i23d API vs CSM — Image to 3D API

The i23d API vs CSM comparison: PixelAPI's image-to-3D API turns a single product photo into a production-ready 3D mesh. One POST call, async polling, GLB or OBJ output. $0.010 per model — half the price of Meshy API, and significantly cheaper than CSM's subscription tiers. 5,000 free trial credits (7 days), no credit card.

Quick start — image to 3D in one API call

Sign up, copy your key from the dashboard, and POST your product photo. The endpoint returns a job_id immediately. Poll GET /v1/3d/status/{job_id} until status=completed, then download the GLB or OBJ from output_url. Typical generation: 60–120 seconds.

# Step 1 — submit image
curl -X POST https://api.pixelapi.dev/v1/3d/generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "[email protected]" \
  -F "format=glb" \
  -F "texture_size=1024"
# Response: {"id":"uuid","status":"queued","credits_used":10,"estimated_seconds":90,"poll_url":"/v1/3d/status/uuid"}

# Step 2 — poll until completed
curl https://api.pixelapi.dev/v1/3d/status/UUID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
# Response: {"id":"uuid","status":"completed","output_url":"https://..."}

pip install pixelapi
---
from pixelapi import PixelAPI

client = PixelAPI(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
job = client.image_to_3d(
    image="product.jpg",
    format="glb",
    texture_size=1024
)
job.wait()            # polls automatically
job.save("product.glb")  # downloads GLB when completed

npm install pixelapi
---
import { PixelAPI } from "pixelapi";

const client = new PixelAPI({ apiKey: process.env.PIXELAPI_KEY });
const job = await client.imageTo3d({
  image: "./product.jpg",
  format: "glb",
  textureSize: 1024,
});
await job.wait();            // polls until completed
await job.save("product.glb"); // saves GLB locally

composer require pixelapi/pixelapi
---
<?php
use PixelAPI\Client;

$client = new Client(getenv("PIXELAPI_KEY"));
$job = $client->imageTo3d([
    "image"        => "product.jpg",
    "format"       => "glb",
    "texture_size" => 1024,
]);
$job->wait();
file_put_contents("product.glb", $job->getBody());

gem install pixelapi
---
require "pixelapi"

client = PixelAPI::Client.new(api_key: ENV["PIXELAPI_KEY"])
job = client.image_to_3d(
  image: "product.jpg",
  format: "glb",
  texture_size: 1024
)
job.wait
File.binwrite("product.glb", job.body)

go get github.com/pixelapi/pixelapi-go
---
import "github.com/pixelapi/pixelapi-go"

client := pixelapi.New("YOUR_API_KEY")
job, err := client.ImageTo3D(pixelapi.ImageTo3DParams{
    Image:       "product.jpg",
    Format:      "glb",
    TextureSize: 1024,
})
if err != nil { panic(err) }
job.Wait()
job.Save("product.glb")

i23d API vs CSM — Pricing comparison

The i23d API vs CSM pricing gap is significant. PixelAPI charges $0.010 per 3D model on a pure pay-as-you-go basis with no monthly minimum. CSM requires a subscription for API access — see their pricing page for current rates. Meshy API is the cheapest open-access competitor at $0.02/model; PixelAPI is exactly half that.

Meshy API pay-as-you-go pricing verified from docs.meshy.ai/en/api/pricing, October 2026. PixelAPI price from canonical pricing audit — exactly half the cheapest public rival rate. CSM, Tripo, and Rodin use subscription or tiered credit models; see each provider's pricing page for current per-call rates.

What you get back

Every successful image-to-3D call returns an output_url pointing to a 3D mesh file, plus a job_id for audit and re-fetch.

Common workflows for the image-to-3D API

The i23d API fits naturally into product photography pipelines, ecommerce AR, and game asset workflows. Each integration is a few lines of code on top of the same REST endpoint.

More workflows: all industries →

Integrations & SDKs

Comparison vs alternatives

Rate limits & error handling

The image-to-3D API is rate-limited per plan. 3D generation is compute-intensive — limits keep latency predictable for all users. When a limit is hit, the API returns HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header.

Recommended retry strategy: exponential backoff starting at 5s, doubling on each 429 up to 60s. Python and Node.js SDKs handle this automatically.

# Python SDK — auto-retries 429 with backoff
from pixelapi import PixelAPI
client = PixelAPI(api_key="...", max_retries=4)
job = client.image_to_3d(image="product.jpg", format="glb")  # auto-retries on 429
job.wait()
job.save("product.glb")

If a generation fails server-side, the job returns status=failed with an error_message. Credits are automatically refunded — poll the status endpoint to confirm. HTTP 400 is returned for unsupported image formats or out-of-range texture_size values.

Frequently asked questions