Pika

Pika is a credit-based AI video generator that turns text prompts or still images into short, stylized video clips. Its current generation (Pika 2.5) focuses on accessibility and creative play: Pikaffects apply viral distortion effects like melt, inflate, explode, and dissolve to subjects in a video, while Pikadditions inserts new objects into existing footage with motion-matched physics and Pikaswaps replaces elements wholesale. Generations are fast — a few seconds of 1080p video in under a minute on paid tiers — and the prompt interface stays deliberately simple compared to editor-style competitors.

The honest picture: Pika optimizes for stylized social content, not cinematic realism — complex physics, fabric, and hair look noticeably weaker than Runway's output, and camera controls are basic. The free plan is watermarked and capped at low resolution, and the cheapest paid tier ($8/month) still lacks commercial rights, so real production use effectively starts at the $28–35/month Pro plan. Retries burn credits quickly since first attempts often miss, and video extension tops out around 15 seconds.

Sign up at pika.art (web app) or use the Discord bot. Free tier includes 300 credits to start; paid plans from $8/month.