Song Generation API vs Soundraw

Comparing a song generation API vs Soundraw comes down to one core difference: PixelAPI is a public, pay-per-call REST endpoint — POST lyrics and a style prompt, get back an MP3. Soundraw requires a paid developer plan ($29.99/mo minimum, $0.30/song) with no free trial tier. PixelAPI costs $0.028 per song and starts with 300 free credits, no credit card.

Quick start — generate a song in one API call

Sign up and copy your key from the dashboard. POST a style description and lyrics to /v1/song/generate. Short songs return inline; longer jobs return status=processing — poll until completed, then download the MP3.

# Generate a song
curl -X POST https://api.pixelapi.dev/v1/song/generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "prompt": "upbeat pop with female vocals, summer vibes",
    "lyrics": "[Verse]\nHere comes the sun and a brand new day\n[Chorus]\nWe are alive, alive\n",
    "duration": 30,
    "language": "en"
  }'
# Short response (inline): {"generation_id":"uuid","status":"completed","output_url":"https://..."}
# Long response (async):   {"generation_id":"uuid","status":"processing","poll_url":"https://..."}

# Poll until completed
curl https://api.pixelapi.dev/v1/song/UUID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

# Download the MP3
curl -L https://api.pixelapi.dev/v1/song/download/UUID -o song.mp3

pip install pixelapi
---
from pixelapi import PixelAPI

client = PixelAPI(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
result = client.generate_song(
    prompt="upbeat pop with female vocals, summer vibes",
    lyrics="[Verse]\nHere comes the sun and a brand new day\n[Chorus]\nWe are alive, alive\n",
    duration=30,
    language="en",
)
result.save("song.mp3")  # downloads when status=completed

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

const client = new PixelAPI({ apiKey: process.env.PIXELAPI_KEY });
const result = await client.generateSong({
  prompt: "upbeat pop with female vocals, summer vibes",
  lyrics: "[Verse]\nHere comes the sun and a brand new day\n[Chorus]\nWe are alive, alive\n",
  duration: 30,
  language: "en",
});
await result.save("song.mp3"); // polls and downloads automatically

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

$client = new Client(getenv("PIXELAPI_KEY"));
$result = $client->generateSong([
    "prompt"   => "upbeat pop with female vocals, summer vibes",
    "lyrics"   => "[Verse]\nHere comes the sun\n[Chorus]\nWe are alive\n",
    "duration" => 30,
    "language" => "en",
]);
file_put_contents("song.mp3", $result->download());

gem install pixelapi
---
require "pixelapi"

client = PixelAPI::Client.new(api_key: ENV["PIXELAPI_KEY"])
result = client.generate_song(
  prompt: "upbeat pop with female vocals, summer vibes",
  lyrics: "[Verse]\nHere comes the sun\n[Chorus]\nWe are alive\n",
  duration: 30,
  language: "en"
)
File.binwrite("song.mp3", result.download)

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

client := pixelapi.New("YOUR_API_KEY")
result, err := client.GenerateSong(pixelapi.SongRequest{
    Prompt:   "upbeat pop with female vocals, summer vibes",
    Lyrics:   "[Verse]\nHere comes the sun\n[Chorus]\nWe are alive\n",
    Duration: 30,
    Language: "en",
})
if err != nil { panic(err) }
result.Save("song.mp3")

Pricing comparison: song generation API vs Soundraw, Suno, Udio

*Udio disabled song downloads for all users in October 2025 following a music industry settlement. Pricing verified from each rival's public pricing page November 2026. PixelAPI per-song price matches the cheapest comparable API (Replicate ACE-Step ~$0.028/run) per our pricing principle — set at the market's lowest per-call rate.

What you get back

Full request parameters

Why choose PixelAPI over Soundraw for your song generation API

Common workflows

The song generation API is the foundation for these production use cases. Each links to a full setup guide:

Integrations & SDKs

Comparison vs alternatives

Rate limits & error handling

Free trial: 20 requests/minute, 3 parallel jobs. Starter: 60 req/min, 10 parallel. Pro: 120 req/min, 20 parallel. Scale: 300 req/min, 50 parallel (see parallel processing docs). Exceeding the limit returns HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header. Recommended: exponential backoff starting at 2 s, doubling up to 30 s. The Python and Node SDKs retry 429s automatically.

# Python SDK — auto-retries 429 with backoff, polls until completed
from pixelapi import PixelAPI
client = PixelAPI(api_key="...", max_retries=4)
result = client.generate_song(
    prompt="chill lo-fi beats, rainy afternoon",
    instrumental=True,
    duration=60,
)
result.save("background.mp3")  # SDK polls + downloads automatically

If a generation fails (network error, model rejection), credits are automatically refunded — you are never charged for a failed job. If the generation exceeds the inline wait (about 75 seconds for very long songs), it returns status=processing with a poll_url; the MP3 is available within 10 minutes for the longest supported duration.

Frequently asked questions