Magic Hour alternativeElyum, pay only for keeps
You preview every render for free and only spend credits when you keep a take.
Magic Hour is a browser-based AI video, image, and audio studio with 100+ tools and a REST API. The company (Magic Hour AI, Inc., US, 2023, Y Combinator-backed) aggregates other people's models: ByteDance Seedance, Google Veo, Kling, MiniMax, Nano Banana, Seedream, GPT Image, Flux variants. Magic Hour's models page is the catalog. Every plan can use every tool. You pay for credits, a resolution cap (1024px on Creator, 1472px on Pro, 4K on Business), and queue priority. Product Hunt sits at 4.9/5 from 28 reviews. Reviewers praise face swap under motion and difficult angles.
The bill is opaque. OutlierKit's Magic Hour review called out confusing credit usage and pricing. Per-model cost is often undisclosed until generation. Seedance 2.0 lists price as TBD. Creator is $19/mo ($12/mo yearly) for 144,000 credits a year. Pro is $39/mo for 300,000. Business is $99/mo for 840,000. Each credit is 0.25 cents. Free video and audio may include a watermark. Magic Hour's failed-generation refund terms are not published here. Ai Resource reported the site crashed on a free face-swap trial.
We charge 1 credit as $0.01 and we only bill a KEEP. Plans: Free (up to 150 credits once (our algorithm may grant them), no card), then $9, $29, $69 on the pricing page. Each job returns a free preview take. KEEP it and credits leave. KILL it and the refund is automatic. Failures cost nothing. Free is capped at one kill a month; Plus, Pro, and Ultra kill without a meter. The Seedance 2.5 page lists 1080p at 26 credits/second (15s = 384 credits = $3.84). Downloads are watermark-free. Commercial use is included.
Skip Elyum if you need Magic Hour's lip sync, face swap, or character replacement, or if you want a timeline editor, stock footage, avatars, a mobile app, team seats, or a community feed. We do not have those.
Why people switch from Magic Hour
- Pay only when you KEEP
Every render comes back as a free take. Credits move only on KEEP. KILL refunds the rest. A failed generation is never charged. Magic Hour's policy for a bad or failed render is not published, so a dud there is an unknown cost.
- Dollar prices, not TBD
OutlierKit flagged Magic Hour's credit structure. Seedance 2.0 is TBD on Magic Hour. Kling 3.0 on Elyum is 13 credits/second: 5s = 65 credits = $0.65, 15s = 195 credits = $1.95, on the Kling 3.0 page.
- Wan 3.0 and Grok Imagine
As of the 2026-09-07 check, Magic Hour listed Wan 2.2 and Wan-Animate, not Wan 3.0, and did not list Grok Imagine 1.5. Both are in the models catalog on Elyum, on the same balance as Veo 3.1.
- Starts at $9, not $19
Magic Hour Creator is $19/mo ($12/mo yearly). Elyum Plus is $9/mo. Free is up to 150 credits once (our algorithm may grant them) with no card. Magic Hour free video and audio may carry a watermark; third-party sites report 400 starter credits that the official pricing page does not itemize.
- MCP and REST, one studio
Magic Hour's API is usage-based and separate from the web subscription. Elyum jobs run from the browser or from Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor via the MCP docs and the REST API docs.
- Listed ~20% under the anchors
Elyum list prices already sit about 20% under Higgsfield, OpenArt, and Runway. If Magic Hour is the wrong comparison, the Higgsfield alternative is the sibling page.
Where Magic Hour still wins
- 100+ tools, not just generates
Magic Hour bundles face swap, lip sync, character replacement, and voice tools. Elyum is a model studio. If those utilities are the job, staying is rational.
- Every tool on every plan
Magic Hour does not gate tools by tier. You pay for credits, resolution (1024px / 1472px / 4K), and queue priority. That is simpler if you bounce between lip sync and Veo in one week.
- 4K Business exports, yearly pools
Business is $99/mo ($66/mo yearly) with 840,000 credits/year and 4K exports. Elyum has no team seats and no plan defined only as a resolution cap.
- A larger first-party API claim
Magic Hour cites 3.8M+ videos generated and 99.9% API uptime on its own marketing page. Independent Trustpilot volume is thin, so treat that figure as first-party.
