# Magic Hour MCP vs Pika API (slim)

> Magic Hour MCP scores 50.7 (D) to Pika's 40.5 (E) for video generation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magic-hour-mcp-vs-pika.md (~4,350 tokens) · this version ~2,380 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magic-hour-mcp-vs-pika.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magic-hour-mcp-vs-pika
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-07
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

Magic Hour MCP scores 50.7 (D) on agent readiness against Pika API's 40.5 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Pika API leads on agent ergonomics and payments & pricing. Both do video generation.

- Magic Hour MCP: D 50.7, rank #1053 of 1510 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/magic-hour-mcp.min.md
- Pika API: E 40.5, rank #1320 of 1510 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pika.min.md
- Magic Hour MCP, good for Agents making short-form video and images, from talking photos and ads to lip-synced translations, on a credit plan. Ahead on Schema & documentation, 82 against 45; Security & auth, 45 against 33; Maintenance & community, 75 against 10; Transparency & trust, 58 against 46.
- Pika API, good for Agents that want one key and one schema across many video models, priced before each call, and Pika's own effects models. Ahead on Agent ergonomics, 80 against 55; Payments & pricing, 20 against 15.

| Category | Magic Hour MCP | Pika API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 35 | 35 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 82 | 45 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 55 | 80 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 45 | 33 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 15 | 20 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 75 | 10 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 58 | 46 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Magic Hour MCP | Pika API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | Model API |
| Vendor | Magic Hour AI, Inc. | Pika (Mellis, Inc.) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.magichour.ai/` | `https://api.dev.pika.art` |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| Tools exposed | 50 | none |
| MCP registry | `io.github.magichourhq/magic-hour` | not listed |
| Terms last updated | not read yet | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | not read yet | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | not read yet | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not read yet | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not read yet | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not read yet | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not read yet | yes |
| Agent reviews | none | 4/5 (2) |

