Kaiber vs Pika (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pika grades higher than Kaiber: 2.6 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Kaiber grades higher on the free plan. Pika grades higher on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Kaiber
Credit-based AI video and image canvas with beat-synced music videos
Which one is for you
Pick Kaiber if
- Fits if you cut AI visuals to a music track
- Makes sense if you want several video models on one canvas
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, because there is only a $5 five-day trial
- Tight if you are on Starter, as it has 500 credits a month and no Beat Sync
- Pricey if you need volume, with Pro at $99 a month for 5,000 credits
- Watch out: the trial converts to Creator at $29 a month
Pick Pika if
- Fits if you make short social clips and ads and want one tool per job
- Works for clips that need music and sound effects matched to the action
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to try before paying, as the free plan has 0 credits and packs cost $25 for 1,500
- Watch out: video eats credits, at about 122 for one 5-second 720p Seedance clip
- Tight if you need much video, as Starter is about 4 five-second clips a month and credits don't roll over
- Watch out: payments aren't refunded, and top-up credits expire after 365 days and work only on pika.art, not the API, MCP or iOS app
- Not for you if you're on Android or want a desktop app, and the developer API is a separate $10 a month
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAKaiberWeak | 2.6GPAPikaGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $10 a month billed monthly, the category's middle price, for 500 credits. | BStarter is $8 a month on yearly billing ($10 monthly) for 600 credits, about 4 five-second Seedance 2.5 clips at 720p, with a commercial license. That's the lowest start among its listed video rivals, Runway at $12 and Luma at $25, but 4 clips a month doesn't go far, and Creator at $28 makes about 21. |
| Free plan and trial | DNo free plan. The way in is a $5, five-day trial that turns into Creator, one per account. | FThe Free plan has 0 credits a month and only works with bought packs, at $25 for 1,500 credits. So nothing is free, and payments aren't refunded. |
| Features | CCanvas with many models, Beat Sync, talking characters and a timeline editor. Beat Sync isn't on Starter. | BVideo Studio for up to 30-second multi-shot videos on Pika 2.5, Seedance and MiniMax, apps to extend, regrade and rework footage, image tools, saved characters, product shots and soundtracks matched to the action. The whole job. |
| Ease of use | CA web canvas with models, credits and workflows to learn. | A4.73 from about 4,300 App Store ratings, in the top band. Each tool does one thing, like Extend Video or Color Grade. |
| Platforms and integrations | CBrowser only, with no integrations listed. | BWeb and iPhone, with ChatGPT and other agents through MCP and a separate developer API. No Android or desktop app, and top-up credits don't work in the iPhone app. |
| Best for | several video models plus a music beat-sync tool | short social clips with sound |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Kaiber and Pika. How we grade
Price against what you get
Kaiber starts at $10 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Pika starts at $8 a month and scores 3.3.
Pika scores higher and starts $2 a month lower. Of the other AI image and video generators on the chart, 26 score higher than Kaiber for less, and none scores higher than Pika for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| Kaiber | Pika | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $10 per month, billed monthly | $8 per month for 600 credits, billed annually ($10 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | $5 for 5 days of full access, converting to the Creator plan; one trial per account. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Kaiber, Inc. | Mellis, Inc. |
| Price read from | kaiber.ai | pika.art |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Kaiber
- There is no ongoing free plan; the entry point is a $5, 5-day trial that converts to Creator.
- Kaiber lists an annual toggle saving up to 20%, but the page shows only monthly prices without the toggle, so annual prices are not recorded here.
- Credits run out by plan: 500, 1,500 or 5,000 a month. Extra packs run from 300 credits for $5 to 20,000 for $250.
- Beat Sync is not included on Starter.
Pika
- There are no free credits: the Free plan includes 0 credits a month and works only with bought packs, at 60 credits per $1 ($25 for 1,500).
- Video uses credits fast: a 5-second 720p Seedance 2.5 clip costs about 122 credits, so Starter's 600 make about 4.
- Plan credits reset each period without rollover; top-up credits expire after 365 days and work only on pika.art, not the API, MCP or iOS app.
- Payments are non-refundable. The developer API is a separate membership at $10 a month, with $10 of credit in the first month.
Key features
Kaiber
- Canvas with many models
- Generate images and video on one canvas using models Kaiber lists from other labs, including Veo, Kling, Seedance and Nano Banana.
- Beat Sync
- Drop in images, clips or a long video plus a track and get beat-synced videos back, with lyric detection and auto-clipping. Not on Starter.
- Talking characters
- A workflow makes a character in an image speak, aimed at ads, short films and social posts.
- Timeline editor
- Edit generated clips on a timeline. Starter allows one timeline edit; Creator and Pro allow unlimited ones.
- Ready-made workflows
- Curated workflows cover image-to-video, image editing, background swap, frame-to-frame video and combining images.
Pika
- Video Studio
- Makes anything from a short clip to a 30-second multi-shot video, using Pika 2.5, Seedance 2.5, MiniMax H3, Wan 3.0 or Gemini Omni.
- Editing apps for footage
- Extend Video adds frames to a clip, Color Grade changes its look, and Swap Anything and Motion Transfer rework existing video.
- Image Studio and Edit Image
- Generate images with models such as GPT Image 2.5, Nano Banana 2 and Seedream, then swap, remove or restyle parts of them.
- Characters and product shots
- Character Studio saves a character to reuse across creations, and Product Shot stages a product without a photoshoot.
- Pika Soundtrack and audio
- Soundtrack scores a clip with music, ambience and sound effects matched to the action; separate studios handle speech, music and SFX.
- MCP, ChatGPT and API
- Pika can be used from ChatGPT and other agents through its MCP server, and developers reach the same models through the Pika API Club.
Plans
Kaiber
Starter$10
per month, billed monthly
500 credits a month, premium models, commercial use, 1 canvas, 3 generations at a time and 1 timeline edit. No Beat Sync.
Creator$29
per month, billed monthly
1,500 credits a month, 5 canvases, 15 generations at a time, unlimited timeline edits and Beat Sync batches of up to 2 videos.
Pro$99
per month, billed monthly
5,000 credits a month, unlimited canvases and simultaneous generations, and Beat Sync batches of up to 10 videos.
VisionaryCustom
For labels and agencies: unlimited credits, quoted by email through support. No public price.
Pika
Starter$8
per month for 600 credits, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)
Enough for about 4 five-second Seedance 2.5 clips at 720p, with a commercial license and 2 video jobs at once.
Creator$28
per month for 2,600 credits, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
About 21 Seedance 2.5 clips at 720p and 8 video jobs at once; for a limited time, free Pika H3 Flex generations every day.
Fancy$76
per month for 8,550 credits, billed annually ($95 billed monthly)
About 70 Seedance 2.5 clips, priority queue and unlimited parallel jobs. Larger credit steps run to $880 a month.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom monthly credits for studios and teams, with dedicated support and early access to new models.
Ways to pay less
Kaiber
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with annual billing
Kaiber's pricing page has a Monthly/Annual switch labelled save up to 20%; the annual prices are behind that switch.
Pika
- Annual discount
Save 20% with yearly billing
The pricing page lists yearly billing at 20% off: Starter $8 instead of $10 a month, Creator $28 instead of $35, Fancy $76 instead of $95.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Kaiber or Pika?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pika is cheaper to start with: $8 a month, against $10 a month for Kaiber. Kaiber starts at $10 per month, billed monthly, and Pika starts at $8 per month for 600 credits, billed annually ($10 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Kaiber or Pika?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Kaiber nor Pika has a free plan. Kaiber has a free trial.
Which platforms do Kaiber and Pika run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Pika lists an iOS app. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.