Magic Hour vs Elyum, side by side
| What matters | Magic Hour | Elyum |
|---|---|---|
| Starting paid price | $19/mo Creator ($12/mo yearly) | $9/mo Plus; Pro $29/mo; Ultra $69/mo |
| Free tier | Yes. Third-party reviews report 400 starter credits, no stated expiry; official pricing page does not itemize them. Free video/audio may be watermarked. | up to 150 credits once (our algorithm may grant them), no card. One kill per month on Free. |
| Bad or failed render | Not published | Failed jobs not charged. KILL refunds a rejected take (1/month on Free; unlimited on paid). |
| Watermark on paid | None | None on kept takes |
| Frontier models listed here | Offers Seedance 2.5, Seedance 2.0, Nano Banana 2, Nano Banana Pro, Kling 3.0, Veo 3.1, Seedream 5 Pro, MiniMax H3, GPT Image 2. No Wan 3.0, no Grok Imagine 1.5. | Same nine. Also Wan 3.0, Grok Imagine 1.5, FLUX 2. One credit balance. |
| Commercial use | Paid plans, per Terms of Service. Free tier not fully specified. | Included on kept takes |
| API and agents | REST API, usage-based, billed apart from the web plan. Official SDKs. Claims 99.9% uptime. | REST API and MCP from Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor. |
| Face swap, lip sync, tools | 100+ tools including face swap, lip sync, character replacement, voice. | Not offered. No timeline editor, stock, avatars, or mobile app. |
| Max export resolution | Creator 1024px; Pro 1472px; Business 4K. Some models (GPT Image 2) up to 4K. | Per model. Veo 3.1 up to 4K; Seedance 2.5 up to 1080p. |
| Credit unit and packs | 0.25 cents/credit. Packs: $10/4,000, $30/12,000, $80/32,000, $160/64,000 ($1 = 400 credits). Annual pools on paid plans. | 1 credit = $0.01. Monthly plans plus top-ups. Pro/Ultra: fair-use unlimited on selected image models. |
Magic Hour facts from its own pricing and help pages plus independent reviews, verified 2026-09-07 (sources at the end). Elyum numbers are computed from the live rate card.
What it actually costs
Magic Hour's pricing page lists Creator at $19/mo or $12/mo yearly (144,000 credits/year, 1024px, no watermark), Pro at $39/mo or $25/mo yearly (300,000 credits/year, 1472px), and Business at $99/mo or $66/mo yearly (840,000 credits/year, 4K). Credits are 0.25 cents each. Pay-as-you-go packs run $10 for 4,000 credits up to $160 for 64,000, a flat $1 = 400 credits. Third-party writeups treat those plan credits as annual allocations, not a fresh monthly pile.
Elyum plans are monthly and public per model. Free is up to 150 credits once (our algorithm may grant them). Plus is $9, Pro $29, Ultra $69. 1 credit equals $0.01. Pro and Ultra include fair-use unlimited image generation on selected image models (Nano Banana 2 unlimited sits on Ultra). There is no resolution gate by plan. Side-by-side rates for one model live on the Seedance 2.5 comparison.
Worked example. Seedance 2.5 at 1080p is 26 credits/second. A 5-second clip is 130 credits ($1.30). A 15-second clip is 390 credits ($3.90). You preview at $0. KEEP spends $3.84. KILL spends $0 on paid plans. Magic Hour does not publish a matching Seedance 2.5 dollar figure here; its Seedance 2.0 page lists price as TBD.
| Magic Hour plan | Monthly | Yearly (per month) | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 400 starter credits (per third-party sources), no stated expiry · watermarked |
| Creator | $19 | $12 | 144,000 credits/year |
| Pro | $39 | $25 | 300,000 credits/year |
| Business | $99 | $66 | 840,000 credits/year |
| Elyum Plus / Pro / Ultra | $9 / $29 / $69 | n/a | One balance, all 50+ models, previews free |
Same models, priced on Elyum
Models Magic Hour also offers, with Elyum's live price for the shortest common take. Each one has a head-to-head page.
What the models look like on Elyum
Why generate with Elyum?
- Pay only for what you keep. Kill a take and every credit comes back.
- 50+ video, image and audio models on one balance.
- Rates about 20% under comparable platforms, and the cut is already in the price.
- Kept files download clean and full quality, no watermark, commercial use included.
- Works from the studio, or from Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor via MCP.
- Free plan, our algorithm may grant you 150 credits, no card required.
Moving from Magic Hour
- Download the watermark-free files you already paid for on Magic Hour. Note model, resolution, and duration so you can match them.
- Create an Elyum Free account (up to 150 credits (our algorithm may grant them), no card). Paid kills are unlimited; Free allows one kill a month.
- Open the same model you used on Magic Hour, for example Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0, or Seedance 2.0, from the models catalog.
- Run a preview. KEEP a take to download a clean commercial file, or KILL it for a refund.
- If you called Magic Hour's REST API, move that traffic to Elyum's MCP server or REST API when you are ready.
Frequently asked questions
Is Elyum cheaper than Magic Hour?
Does Elyum have the same models as Magic Hour?
What happens to a bad render on Elyum vs Magic Hour?
Can I use Magic Hour and Elyum together?
Does Magic Hour watermark paid exports?
Is there a Magic Hour free plan?
Does Elyum have face swap or lip sync?
- Magic Hour Pricing (accessed 2026-09-07)
- AI Models — Video, Image Generation & Editing | Magic Hour (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Seedance 2.0 AI Video Generator - Pricing & Specs | Magic Hour (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Veo 3.1 AI Video Generator - Pricing & Specs | Magic Hour (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Kling 3.0 AI Video Generator - Pricing & Specs | Magic Hour (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Magic Hour AI: Official Facts, Tools & Sources (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Magic Hour Review – Cost, Use Cases & Alternatives [2026] (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Magic Hour AI Review 2026: Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons - Ai Resource (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Magic Hour Reviews (2026) | Product Hunt (accessed 2026-09-07)
Other alternatives people compare
Create everything. Keep the best.
The models you use on Magic Hour, plus the ones it doesn't have, on one balance. Every render is a free preview.