Pika vs Elyumfor Grok Imagine 1.5
Pika bills Grok Imagine 1.5 by the second on API Club with no published refund on a bad take; Elyum shows a free preview and charges only if you keep it.
Grok Imagine 1.5 from xAI is a stylized video model that moves fast and holds a look. Clips run up to 15 seconds. It takes text, an image, or a reference and tends to favor graphic, poster-like motion over photoreal grit. That is why people pick it: a locked style in a short window, not a 4K documentary plate.
The model does not change. The bill does. On Pika, Grok Imagine Video 1.5 sits on the Pika API Club catalog at $0.053-$0.147 per second; it is not confirmed inside the consumer pika.art studio. On Elyum it is one line in the Grok Imagine 1.5 studio, billed only when you keep a take. Pika's consumer pricing page gates the in-house Pika 2.5 app by plan (Free 80 credits at 480p with a watermark; Standard $10/mo). Elyum's pricing is one credit balance across 50+ models, with a free 150-credit start and no card.
Two caveats sit on the Pika side. Public pages do not confirm Grok Imagine 1.5 inside the pika.art generation UI, only on the developer API Club. Official refund language for a failed generation was not found; Trustpilot shows a 1.7/5 from 70 reviews, with users reporting credits deducted on failed or unwanted output. Elyum has no timeline editor, stock footage, avatars, mobile app, team seats, or community feed. If you want Pikaffects and Pikascenes, stay on Pika's own 2.5 app.
Grok Imagine 1.5 on Pika
Grok Imagine Video 1.5 and Grok Imagine Image sit on Pika API Club at $0.053-$0.147/sec for video and $0.021 per image. That is a $10/month developer membership (first month includes $10 usage credit), not a toggle on pika.art Free or Standard. Those plans unlock Pika 2.5. Free is 80 monthly video credits, 480p, image-to-video only, watermarked, no commercial use. Standard is $10/mo ($8/mo yearly), 700 credits, watermark-free, commercial use. Public pages do not show Grok Imagine 1.5 on Standard, Pro ($35/mo, 2300 credits), or Fancy ($95/mo, 6000 credits).
A failed or unwanted generation has no official refund rule on Pika. Third-party reviews (Trustpilot, aggregators) say credits come off even on failed or low-quality output. Max clip length for Grok Imagine 1.5 on Pika is not published. API Club lists a per-second range, not a confirmed resolution cap for this model. Paid consumer downloads are watermark-free, with commercial use on Standard, Pro, and Fancy. Monthly plan credits are reported to expire at cycle end (third-party, not confirmed on official pricing text). See the Pika alternative page for the product split.
Grok Imagine 1.5 on Elyum
On Elyum, Grok Imagine 1.5 is text-to-video, image-to-video, and reference-to-video, clips from 1 to 15 seconds. The rate is 6 credits per second. A 5-second keep is {{price grok-imagine-1-5 per second 5}}. A 15-second keep is {{price grok-imagine-1-5 per second 15}}. Every render returns as a free preview. You KEEP the takes you want (that is when credits leave the balance) or KILL the rest for an automatic full refund. A failed generation is never charged. Paid plans kill freely; Free meters kills at one per month.
Kept takes download clean, no watermark, commercial use included. One studio, one credit balance: 1 credit equals $0.01. Plans are Free (up to 150 credits once (our algorithm may grant them), no card), Plus $9/mo, Pro $29/mo, Ultra $69/mo; you can top up. You can run the same model from the web studio or from Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor through Elyum's MCP server and REST API. We do not ship a timeline editor or talking-head avatars. If you need those, Pika's effects stack is the stronger consumer app. Same-model checks also exist for Seedance 2 and Kling 3.
What a Grok Imagine 1.5 take costs
| Scenario | Pika | Elyum |
|---|---|---|
| One 5s take you keep | $0.265-$0.735 on API Club ($0.053-$0.147/sec x 5). Not published on pika.art. | {{price grok-imagine-1-5 per second 5}} |
| One 15s take you keep | $0.795-$2.205 on API Club ($0.053-$0.147/sec x 15). Not published on pika.art. | {{price grok-imagine-1-5 per second 15}} |
| Ten 5s takes, keep two | $2.65-$7.35 if all ten API calls bill; no confirmed refund on the eight you drop. | {{price grok-imagine-1-5 per second 5 x2}} |
| A failed generation | Not published. Reviews report credits still deducted. | Never charged |
| Monthly plan to reach this model | $10/mo Pika API Club. Not confirmed on pika.art Free/Standard/Pro/Fancy. | Free plan, up to 150 credits once (our algorithm may grant them), no card. Previews free. |
| Watermark on a paid file | None on paid pika.art plans. Not published for API Club Grok output. | None on kept takes |
Elyum: 1 credit = $0.01, charged only when you keep a take. Pika figures from its own pricing pages and independent reviews, verified 2026-09-07; sources at the end. Full rate card on the Grok Imagine 1.5 page.
