Which one is cheaper?

One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.

Can I use either one for free?

Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.

Both use a usage-based model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.

Which one is a better deal?

Depends on what you need. Mux: Mux sits mid-to-premium in the video infra space — pricier than raw cloud storage/CDN DIY setups but cheaper and more developer-friendly than legacy enterprise video platforms. They're chasing product-led teams who want Stripe-like simplicity for video instead of negotiating a contract on day one. api.video: Free encoding is the hook that makes them look cheap compared to competitors who meter every processing step, but the real cost lives in storage and delivery at scale. They're positioned to win developers and startups who want to test video infrastructure without upfront commitment, then grow into heavier usage.

Mux vs api.video Pricing (2026)

	Mux	api.video
Starts at	$20/mo	Custom
Number of plans	4	2
Free plan
Free trial	—
Pricing model	usage-based	usage-based

Mux

Official page

Free

$0/mo

100K free monthly delivery minutes
Up to 10 videos stored
On-demand videos only

Pay as you go

Custom

100K minutes delivered before credits
No storage limit
On-demand and live videos
Access to Mux Robots
$20 monthly usage credit

Pre-pay

$20/mo

Launch: $20/mo for $100 in credit
Scale: $500/mo for $1,000 in credit

Enterprise

Custom

Steeper volume discounts
Account security features
SLAs
24/7 support

api.video

Official page

Pay as you go

$0/mo

100 Upload API calls/min
200 Write API calls/min
500 Read API calls/min
Audit Logs (up to 5 days)
No isolated storage
No security review
99.999%
Public Terms
Credit Card, Apple Pay, SEPA (on request), Monthly Billing

Enterprise plan

Custom

200 Upload API calls/min
1000 Write API calls/min
2500 Read API calls/min
Audit Logs (up to 60 days) & Domain Referrer
Isolated storage
Security Reviews
99.999% + SLA credits
Signed MSA, SLA, DPA
Wire Transfer, Annual Billing, Payment schedules

Mux vs api.video FAQ

Which one is cheaper?: One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.
Can I use either one for free?: Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.
How do they charge?: Both use a usage-based model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.
Which one is a better deal?: Depends on what you need. Mux: Mux sits mid-to-premium in the video infra space — pricier than raw cloud storage/CDN DIY setups but cheaper and more developer-friendly than legacy enterprise video platforms. They're chasing product-led teams who want Stripe-like simplicity for video instead of negotiating a contract on day one. api.video: Free encoding is the hook that makes them look cheap compared to competitors who meter every processing step, but the real cost lives in storage and delivery at scale. They're positioned to win developers and startups who want to test video infrastructure without upfront commitment, then grow into heavier usage.

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