Can you actually use AI tool output commercially?

What each vendor's own terms say, tool by tool

This is the question creators get wrong most often, and it is rarely answered by the marketing page. Free tiers frequently carry no commercial rights at all, some vendors claim ownership of what you make, and several take a licence to train on your inputs. Below is what each vendor's own terms state, with the caveat each one attaches.

Not legal advice, and not a ranking. Read the vendor's live terms before you monetise anything — this page records what those terms said on the date each entry was checked.

The jobs, and what covers them

Runway — from Standard up

Runway — You keep ownership, with no non-commercial restriction and no credit to Runway required. Free-tier output is a one-time 125 credits with a watermark.

What it is bad at: Runway takes a perpetual, irrevocable licence to train its AI on your inputs and outputs, and the Usage Policy bans content in the style of a known, living artist.

Canva — check each asset

Canva — The AI Product Terms (26 June 2026) say you own your AI output and may use it for any lawful purpose.

What it is bad at: The exception is output built on Canva library content — you do not own AI edits of library photos. The Content License also limits Pro content to a single design, bars redistribution on its own, and bars use in a trademark, business name or print-on-demand product.

Suno — the sharpest restriction on this site

Suno — Paid plans assign you the rights to your output, and commercial rights for permitted Downloads are perpetual and survive cancellation or a downgrade.

What it is bad at: Free-plan songs carry no commercial rights and Suno owns them — and upgrading later does not retroactively license songs made on free. Only permitted Downloads carry commercial rights (20 a month on Pro, 60 on Premier), Remixes are non-commercial on every tier, and Suno warns copyright may not vest in 100% AI music.

CapCut — read the per-asset mark

CapCut — Paid plans are the intended route for commercial work.

What it is bad at: Many templates and library sounds are personal-use only — check each asset for the commercial-use mark before you publish. Free is capped at 1 minute per video and the monthly video count is disputed between CapCut's own pages.

HeyGen — free for evaluation, not for publishing

HeyGen — Paid plans are the intended route for commercial work.

What it is bad at: The Terms limit free-tier output to personal, non-commercial evaluation, and HeyGen's own FAQ disagrees with its Terms on that point. Cost is per minute of output, so budget before generating.

ElevenLabs — read the licence before monetising

ElevenLabs — A free tier exists and paid plans start at $5/mo, with the reference-quality voice models on paid tiers.

What it is bad at: Licensing terms by plan should be read before monetising, and cloned voices still mispronounce names and technical terms, which matters more on a commercial deliverable than a test clip.

Descript — check the plan you are on

Descript — Aimed at creators who publish, with transcription, filler-word removal and studio audio in the edit.

What it is bad at: Export and transcription hours are metered on lower tiers, so a long commercial project can run into limits rather than rights problems.

What this page is not

This is not a ranked list, and there is no "best" pick. Every entry linked above carries its own sourced facts, its own list of unverified items, and its own last-checked date.

None of these tools has been tested hands-on by us, so none carries a star rating. Rights and licensing statements above come from each vendor's own terms and help pages as recorded on the individual entries, and vendors change terms — check the live page before you rely on it.

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