Pika vs Vidu (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pika grades higher than Vidu: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Pika grades higher on value for money and ease of use. Vidu grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Vidu
AI video generator with reference-to-video and image-to-video
Which one is for you
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
Pick Vidu if
- Fits if you want characters or objects to stay consistent across a clip
- Works for people making short clips on a modest monthly budget
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want refunds: the page says it can't provide them
- Tight if you stay free, as it's 540P and the credit amount isn't shown
- Watch out: yearly prices are a limited-time 18% offer, so they may change
- Watch out: the Ultimate plan's credit total reads 8,000 and 10,000 in different places
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAPikaGood | 2.4GPAViduFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | C$8.25 a month on Standard, billed yearly, for 800 credits, or $10 billed monthly, just over the $8 that marks the cheaper quarter. Premium is $35.42 and Ultimate $95.83. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CA free plan with the Q4 model at 540P and 10 references a month, with sign-up and daily login credits. The page doesn't say how many credits that is. |
| Features | 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. | BText, image and reference-to-video, a text-to-image tool, sound effects, off-peak queues and an API platform. |
| Ease of use | A4.73 from about 4,300 App Store ratings, in the top band. Each tool does one thing, like Extend Video or Color Grade. | CNo store rating on record. Credits, models, resolutions and queue types take some learning before you know what a clip will cost. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb, with an API platform for developers, and no phone or desktop apps. |
| Best for | short social clips with sound | short video clips from text or reference images |
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: Pika and Vidu. How we grade
Price against what you get
Pika starts at $8 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Vidu starts at $8.25 a month and scores 2.7.
Pika scores higher and starts $0.25 a month lower. Of the other AI image and video generators on the chart, none scores higher than Pika for less, and 4 score higher than Vidu 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
- Pika also covers video editing.
- Vidu also covers templates.
At a glance
| Pika | Vidu | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8 per month for 600 credits, billed annually ($10 billed monthly) | $8.25 per month for 800 credits, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Q4 model at 540P for 2 credits per second and 10 references a month; credit amount not shown. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Mellis, Inc. | Vidu |
| Price read from | pika.art | vidu.com |
| Checked | Nov 9, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Vidu
- The page describes the yearly prices as a limited-time offer ('Yearly Billing 18% Off').
- The Free plan's credit amount is not shown, and the Q4 model uses 2 credits per second at 540P.
- Credits are sold at $1.03, $1.01 and $0.96 per 100 on the paid tiers.
- The Ultimate plan's credit total reads inconsistently on the page, so check it before buying.
Key features
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.
Vidu
- Vidu Q-series models
- The site offers Vidu Q4 and Q3, with the plan table listing 720p and 1080p generation and 11 to 16 second Q3 videos.
- Reference-to-video
- Multi-reference consistency lets you supply reference images so characters or objects stay consistent across a clip.
- Text, image and sound tools
- Text-to-video, image-to-video, text-to-image and an AI sound effect generator sit beside templates.
- Off-peak mode
- Premium and Ultimate add an off-peak quota of 20 or 200 videos a day, queued outside busy hours.
- API platform
- A separate API platform is linked from the site for developers and enterprise customers.
Plans
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.
Vidu
Free$0
Q4 model at 540P and 10 references a month; no commercial-use line on the page.
Standard$8.25
per month for 800 credits, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly)
Fast generation channel, 3 to 16 second videos, up to 4 videos at once, commercial use.
Premium$35.42
per month for 3,500 credits, billed yearly ($43 billed monthly)
Ultra-fast channel and an off-peak quota of 20 videos a day; yearly total is $425.
Ultimate$95.83
per month for 10,000 credits, billed yearly ($115 billed monthly)
Off-peak quota of 200 videos a day; page shows 8,000 and 10,000 credits in different spots.
Ways to pay less
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.
Vidu
- Annual discount
Yearly billing, 18% off
The pricing page shows a Yearly Billing toggle labeled 18% off, for example $99 a year for Standard against $10 monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Pika or Vidu?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pika is cheaper to start with: $8 a month, against $8.25 a month for Vidu. Pika starts at $8 per month for 600 credits, billed annually ($10 billed monthly), and Vidu starts at $8.25 per month for 800 credits, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Pika or Vidu?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Vidu has a free plan. Pika does not.
Which platforms do Pika and Vidu 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.