Is Makernice a LinkModel Alternative When You Need Exact Quotes?
Competitor prices checked November 11, 2026 from LinkModel's public pricing and docs; they change often.
Prices as of November 12, 2026 (price list v15).
As a LinkModel alternative, Makernice fits teams that only need video and image models and want an exact quote before each run, locked for 12 minutes, with a US-dollar balance. LinkModel is the better fit if you also call text models through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint, or want volume discounts applied to its per-request prices.
What is LinkModel, and how is it different from Makernice?
LinkModel presents itself as "LinkModel — One API for Every AI Generation Model". Makernice is an API with 19 video and image models, prepaid in US dollars and priced per second of output.
Which models can you run on both LinkModel and Makernice?
- Seedance 2.5:
"model": "seedance-2.5"on Makernice - Seedance 2.0:
"model": "seedance-2.0"on Makernice - Seedance 2.0 Fast:
"model": "seedance-2.0-fast"on Makernice - MiniMax H3:
"model": "minimax-h3"on Makernice - Wan 3.0:
"model": "wan-3.0"on Makernice - Kling 3.0 Standard:
"model": "kling-3.0-standard"on Makernice - Seedream 5.0 Pro:
"model": "seedream-5.0-pro"on Makernice
How do LinkModel and Makernice prices compare?
Prices go both ways: of the 4 model and resolution prices below, Makernice is lower on 2 and LinkModel on 2. Makernice: price list v15 (as of November 12, 2026).
| Model · resolution | Makernice | LinkModel | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seedance 2.5 · 480p | $0.1152/s | $0.0977/s | |
| MiniMax H3 · 768p | $0.072/s | $0.08/s | |
| Wan 3.0 · 480p | $0.0394/s | $0.05/s | |
| Kling 3.0 Standard · 720p | $0.1209/s | $0.061/s |
Rows with video input, input-image fees and from-prices are left out because they are billed differently.
What does LinkModel's Starts from price leave out?
LinkModel's pricing page shows each model card as a "Starts from" figure, with an official or fal.ai price beside it for comparison. The card is a starting point rather than the price of one job, and the model detail pages weren't part of this check. The table above uses the card figure and marks it as a starting price.
Makernice shows the price for the exact model, resolution and duration you request, before the run.
Does LinkModel's OpenAI-compatible endpoint help for video jobs?
LinkModel says its endpoints are OpenAI-compatible, so migrating is "usually a base-URL and API-key change rather than a rewrite", and one key covers text, image and video models. Video itself is a different flow: you create a generation task, poll its status and retrieve the output asset, and Makernice follows a similar pattern: quote, create, then poll or have the result posted to a callback_url.
What does LinkModel do with prompts and outputs?
LinkModel states "Prompts and outputs are not stored after processing." so collect each result as soon as it is ready. Its terms say credit purchases are final and non-refundable, and credits do not expire. Pay-as-you-go has no minimum spend and no monthly platform fee.
Billing on LinkModel vs Makernice
| Makernice | LinkModel | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Per second of output, by model and resolution (images per request) | "Each model has a transparent per-request price, with volume discounts shown before you run a request." |
| Price before the run | A quote for every generation, locked for 12 minutes; full list public at GET /v1/pricing | "with volume discounts shown before you run a request" |
| Failed run | Not charged; the hold is released | Not stated on LinkModel's public pages (checked November 11, 2026) |
| Cancel | Only queued jobs can be canceled; the held amount is released in full. A job that has started can't be canceled (409 not_cancelable) | Not stated on LinkModel's public pages (checked November 11, 2026) |
| Output files | Each output shows its expiry (expiresAt); in the docs example it is 30 days after the run finishes | "Prompts and outputs are not stored after processing." |
| Balance or credits expire | Prepaid USD balance never expires | "Credits do not expire" |
| Subscription | No subscription; prepaid top-ups | "no tiers, no commitments, no annual minimums." |
| Minimum purchase | $15 per top-up (up to $1,000) | "Pay-as-you-go — no minimum spend, no monthly platform fee." |
| Free tier | No free tier | Not stated on LinkModel's public pages (checked November 11, 2026) |
Makernice rules with examples: No charge for failed generations.
When should you stay on LinkModel?
- You call text models too. LinkModel offers OpenAI-compatible endpoints for text models; Makernice has video and image models only.
- You want volume discounts. LinkModel says volume discounts are shown before you run a request; Makernice has one price per model and resolution.
- You want no minimum spend. LinkModel says pay-as-you-go has no minimum and no monthly platform fee.
About Makernice
Makernice is an AI video and image generation API: one API key and one prepaid balance for 19 models from ByteDance, Kuaishou, MiniMax and Alibaba. Every run starts with a quote that locks the price for 12 minutes, through Makernice's own async REST API (quote, create, poll, cancel).
Frequently asked questions
Are LinkModel credit purchases refundable?
No. LinkModel's terms say all credit purchases are final and non-refundable. Its docs and pricing pages don't say whether failed runs are charged, which is worth checking before you rely on it.
Does LinkModel keep my generated files?
LinkModel says "Prompts and outputs are not stored after processing." Download each result when the task finishes. On Makernice each output shows its own expiry.
Is Makernice cheaper than LinkModel?
Prices go both ways: of the 4 model and resolution prices below, Makernice is lower on 2 and LinkModel on 2. LinkModel prices checked November 11, 2026.
Related
- Seedance 2.5 · Seedance 2.0 · Seedance 2.0 Fast · MiniMax H3 · Wan 3.0 · Kling 3.0 Standard
- Billing: No charge for failed generations
- More: All AI video API alternatives · AI video cost calculator
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Price your LinkModel workload on Makernice.
Prepaid in US dollars by card (including Apple Pay and Google Pay) or crypto, $15 to $1,000 per top-up; the balance never expires. Failed runs aren't charged. Note: if a finished output is blocked by output moderation for a policy violation, the run is still charged. You can contact support for a manual review. No top-up fee from Makernice; sales tax/VAT may apply at checkout depending on your location.