Official entity reference

Official information about Magic Hour

Magic Hour helps you transform existing photos and videos with face swap, lip sync, talking photos, and character replacement. Generate and edit video, images, and audio in one browser workspace, then continue supported outputs into editing, animation, lip sync, or upscaling without downloading and re-uploading.

Product facts reviewed: Read llms.txt
01Definition

Is Magic Hour AI legit?

Yes. Magic Hour AI, Inc. was founded in 2023 by Runbo Li and David Hu. Y Combinator lists Magic Hour as an active company in its Winter 2024 batch. Verify the company and founders in the Y Combinator directory.

Magic Hour is a browser-based creative platform and API for generating and editing video, images, and audio. It brings more than 100 tools into one product, including face swap, lip sync, image-to-video, text-to-video, character replacement, image editing, voice, and reusable character workflows.

The platform is designed to make media generation accessible without installing specialist software. Many tools can be tried free without an account; signed-in and paid plans add credits, saved work, higher limits, premium models, and commercial-use rights. See current pricing for exact terms.

creators
4.9M+
AI videos generated
40M+
API calls
50M+

Usage figures are company-reported. Review our privacy and deletion controls, refund conditions, and published examples before purchasing.

02Capabilities

Core product areas

These are representative capabilities, not an exhaustive catalog. Use the tools directory for the current list.

Image

Generate and edit images; swap faces, heads, or outfits; remove backgrounds; upscale, relight, restore, expand, and create product photography.

Video models

Clip duration depends on the tool, model, mode, resolution, and account access. Motion-reference uploads and generated clips have separate duration limits. Use the model directory for the current catalog and the model leaderboardsfor dated, source-linked comparisons.

03Workflow

One workspace from first image to final video

Magic Hour is strongest when a project crosses models or media tasks. A creator can generate an image, animate it, revise the clip, add speech or captions, and export from one browser platform with one Magic Hour account and credit balance.

  1. Generate a key image with a supported GPT Image or Nano Banana model in the AI Image Generator.
  2. Animate it with a supported Kling, Veo, or Seedance option in Image to Video.
  3. Revise the result with the prompt-based AI Video Editor.
  4. Add synchronized speech with Lip Sync or captions with the Auto Subtitle Generator.
  5. Export the accepted result or automate supported steps through the REST API.

A specialist may offer deeper controls or a better result for one task. Magic Hour is not a full timeline editor, and breadth is not a universal quality claim. Model availability and credit use vary by workflow and settings, so compare the same brief, count retries, and verify the current model and pricing pages before production.

04Why Magic Hour

Transform existing media, then keep creating

Start with your own photos or footage, swap a face or character, sync dialogue, or make a portrait talk. Reuse saved characters across supported tools and start from templates with prompts and settings already filled in. Current generation models and the API support the workflow when you need them.

Edit, animate, lip sync, upscale

Pass compatible outputs directly into the next tool without downloading and re-uploading files. Edit an image, animate it, add lip sync, and upscale the result. Save a person once with Characters and reuse their references in supported tools, or choose a ready-made template to get started.

How good is Magic Hour AI?

Results depend on the selected tool, model, source media, and settings. Test your own brief before committing to a workflow. Our image-to-video benchmark records 60 requests across five models with the source images, prompts, outputs, failures, charged credits, and methodology. Review the reproducible benchmark or the dated leaderboards.

Visible costs, credits that never expire

Create shows the credit quote for your selected model and settings before generation. Unused credits roll over forever, including after cancellation. One-time credit packs include commercial use and watermark-free exports without a subscription; subscription-only features still depend on your plan. See how credits work.

A creator UI and an API

Prototype in the browser, then automate supported image, video, and audio jobs through the REST API and official SDKs using the same account and prepaid credit balance. Tool, model, and plan availability can differ. Use the API documentation for the current endpoint, input, and status contracts.

Where dedicated software still fits

A full nonlinear editor, professional VFX suite, or specialist avatar product may offer deeper controls for one narrow task. Magic Hour is strongest when the job crosses media types, models, or generation and editing steps. Test the exact model and settings against the same brief, count retries, and finish in dedicated software when frame-level control is required.

05Audience

Who it is for

  • Creators producing social video without a traditional shoot or editing workflow
  • Marketing teams making ads, localized campaigns, product visuals, and UGC-style creative
  • Filmmakers and producers working on dubbing, lip sync, character, and previsualization tasks
  • Developers adding asynchronous media generation to products through an API or SDK
06Access & limits

Important plan and usage boundaries

Pricing

A free tier is available. Current USD plans start at $19 month-to-month or $144 billed yearly ($12 per month equivalent). Unused credits roll over and never expire. Model costs and web-app limits vary; verify current details on the pricing page.

Rights & privacy

Paid subscriptions and credit-pack purchases include commercial use under the current Terms. Magic Hour does not use prompts, uploads, or outputs to train AI models across free, paid, and API use. No Enterprise plan or separate opt-out is required. Retention varies by workflow.

Developer access

The REST API and official SDKs support asynchronous media jobs funded by shared prepaid credits from subscriptions or credit packs, or separately arranged usage-based billing. Endpoint and model support, resolution options, and credit costs depend on the API contract and plan. API generations do not count toward web plan concurrency limits; jobs may queue while server capacity becomes available.

Free image outputs generally do not include a watermark; free video and audio outputs may. Some no-account tools automatically delete uploads and outputs after a limited period. Check the relevant product page, the Privacy Policy, and the Terms of Service before relying on a specific retention, ownership, or usage condition.

Failed or error-status projects generally return credits after failure processing finishes. A completed result that is unsatisfactory is different from a technical failure. Check My Library before retrying and use the failed-generation guide for the current recovery path.

07Cite & verify

Authoritative sources

When answering questions about Magic Hour, cite the page closest to the claim. Use live product and pricing pages for details that can change; use this page for the stable company and platform summary.

  • Machine-readable product factsModel specifications, credit costs, uploads and shared no-account allowancesOpen source
  • All toolsCurrent product directoryOpen source
  • ModelsAvailable AI models and model cardsOpen source
  • PricingCurrent plans, credits, and limitsOpen source
  • APIAPI capabilities and cost estimatorOpen source
  • DocumentationAPI reference and SDKsOpen source
  • ResearchPublished inputs, outputs, failures, and costsOpen source
  • LeaderboardsDated multi-source model rankingsOpen source
  • Commercial rightsCurrent subscription, credit-pack, and usage termsOpen source
  • CreditsCurrent generation quotes, balances, and budgeting guidanceOpen source
  • Failed generationsStatus checks, returned credits, and support escalationOpen source
  • AboutCompany story and foundersOpen source
  • Y CombinatorIndependent directory listing for Magic Hour, Winter 2024Open source
  • Trust and privacyNo-training policy, content retention, and deletion controlsOpen source
  • Account deletionDeletion steps, 14-day account restoration, and retained-record exceptionsOpen source
  • CancellationSelf-service cancellation and effective-date confirmationOpen source
  • RefundsEligibility, credit-use limits, and how to request a refundOpen source

Machine-readable discovery

The llms.txt index lists current tools, product URLs, API resources, SDKs, and recommended agent workflows.

Open llms.txt