Pikaframes is the only Pika feature that takes more than one image. Everything else starts from a single still or a line of text, and the model decides where the shot goes. Pikaframes hands that decision back: you supply ordered keyframes, and Pika 2.5 fills in the motion between them.
The feature is easy to describe and awkward to pin down, because the official pages describe three different things. The FAQ calls it a first-and-last-frame tool with a range of one to ten seconds. The API specification takes two to five images and caps each transition at ten seconds. The pricing matrix advertises duration rows that reach twenty to twenty-five seconds.
What Pikaframes actually does
Two official sentences define the feature. The FAQ calls it “a stunning image-to-video feature that allows you to upload the first and the last frame as still images.” The API specification is terser: “Animate between 2-5 ordered keyframes with Pika 2.5.” Neither sentence says what happens between the frames, and neither page closes that gap.
First frame, last frame, and more
The two-image description is accurate but incomplete. Two keyframes is the floor, not the shape of the feature. The API field takes two to five images, and the official wording is “2-5 ordered keyframe image URLs. Consecutive pairs become transitions.” Five keyframes make four transitions; three make two.
How many keyframes it accepts
images is a string[] typed (2 – 5), and it is the only required field in the request. prompt is optional and, per the specification, “Applied to every transition” — there is no per-transition prompt. The full field list is short: resolution, seed, images, prompt, transition_duration_s, negative_prompt. The Pika API reference covers the polling and billing side of the same endpoint.
Where the official pages disagree
transition_duration_s is an integer from 1 to 10, defaulting to 5, measured per transition rather than for the whole clip. One rule changes how you plan a long video: “Over 5 seconds needs exactly 2 keyframes.” A ten-second transition is legal only with exactly two images. Add a third keyframe and every transition drops back to five seconds or less. That is why the credit and cost breakdown prices by resolution and duration rather than by frame count.
The Pikaframes credits matrix
The pricing page is the only official source with the full ladder. Every row is Model 2.5, and all three quality tiers carry the same five duration slots.
| Quality | Duration slots | Credits, in slot order |
|---|---|---|
| 480p | 5s, 10s, 10-15s, 15-20s, 20-25s | 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 |
| 720p | 5s, 10s, 10-15s, 15-20s, 20-25s | 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 |
| 1080p | 5s, 10s, 10-15s, 15-20s, 20-25s | 40, 80, 120, 160, 200 |
The 20-25s slot is the second place Pika states twenty-five seconds. The first is the FAQ: “For Pika Model 2.2, Pikaframes generations can be up to 25 seconds.”
Two things need flagging. The 480p row carries a Free badge, yet the Basic plan card lists Pikascenes, Pikadditions, Pikaswaps, Pikatwists and Pikaffects image-to-video, and never names Pikaframes. The free plan breakdown treats that mismatch the way this page does: as an inconsistency the official pages do not reconcile. The second flag is that the FAQ is written for Pika 2.2 while the matrix is Pika 2.5. The FAQ prices a five-second 720p Pikaframes run at 8 credits; the matrix charges 20. Where the two disagree, read the matrix.
Worked examples: two Pikaframes runs
Both cases name the fields, the keyframe count and the matrix row, so the plan is the same whether you work in the web app or against the API.
Example 1: two keyframes
Mode: image to video, Pikaframes
Keyframes: exactly 2 (a first frame and a last frame)
resolution: 1080p
transition_duration_s: 10
prompt: one wide push-in, subject stays centred, no cuts
negative_prompt: flicker, warped faces, extra limbs
Pricing matrix: 1080p, 10s slot, 40 credits
API price line: 1080p at $0.06 per secondTen seconds is the ceiling for a single transition, and it is reachable only with two keyframes, which is the rule the specification spells out.
Example 2: five keyframes at 720p
Mode: image to video, Pikaframes
Keyframes: 5 ordered images (A, B, C, D, E), so 4 transitions
resolution: 720p
transition_duration_s: 5 (the cap once you pass 2 keyframes)
prompt: smooth continuous camera move, consistent lighting across every transition
negative_prompt: jump cuts, hard flashes
Pricing matrix: 720p, 5s slot, 20 credits
API price line: 720p at $0.04 per secondFive is the top of the range, and it costs you the long transitions: with four segments in play, each one is capped at five seconds. The Pika 2.5 walkthrough covers the still-image prep that decides whether those five frames sit together.
What makes a transition hold together
Three things, going by the fields the endpoint accepts. The keyframes have to be ordered the way you want the motion to travel, because consecutive pairs become transitions. The prompt is global, so it has to work for every segment rather than one beat. And a transition over five seconds requires exactly two keyframes.
Everything else third-party guides promise — per-segment durations, per-segment prompts, more than five keyframes — has no field behind it in the official specification.
What Pika has not published
Pika gives the frame count and the duration ladder without saying anything about the inputs. No official page states whether two keyframes need the same aspect ratio, whether mismatched dimensions are cropped or stretched, or what happens when the frames differ in framing. The length of a chained run is not stated either: the API caps a transition at ten seconds, the matrix stops at 20-25s, and Pika does not publish how the two relate.
Frequently asked questions
How many keyframes does Pikaframes take? Between two and five ordered images, typed string[] (2 – 5) in the official specification.
What is the maximum Pikaframes length? Twenty-five seconds, stated in the FAQ and again as the 20-25s slot in the pricing matrix.
Can I set a different duration per transition? No. transition_duration_s is one integer, applied to every transition.
Is Pikaframes on the free plan? The Basic card does not list it, while Standard and above do. The matrix 480p row still carries a Free badge.
Does the API accept 480p? No. The resolution enum is 720p and 1080p only, even though 480p appears on the pricing page.
Pikaframes asks for fewer decisions than most video tools and punishes guesswork on two of them. Get the keyframe count and the duration rule right, and the rest is the prompt.