i2v API vs Pika: Image-to-Video API for Developers

A production REST API that animates any JPEG or PNG into a cinematic 5-second MP4 — one multipart POST, no subscription lock-in. $0.09 per 5-second video (2.8× cheaper than Runway's cheapest API option, ~3× cheaper than Pika's effective per-video cost). Powered by Seedance 1.5 Pro. Submit a photo and a text prompt; get an MP4 back. Starter, Pro, and Scale plans included.

Quick start — animate a photo in one API call

Sign up, copy your key from the dashboard, and POST your image as multipart form data. The endpoint returns a generation_id; poll GET /v1/seedance/{id} every 5–10 seconds until status=completed, then download the MP4 from output_url. Typical generation time: 90–120 seconds.

# Step 1 — Submit image + prompt
curl -X POST https://api.pixelapi.dev/v1/seedance/generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "prompt=A woman walking through a neon-lit street at night" \
  -F "resolution=1080p" \
  -F "camera_fixed=false" \
  -F "[email protected]"
# Response: {"generation_id":"uuid","status":"processing","model":"seedance-1.5","credits_used":90,"estimated_seconds":120}

# Step 2 — Poll until completed (~90-120s)
curl https://api.pixelapi.dev/v1/seedance/UUID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
# Response: {"status":"completed","output_url":"https://cdn.pixelapi.dev/videos/seedance_uuid.mp4"}

pip install pixelapi
---
from pixelapi import PixelAPI

client = PixelAPI(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
result = client.image_to_video(
    image="portrait.jpg",
    prompt="A woman walking through a neon-lit street at night",
    resolution="1080p",
    camera_fixed=False,
)
result.save("animated.mp4")  # 5-second MP4 downloaded automatically

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

const client = new PixelAPI({ apiKey: process.env.PIXELAPI_KEY });
const result = await client.imageToVideo({
  image: "./portrait.jpg",
  prompt: "A woman walking through a neon-lit street at night",
  resolution: "1080p",
  cameraFixed: false,
});
await result.save("animated.mp4");  // 5-second MP4

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

$client = new Client(getenv("PIXELAPI_KEY"));
$result = $client->imageToVideo([
    "image"        => "portrait.jpg",
    "prompt"       => "A woman walking through a neon-lit street at night",
    "resolution"   => "1080p",
    "camera_fixed" => false,
]);
file_put_contents("animated.mp4", $result->getBody());

gem install pixelapi
---
require "pixelapi"

client = PixelAPI::Client.new(api_key: ENV["PIXELAPI_KEY"])
result = client.image_to_video(
  image: "portrait.jpg",
  prompt: "A woman walking through a neon-lit street at night",
  resolution: "1080p",
  camera_fixed: false
)
File.binwrite("animated.mp4", result.body)

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

client := pixelapi.New("YOUR_API_KEY")
result, err := client.ImageToVideo(pixelapi.I2VRequest{
    Image:       "portrait.jpg",
    Prompt:      "A woman walking through a neon-lit street at night",
    Resolution:  "1080p",
    CameraFixed: false,
})
if err != nil { panic(err) }
result.Save("animated.mp4")

i2v API vs Pika vs Runway — Pricing Comparison

Every provider below uses a different billing model. PixelAPI charges a flat per-video fee with no subscription required beyond a paid plan. Runway charges per second of generated video via its API. Pika bundles credits into subscriptions with no standalone API tier.

Pricing verified from each rival's public pricing page May 2026. Runway API: docs.dev.runwayml.com/guides/pricing — gen4-turbo $0.05/sec, Gen-4 $0.12/sec. Pika Standard plan: $8/month ÷ 700 credits × 24 credits per 720p 5-second video ≈ $0.26/video. Kaiber: subscription tiers only, no developer API endpoint. PixelAPI's flat $0.09 is less than half Runway's cheapest API option.

What you get back

API parameters at a glance

Common workflows

The image-to-video API is the foundation for automated video content pipelines. Sample applications:

Integrations & SDKs

Comparison vs alternatives

Rate limits & error handling

Image-to-video jobs are compute-intensive and are subject to rate limits and plan-level admission control. Key behaviours:

• 429 Too Many Requests — returned when you exceed 60 req/min (free/trial) or 600 req/min (paid). Includes a Retry-After header.
• 402 Payment Required — insufficient credits. Top up in the dashboard or upgrade your plan.
• 403 Forbidden — video generation requires a paid plan (Starter, Pro, or Scale).
• 503 Service Unavailable — overload protection. Credits are not deducted; retry with exponential backoff.
• Auto-refund — if a job reaches status=failed, credits are automatically returned. No support ticket needed.

Recommended backoff: start at 5s, double on each retry, cap at 60s. The Python and Node SDKs handle this automatically.

# Python SDK auto-retries 429 with backoff
from pixelapi import PixelAPI
client = PixelAPI(api_key="...", max_retries=4)
result = client.image_to_video(image="photo.jpg", prompt="cinematic pan")
# Polls and retries on 429 automatically

Frequently asked questions