ComparisonsWhat Are the Best LinkModel Alternatives for Video Models in 2026?
Makernice Team · ·
Key takeaways
- Of the models we track, LinkModel matches seven, from Seedance 2.5 and Seedance 2.0 to Wan 3.0, Kling 3.0 Standard, MiniMax H3 and Seedream 5.0 Pro; CometAPI matches 15 entries in our catalog, EvoLink 14 and yir.ai 11.
- LinkModel shows per-request prices with volume discounts before a run, says credits do not expire, and treats every credit purchase as final.
- LinkModel states that prompts and outputs are not stored after processing; yir.ai keeps result files for 7 days, EvoLink for 24 to 72 hours, and Makernice outputs expire 30 days after completion in its docs example.
- Keep LinkModel if one key for text, image and video with volume discounts shown up front already covers the models you use.
The best LinkModel alternatives for a deeper video catalog are CometAPI, EvoLink, yir.ai and Makernice. Each lists every model LinkModel shares with our catalog, and between them they add Kling, Wan, MiniMax and Happy Horse versions LinkModel lacks. They also differ from LinkModel on two practical points: what a failed run costs, and whether your output is kept anywhere. We checked all five on November 11, 2026.
What is LinkModel, and why do its users add a second platform?
LinkModel bills itself as "One API for Every AI Generation Model" on linkmodel.ai (checked November 11, 2026), covering text, image and video, and "Each model has a transparent per-request price, with volume discounts shown before you run a request." There are "no tiers, no commitments, no annual minimums", "Credits do not expire", and generation follows a simple loop: "Create a generation task, poll its status, and retrieve the output asset." Requests authenticate with a Bearer API key.
The catch is breadth. On the video side LinkModel matches only the Seedance 2.5, Seedance 2.0 and 2.0 Fast, Wan 3.0, Kling 3.0 Standard and MiniMax H3 entries we track, with Seedream 5.0 Pro for images. We found no rule on failed requests or cancellation. Its privacy line, "Prompts and outputs are not stored after processing.", means the asset has to be fetched right away, and "All purchases of credits on LinkModel are final and non-refundable."
Which APIs can replace LinkModel for video and image jobs?
CometAPI, EvoLink, yir.ai and Makernice each list every model LinkModel shares with our catalog and add Kling, Wan, MiniMax and Happy Horse versions LinkModel lacks. The four differ most in billing basis: per token and per second, per output with failures unbilled, per channel price, or a prepaid per-second balance.
| Platform | Best for | How it bills | Source checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| CometAPI | Teams that want the deepest overlap plus text models under one key | Per token for text, per image or per second for media; no minimum spend | cometapi.com · 2026-11-11 |
| EvoLink | Buyers who pay by Alipay, WeChat Pay, bank transfer or invoice | Credits per second for video, per image, per token for LLMs; top-up credits never expire | evolink.ai · 2026-11-11 |
| yir.ai | Developers who want jobs routed across channels with failover | Prepaid US-dollar wallet; each channel charged at its own public price | yir.ai · 2026-11-11 |
| Makernice | Video and image pipelines that need a month to collect outputs | Prepaid US-dollar balance per output second or per image; no expiry | Makernice pricing · live price list |
For the seven shared models, per-second and per-image rates next to LinkModel's starting prices are on the LinkModel alternative page. Below is how each platform runs a job.
How each alternative handles price, failure and delivery
CometAPI matches 15 entries in our catalog, including Kling 3.0 Pro and 4K, Kling 4.0, Wan 3.0 Prime and both Qwen image models. It bills text per token and media per image or second, with no monthly fee, no minimum spend and no subscription. A model error is not billed. Like LinkModel it does not store model outputs, so the download habit carries over. Free trial credits come without a card, credits last while the account is in good standing, and purchased credits are generally non-refundable.
EvoLink matches 14 entries, including the MiniMax H3 Max line and MiniMax H3-Image. Failed generations are never billed, top-up credits never expire, and there are no subscriptions, seat fees or minimum commitments. Image jobs with size set to auto are held at the 2K rate and settled afterwards, and results stay valid for 24 to 72 hours before permanent deletion. Purchases are final, and checkout covers cards through Stripe, Alipay, WeChat Pay, corporate bank transfer and invoices.
yir.ai routes each job to one of several upstream channels and charges every channel at its own public price from a prepaid US-dollar wallet. The page price is a reference; the charge follows the quote at submission and the final settlement. Attempts the channel billed are charged after your discount even if they failed, and unbilled attempts are free. Results come by webhook or by polling a job, files can be downloaded for 7 days, and refunds cover only the unused part of cash top-ups.
Makernice offers 19 video and image models, with no text models, so it suits the media part of a LinkModel setup. The price is fixed before a job exists: a REST quote is held for 12 minutes, and an MCP generate call is refused if its price passes the max_cost_usd you allowed. Failed, timed-out and input-rejected runs aren't charged, and a finished output blocked by moderation is charged. Outputs carry an expiresAt, 30 days after completion in the docs example, and arrive by polling, a per-job callback_url or an account webhook.
Saving outputs when the platform keeps nothing
LinkModel and CometAPI keep no outputs after processing, so the storage window on each platform decides how quickly a LinkModel pipeline has to copy results out.
- LinkModel and CometAPI: outputs are not kept after processing, so retrieve the asset in the same job loop that polls for it.
- EvoLink: 24 to 72 hours, so copy results out at least once a day.
- yir.ai: 7 days for downloads; job records hidden after 90 days.
- Makernice: a per-output
expiresAt, 30 days after completion in the docs example; agents connect through Claude Code or Cursor.
When should you keep LinkModel for some jobs?
Keep LinkModel if its seven models are the ones you use. Volume discounts shown before each request make budgeting easy, credits never expire, and one Bearer key reaches text models too, which Makernice does not offer. Its no-storage rule is also a plus for privacy-sensitive prompts. You can keep it for text and existing jobs and add a second platform only for the video models LinkModel lacks. The LinkModel alternative page shows the shared models side by side.