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Pika vs Vidu

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Entry price
The same for both — $10/mo
Free plan
Both have one
Public API
Both have one
Best fit
Pika: Social-video creators who want effects, swaps and short multi-shot clips without learning a timeline editor · Vidu: Creators making multi-shot clips with a consistent character
Platforms
Pika: Web, iOS · Vidu: Web

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

PikaVideo, image and audio generation studio fronting a dozen third-party models and its own, priced in credits with no watermark on any tier.ViduAI video generator that makes clips from text, images or several reference images while keeping characters consistent.

Side by side

FactPikaVidu
CategoryText-to-Video GeneratorsText-to-Video Generators
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$10/mo$10/mo
Public APIYesYes
Trust score89 / 10086 / 100
PlatformsWeb, iOS, APIWeb, API
CompanyMellis, Inc.ShengShu AI HK Limited
Last verifiedOct 15, 2026Oct 29, 2026

What our research says

Pika

Pika is now less a video model than a storefront for them: Seedance, MiniMax, Wan and Google models for video, GPT Image and Nano Banana for stills, ElevenLabs for speech, all behind one credit balance and one editor, with Pika's own effects and swaps as the house specialty. That is convenient for social creators who want to try whichever model is best this month without five subscriptions, and the no-watermark free tier is a fair way to test. The catch is the credit maths, which differs per model and resolution, and the fact that top-up packs cannot be spent on the API or the iOS app.

Pros

  • No watermark on any plan, including Free
  • A dozen current third-party video, image and speech models alongside Pika's own
  • Credit packs available on every plan, so Free users can pay as they go
  • Commercial licence from the $35 Creator tier and an API club for developers

Cons

  • Credit cost per generation varies by model and resolution, so plan credits are hard to translate into clips
  • Top-up credits are limited to the web app and expire after 365 days; plan credits do not roll over
  • All payments are non-refundable under the terms
  • Pricing page shows conflicting yearly figures for Creator and Fancy between the cards and the comparison table

Vidu

Vidu is worth a look for creators and marketers who need the same character or product to stay recognisable across several AI shots. Users who need commercial rights without paying, or who are uncomfortable with uploads being used for model training, should read the terms first.

Pros

  • Reference-to-video keeps subjects consistent across shots
  • Text, image and reference inputs in one tool
  • Published USD plans from $10/month
  • API platform for programmatic use

Cons

  • Commercial use only on paid plans
  • Credit cost varies by model and clip settings
  • Template library leans toward novelty effects

Which one fits

Choose Pika if you need

  • Social-video creators who want effects, swaps and short multi-shot clips without learning a timeline editor
  • Anyone who wants to compare several video and image models under one balance
  • Teams that need a commercial licence on generated clips from a mid-priced tier

Choose Vidu if you need

  • Creators making multi-shot clips with a consistent character
  • Marketers producing product videos from reference photos
  • Developers who want the same models via API

Pika vs Vidu: the questions people ask

Is Pika cheaper than Vidu?

Both publish the same entry price, $10/mo. The difference is what each plan includes, which the fact table above sets side by side.

Does Pika or Vidu have a free tier?

Both: Pika has a free tier, and Vidu has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Pika or Vidu?

Both ship a public API, so either can be built on; the fact table above shows the platforms each one runs on.

More comparisons

All Vidu alternatives →Browse all Text-to-Video Generators →