t23d API vs Meshy — Text-to-3D for Developers

PixelAPI's t23d API (text-to-3D) converts a text prompt into a downloadable GLB 3D model in one async REST call. At $0.010 per model — exactly half Meshy's price — it is the lowest-cost text-to-3D API available without a volume commitment. Send a prompt, poll for the job, download the GLB. 300 free credits, no credit card.

Quick start — text prompt to GLB in one API call

Sign up, copy your key, and POST a text prompt. The endpoint returns a job_id immediately. Poll GET /v1/3d/text-status/{job_id} every few seconds until status=completed, then download the GLB from output_url.

# Step 1 — submit the job
curl -X POST https://api.pixelapi.dev/v1/3d/text-generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "prompt=a wooden treasure chest with iron bands" \
  -F "resolution=256"
# Response: {"job_id": "uuid", "status": "queued", "estimated_seconds": 75}

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

pip install pixelapi
---
import time
from pixelapi import PixelAPI

client = PixelAPI(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

job = client.text_to_3d(prompt="a wooden treasure chest with iron bands", resolution=256)
print(f"Job queued: {job.job_id}")

# Poll until done (SDK handles this automatically)
result = client.wait_for_job(job.job_id, timeout=120)
result.save("chest.glb")  # downloads GLB to disk

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

const client = new PixelAPI({ apiKey: process.env.PIXELAPI_KEY });

const job = await client.textTo3D({ prompt: "a wooden treasure chest with iron bands", resolution: 256 });
const result = await job.wait({ timeoutMs: 120_000 });

writeFileSync("chest.glb", await result.bytes());

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

$client = new Client(getenv("PIXELAPI_KEY"));
$job = $client->textTo3D([
    "prompt" => "a wooden treasure chest with iron bands",
    "resolution" => 256,
]);
$result = $client->waitForJob($job["job_id"], 120);
file_put_contents("chest.glb", $result->getBody());

gem install pixelapi
---
require "pixelapi"

client = PixelAPI::Client.new(api_key: ENV["PIXELAPI_KEY"])
job = client.text_to_3d(prompt: "a wooden treasure chest with iron bands", resolution: 256)
result = client.wait_for_job(job["job_id"], timeout: 120)
File.binwrite("chest.glb", result.body)

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

client := pixelapi.New("YOUR_API_KEY")
job, err := client.TextTo3D("a wooden treasure chest with iron bands", 256)
if err != nil { panic(err) }
result, err := client.WaitForJob(job.JobID, 120)
if err != nil { panic(err) }
result.Save("chest.glb")

t23d API vs Meshy — Pricing comparison

PixelAPI prices at exactly half the cheapest mainstream rival per tool — not arbitrarily lower (which signals low quality) and not higher (not competitive). The cheapest mainstream rival for text-to-3D API is Meshy at $0.02 per model. PixelAPI's t23d API therefore costs $0.010 per model.

Pricing verified from each rival's public pricing page, November 2026. Meshy: docs.meshy.ai/en/api/pricing. Tripo3D: developers.tripo3d.ai. Rodin: hyper3d.ai/pricing. Luma: lumalabs.ai/api/pricing (no text-to-3D endpoint available). PixelAPI's per-model price is set at exactly half the cheapest mainstream rival per our published pricing policy.

What you get back

Supported industries

The t23d API (text-to-3D) fits anywhere a developer needs 3D assets on demand without a 3D artist in the loop.

Common 3D generation workflows

These are the most common developer patterns for the t23d API — from rapid prototyping to fully automated asset pipelines.

Integrations

Use the t23d API inside your existing tools and no-code platforms:

Comparison vs alternatives

Rate limits & error handling

Rate limits apply per API key: 20 requests/minute on the free trial, 60 on Starter, 120 on Pro, and 300 on Scale. Parallel jobs per key: 3 / 10 / 20 / 50. Exceeding the limit returns HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header. Recommended backoff: start at 5s, double on each retry up to 60s. The PixelAPI SDKs handle this automatically.

# Python SDK — automatic retry on 429
from pixelapi import PixelAPI
client = PixelAPI(api_key="...", max_retries=4)

# Submit and wait — retries 429 with backoff automatically
result = client.text_to_3d(prompt="a low-poly oak tree", resolution=256)
result.save("tree.glb")

If your job returns status=failed, credits are refunded automatically and error_message in the status response explains why. Common causes: prompts that describe complex multi-object scenes (use single-object prompts for best results), or prompts that trigger the content safety filter.

Frequently asked questions