Best AI apps to make a dancing video from a photo on iPhone in 2026
To make a person in a photo dance on iPhone, there are two ways: copy the moves of a video you choose, or pick a ready-made dance or trend. Dora (ours) and PixVerse Lite copy the moves of a reference video onto your photo (both call it Motion Control); Viggle AI does the same with one photo plus one video and also has more than 8,000 templates; Dance AI and Pose work from a library of dance styles and trends.
All five are free to download and all five charge to make videos, by subscription, credits or both. If you only want one trending template, the template apps are quicker; if you want a specific dance you already have on video, use one of the three that take a reference video.
At a glance
| App | Price (US) | How the dance is chosen | Languages | Version (date) | Rating (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DORA · AI Video Generator Our app | Subscription: $4.99 or $9.99 a week, $119.99 a year; coin packs from $2.99 to $199.99 | Motion Control copies the moves of a dance video onto the person in your photo | 11 | 1.4.1 (9 Oct 2026) | 4.3 (15 ratings) |
| Viggle AI: Meme Maker | Pro $4.99 a week, $9.99 a month or $95.90 a year; Live plans from $24.99 a month; extra credits $3 to $15 | Mix: one photo plus one video, or one of 8,000+ templates (dances, memes, sports moments) | 1 (English) | 2.0.7 (13 Oct 2026) | 4.8 (28,091 ratings) |
| Dance AI - Video Generator | Weekly premium $9.99 to $14.99, yearly $39.99 or $79.99; coin packs $9.99 to $34.99 | A library of dance styles: upload a photo of a person, a child or a pet and pick a style | 5 | 1.1.0 (11 Sep 2026) | 4.6 (17,573 ratings) |
| Pose: AI Photo Video Generator | Several subscription tiers listed from $9.99 to $69.99 | Trend effects: AI baby dancing video, sway dance, stadium cam, birthday photo shoot; no prompt needed | 4 | 1.4.7 (12 Oct 2026) | 4.7 (145,673 ratings) |
| PixVerse Lite | Elite $5.99 a week or $49.99 a year; credit packs $5 to $100 | Motion Control: a character image plus a reference motion video; also dance templates | 14 | 0.8.1 (21 Sep 2026) | 4.3 (1,659 ratings) |
Prices are the in-app purchases listed on each US App Store page on 15 October 2026; all five are free to download. Ratings are the App Store average and number of ratings that day.
1. DORA · AI Video Generator Our app
Best for: people who have a specific dance on video and want it on their own photo, in vertical format for TikTok and Reels.
- Motion Control takes your photo plus a reference dance video and makes the person in the photo do those moves.
- Each generation shows its cost in coins before you tap, and failed generations refund the coins.
- A video takes about two minutes. Vertical 9:16, horizontal or square, up to 1080p, no watermark.
- The same account and coins work on doravideo.com and inside Claude and ChatGPT through the Dora connector.
- iOS 18.6 or later, 61 MB.
Limits: it needs a paid plan or coins (there is no free video), Motion Control needs a person in the photo (the app checks this on the phone), a pet or a drawing is not a person for it, and it has only 15 ratings in the US so far. It does not have a large catalogue of dance templates to scroll through the way Viggle AI does.
2. Viggle AI: Meme Maker
Best for: trend dances and meme videos, with the biggest template library of the five.
- Its listing describes motion-controlled video generation: drop your photo into any video clip, or pick a template.
- Also lip-sync (Mic and Rap), a multi-character Editor, and a live webcam character swap in the Live plans.
- iOS 16 or later, 140 MB.
Limits: the interface is English only, and the listing does not say how many credits one video costs.
3. Dance AI - Video Generator
Best for: one-tap dances from a photo of a person, a child or a pet, without finding a reference video.
- Pick a dance style from the library and generate; no choreography or editing.
- The listing says your photos are used only to generate the video and are not permanently stored afterwards.
- Also makes videos from a text prompt and applies filters and effects.
- iOS 15.1 or later, 105 MB.
Limits: several recent reviews on its Spanish App Store page complain about paying for coins on top of the subscription, and you cannot bring your own dance video according to the listing.
4. Pose: AI Photo Video Generator
Best for: viral photo effects, such as a baby dancing video, from one uploaded photo.
- Upload one photo and the effect is generated automatically, with no prompt.
- Besides dance effects it has photo styles, headshots and other trending filters.
- iOS 16 or later, 96 MB.
Limits: it is built around trending effects rather than choosing a dance, and its listing does not say you can use your own reference video.
5. PixVerse Lite
Best for: people who want a general AI video app that also has Motion Control and dance templates.
- Its listing describes Motion Control as uploading a character image and a reference motion video to guide the movement.
- Also text to video, image to video, lip-sync, transitions and video upscaling up to 4K.
- iOS 15 or later, 121 MB.
Limits: it is a broad video toolbox, so finding the dance feature takes more taps, and some recent reviews on its Spanish App Store page complain about charges and cancelling.
Who should use what
- You have a specific dance on video and want it on your photo: Dora (ours), Viggle AI or PixVerse Lite.
- You want a trending dance in one tap: Viggle AI (8,000+ templates), Dance AI or Pose.
- You want your kid or pet to dance: Dance AI or Pose, whose listings mention children, pets or babies. Dora's Motion Control needs a person in the photo.
- You also want a general AI video app: Dora or PixVerse Lite.
- You also use Claude or ChatGPT: Dora, whose account and coins work in those assistants.
Use cases
- A friend or yourself doing a viral dance challenge from one photo.
- A vertical dance clip for TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts.
- A birthday or party video of someone dancing.
- Trying a choreography on a photo before filming it.
How we checked
On 15 October 2026 we opened each app's US App Store page and Apple's lookup data: in-app purchase prices, version and release date, rating and number of ratings, languages, size and minimum iOS. What each app does is taken from its own App Store description; the way Dora's Motion Control works is also checked in our code. We did not run a quality test of the dances, so this page does not say which app makes the best-looking dance. We did not invent ratings or reviews.
Subscriptions and credits change often. Check the price shown inside each app before paying.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app to make a dancing video from a photo on iPhone?
It depends on how you want to choose the dance. To copy a dance video you already have onto your photo, Dora (ours), Viggle AI and PixVerse Lite take a reference video. For one-tap trends, Viggle AI has more than 8,000 templates, and Dance AI and Pose work from a library of dance styles and effects.
Can I make a dancing video from a photo for free?
All five apps are free to download, but each charges to make videos, by subscription, credits or both. None of them offers unlimited free videos according to their App Store listings.
How does an AI dance video work?
You give the app a photo of a person and either pick a dance style or provide a reference video. The AI then generates a video where the person in the photo moves like the dance. With Motion Control, the moves are copied from the reference video.
Can I make my pet or my baby dance?
Dance AI's listing mentions pets and children and Pose's mentions babies. Dora's Motion Control needs a person in the photo.
Which of these apps has no watermark?
Dora's listing says there is no watermark on its videos. We did not verify watermarks in the other four, so check before you pay.
Sources
- DORA (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6754180384 (15 October 2026)
- Viggle AI (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6503272013 (15 October 2026)
- Dance AI (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6758041184 (15 October 2026)
- Pose (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6737417022 (15 October 2026)
- PixVerse Lite (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6767802142 (15 October 2026)