AI-content guidance expects.
Where people get stuck: the photo, not the tool. The community comments that keep appearing under these videos are about identity and sound, not editing — "es real o ia?" and "i thought it was the real music video of the song" (26 September viral edit, via seadanse.com) show viewers can't tell the swap from the original, which is exactly why a blurry or filtered selfie breaks the illusion. And on the earliest cat video, the top request was "I need the name of the song, please" — put the song and artist in your caption.
