Pika Labs
Updated May 2026Pika
The consumer-friendly TikTok-first video model
Pika Labs was founded by Stanford PhD students and focused on the consumer creator from day one. Unlike Runway (filmmakers) or Sora (demo reel), Pika bets that most people want to make fun social clips — memes, reaction videos, quick effects. Their 'Pika Effects' templates let you drop yourself into a cake explosion or a cartoon universe in one click.
Variants
2
Best at
friendliest onboarding
Max context
—
Pricing
Free
$0
per limited credits
Standard
$8
per month
Pro
$35
per month
Fancy
$95
per month
Variants
Sort the table by context window or cost to find the right variant. Click any version below for a battle card with ranks, pricing notes, and official links.
| Modalities | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pika 2.2 pika-2-2 | — | varies / varies | 2025 | video |
Pika 2.0 pika-2 | — | varies / varies | 2024 | video |
Battle card
Context rank
N/A
within Pika
Capability rank
#1
modalities + reasoning
Weights
Closed
API/app access
Best fights to pick
- meme videos
- TikTok-style content
- quick reaction clips
Official stats snapshot
- Model ID
- pika-2-2
- Context
- Not applicable tokens
- Modalities
- video
- Pricing
- Check official docs
Rankings are Tendril directory ranks, computed from the model data shown here. Public benchmark leaderboards change often, so official docs and current benchmark pages should be checked before buying or deploying.
Learn
Lessons about this model
Structured lessons that cover Pika directly or put it in context alongside its rivals.
Check yourself
Quizzes
Short, mixed-difficulty quiz sets on Pika and its model family.
Other Players: MiniMax, Cohere, Amazon, 01.AI, and More
5 questions
The broader landscape of model providers.
Start quiz →Hands-on
Try these prompts
Ready-made prompts that show Pika at its best. Use them in your own AI workspace, then compare the output with what you learned in Tendril.
Pika Effects for a meme-ready clip
ExplorersPika's Effects (Squish, Melt, Crush) went viral on TikTok — try one.
[Upload selfie] apply 'Inflate' effect, subject cartoonishly inflates like a balloon, bouncy timing. 3 seconds.
Pika Scenes for a short narrative
CreatorsString multiple clips with consistent characters using Scenes.
Scene 1: cat walks into kitchen. Scene 2: cat jumps onto counter. Scene 3: cat knocks over a cup. Maintain character appearance across all three. 4 seconds each.
Vertical-format social ad
BuildersPika's defaults are tuned for short-form vertical video.
9:16 vertical, 6 seconds: cold brew poured into a glass with ice, text overlay 'new menu, this week only' at the end, ending freeze-frame.
Print & keep
Printable reference
One-page summaries and flowcharts — great for desks, classrooms, or study sessions.
Go deeper
Official resources
Straight from the lab — docs, API references, and the chat surfaces you can try today.
Strengths
- friendliest onboarding
- unique effects templates
- cheapest paid tier
Limits
- quality trails Kling/Sora/Veo
- no serious production features
- short clip durations