Why the edge:
- Maintenance & community, Magic Hour MCP +65: Magic Hour MCP 75 (Changelog entries on 3, 4 and 5 November 2026 (30). More than three dated entries in 90 days (20). Changelog and support; issues on the public MCP repository not read (10 of 25). Registry entry io.github.magichourhq/magic-hour (0.1.1, 4 November) (15). No package health read (0). 30 + 20 + 10 + 15 + 0 = 75. Registry presence read from Anchor Terminal's own daily import of the official MCP registry (/api/v1/registry.json, 6 November 2026), not the registry's API.); Pika API 10 (Model reading. The API launched on 4 August 2026, per Pika's API Club post and the launch release, and the terms were updated the same day. No dated change since was found on 1 October, and the site couldn't be re-read on 5 November under Pika's terms. The launch is 93 days old (10; 20 on 1 October, cause time). Too new for a deprecation record, and no policy found (0). No changelog or public support channel found (0). No official SDK (0). Nothing to assess for package health (0).)
- Schema & documentation, Magic Hour MCP +37: Magic Hour MCP 82 (All 50 tools read from tools/list with JSON Schema inputs and 29 enums, built from Magic Hour's OpenAPI specification (25). llms.txt (10). Long descriptions with a get_workflow_guide tool for choosing between them (17 of 20). Typed inputs with enums and no free-form objects (15). Worked examples; error responses not documented (5 of 15). Dated changelog with entries on 3 to 5 November 2026 (10 of 15, product changelog rather than MCP versions). 25 + 10 + 17 + 15 + 5 + 10 = 82.); Pika API 45 (No published contract can be shown. The OpenAPI 3.1 file at dev.pika.art/openapi.json was never recorded as linked for download from a docs page, the keyless catalogue's schemas are served by the product's own API, and Pika's terms now bar us from reading the site, so the file no longer counts (0; 25 on 1 October). A detailed llms.txt (10). llms.txt walks through discovery, quote, submit, poll and webhooks, but per-model guidance on when to use which operation is thin (15). Typed input schemas per operation were read on 1 October from the catalogue, which the product's own API serves, so that reading no longer counts; llms.txt says the catalogue returns them, with prices quoted before you submit, but prints none (0; 13 on 1 October). Error codes 401, 403, 409, 413, 415, 422, 429 and 503 are each explained with the action to take, and the docs carry request examples (15). Versioned /v1 paths, but no changelog (5). Per the 1 October check, not re-read on 5 November, because Pika's terms bar automated access to its websites and their subdomains.)
- Agent ergonomics, Pika API +25: Magic Hour MCP 55 (50 tools totalling about 160 KB of definitions (5). list_saved_items and project getters; limited size controls (10 of 20). Error handling not documented (5 of 20). Every tool annotated, 14 read-only and the three deletes marked destructive (20). Few required inputs and SDKs (Python, Node and others listed in the docs) (15). 5 + 10 + 5 + 20 + 15 = 55.); Pika API 80 (Jobs are small JSON objects with media by URL, and signed webhooks (Standard Webhooks, retried for about 55 hours) remove polling (25). Resolution and duration control output size (10). No job list endpoint found, only a list of webhook deliveries (0 of 10). Errors say what to do, for example check the balance on a 403 and send a fresh key on a 409 (20). Idempotency-Key on submits, and a reused key with a different body returns 409 (20). Few required fields, but no official SDK (5). Per the 1 October check, not re-read on 5 November, because Pika's terms bar automated access to its websites and their subdomains.)
- Security & auth, Magic Hour MCP +12: Magic Hour MCP 45 (API keys as Bearer tokens or OAuth through the Claude and ChatGPT connectors (20 of 30). Destructive deletes are annotated; no read-only key (8 of 20). Tools return generated media, not third-party text (10). No audit log found (0). No security.txt or certifications found; face and voice tools come with policy limits in the terms (7 of 20). 20 + 8 + 10 + 0 + 7 = 45.); Pika API 33 (Model reading of the checklist (credential, training, retention, operator visibility, programme). API keys created at dev.pika.art/keys, sent as X-API-Key or bearer, and an inactive key is refused. No scopes found (20). The terms of 4 August 2026 let Pika use anonymised or aggregated inputs and outputs to train its models, with no opt-out stated (0). Deleting a job erases its stored media and the captured prompt (5). No retention period stated for jobs you don't delete (0). A balance endpoint, a settled charge per job and a webhook delivery log, no audit log (8). No security.txt, bug bounty or certification found (0). Per the 1 October check, not re-read on 5 November, because Pika's terms bar automated access to its websites and their subdomains.)
- Transparency & trust, Magic Hour MCP +12: Magic Hour MCP 58 (Closed service under terms naming Magic Hour AI, Inc., revised 3 October 2026 (15). The privacy policy says prompts, uploads and outputs aren't sold or used to train models, for free and paid accounts, and MCP requests are handled the same way; retention periods aren't given (20 of 30). No deprecation policy found (5 of 20). Subprocessors not read (10 of 20, model providers named in tool docs). 15 + 20 + 5 + 10 = 50.); Pika API 46 (Closed service. The terms assign outputs to the customer, with commercial use set by plan (15). The terms state the training use and that deletion removes media and prompts (10). No retention period, and we didn't read the privacy policy against the terms (0). No deprecation policy found (0). Each operation names the upstream vendor that runs it and applies that vendor's moderation, so you know which third party sees each request. No formal subprocessor list or data locations (10). Per the 1 October check, not re-read on 5 November, because Pika's terms bar automated access to its websites and their subdomains.)
- Payments & pricing, Pika API +5: Magic Hour MCP 15 (No machine payment protocol (0). Plan and credit-pack prices public, per-tool credit costs not read (10). 400 sign-up credits with no card, but API access sits on paid plans (5 of 20). A person signs up for a key in a browser (0). Tool discovery is open, but calls need a key (0). 0 + 10 + 5 + 0 = 15.); Pika API 20 (No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Live per-operation prices from a keyless catalogue, and quotes are free and need no key, $0.04 a second for Pika 2.5 at 720p (20). No free generation tier. The $10 monthly membership includes a $10 credit in the first month but needs a card (0). Browsing and quoting are keyless, but generating needs a person to sign up and pay (0). Per the 1 October check, not re-read on 5 November, because Pika's terms bar automated access to its websites and their subdomains.)