Where the two differ
Pika lists it on API Club, a $10/month developer membership. Public pages do not confirm it inside the pika.art generation UI. Elyum ships it in the web studio on one credit balance.
Pika has no documented refund on failed or unwanted generations. Trustpilot (1.7/5, 70 reviews) and aggregators report credits deducted anyway. On Elyum the preview is free; KEEP charges, KILL refunds; failures never bill.
Pika API Club sells Grok Imagine Video 1.5 at $0.053-$0.147 per second and Grok Imagine Image at $0.021 per image. Elyum bills 6 credits per second, only after you keep the take (1 credit = $0.01).
Elyum: 1-15 seconds, text, image, or reference to video. Pika does not publish a max clip or a resolution cap for this model. The consumer app's 1080p ceiling and 480p Free cap apply to Pika 2.5, not a confirmed Grok Imagine 1.5 UI.
Pika's path is API Club ($10/month, pay-as-you-go; Enterprise discounts up to 70%, reserved capacity). Elyum exposes the same model over MCP and REST from Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor, plus the web studio.
Paid pika.art plans allow commercial use and drop the watermark; Free does not. API Club rights for Grok Imagine 1.5 were not spelled out on the pages reviewed. Elyum kept takes are watermark-free with commercial use. Elyum has no Pikaffects, timeline, or mobile app.
Pick Pika when
- You already want Pika API Club's $10/month bill and 100+ models (Kling, Veo, MiniMax, Grok) on one developer invoice.
- Every Grok Imagine 1.5 call is a keeper, so the catalog low of $0.053/sec can beat paying only for kept Elyum takes.
- You need Enterprise reserved capacity or volume discounts (API Club cites up to 70%).
- You want Pikaffects, Pikascenes, and Pika 2.5 in the consumer app, even if Grok Imagine 1.5 stays on the API side.
Pick Elyum when
- You iterate. Previews are free; credits move only when you KEEP a take.
- A failed Grok Imagine 1.5 generation is never charged. Paid plans kill freely.
- Free plan: up to 150 credits once (our algorithm may grant them), no card. A 5-second keep is {{price grok-imagine-1-5 per second 5}}.
- One balance for 50+ models, plus MCP and REST from Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor.
Grok Imagine 1.5 in three styles, rendered on Elyum
Getting the most out of Grok Imagine 1.5
- Put the look in the first clause (anime cel, Risograph, 90s cereal ad), then the single action. Grok Imagine 1.5 locks style early and wanders if you bury the look after a plot.
- One camera move per clip. Write a slow dolly-in, a locked-off hold, or a short handheld drift. Stacking orbit, crane, and whip in eight seconds smears the frame.
- For image-to-video, describe only what should move. The still already has wardrobe, lens, and grade. Extra restyling fights the plate and usually loses the face.
- On reference-to-video, treat the reference as identity and wardrobe. Prompt the camera and one action. Do not ask it to change the face or outfit mid-clip.
- Stay under eight seconds when you need readable physics (walk cycles, pours, fabric). Use the full 15 seconds for holds, drifts, and loops, not three scene changes.
- Skip readable signage, tiny type, and crowds of hands. The model is quick and graphic; it will invent letterforms instead of spelling them.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Grok Imagine 1.5 video cost on Elyum vs Pika?
Is Grok Imagine 1.5 the same model on both?
What happens to a bad Grok Imagine 1.5 take?
Do I need a subscription to use Grok Imagine 1.5 on Elyum?
Does the pika.art app include Grok Imagine 1.5?
Can I use Grok Imagine 1.5 commercially on both?
- Pika Pricing (official) (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pika (official homepage) (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pika Reviews - Trustpilot (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pika AI pricing (2026): Plans, credits, and what you actually pay - eesel AI (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Welcome to the Pika API Club - Pika Blog (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pika API catalog (dev.pika.art) (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pika Cuts AI's 3x Markup to Nearly Zero With a $10-a-Month Membership - Morningstar/Business Wire (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pika valuation, funding & news - Sacra (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pika Labs Secures $80M in Series B Funding - Maginative (accessed 2026-09-07)
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Create everything. Keep the best.
Grok Imagine 1.5 is a AI video generator you can preview free on Elyum. Keep the takes you love, kill the rest for a full refund.