What exactly is Grok Imagine Video?
Grok Imagine Video is xAI's image-to-video generation model that animates static images into short video clips using a text motion prompt. It is the production-ready predecessor to the 1.5 Preview release — stable, cost-efficient, and well-suited for workflows that require consistent video output at scale.
API Pricing
* Video generation: $0.065 / second of generated video
Architecture: what makes it work
Image-anchored generationThe source image defines the visual starting state of the video. The model generates subsequent frames conditioned on both the image embedding and the text prompt, maintaining subject identity and scene composition throughout the clip.
Motion-aware decodingFrame transitions are computed to reflect physically plausible motion — the model is not interpolating between keyframes but generating each frame with awareness of prior context, producing fluid rather than stuttery animation.
Prompt-driven scene controlText input describes the desired motion: camera direction, subject behavior, environmental effects. The model blends semantic intent from the prompt with spatial information from the image to produce targeted, controllable output.
Core capabilities
Image-to-video animationConvert any image into an animated video clip. Suitable for product photography, illustrations, portraits, architectural renders, and graphic design assets.
Consistent subject preservationThe primary subject of the source image is maintained across frames — faces, objects, and branded elements do not distort or drift over the course of the clip.
Scalable video productionLow cost per second of output makes Grok Imagine Video practical for high-volume workflows — batch processing product catalogs, automating social content pipelines, or generating variations at scale.
Who should use Grok Imagine Video?
E-commerce and retail teamsTeams animating product images for ads, landing pages, or marketplace listings without manual video editing.
Marketing automation pipelinesContent operations teams generating short video variations from existing image libraries — at volume, without per-asset production cost.
Developers and platform buildersEngineers integrating video generation into creative tools, CMS platforms, or media workflows where cost efficiency and API simplicity are the primary requirements.
Startups and indie creatorsCost-conscious teams that need reliable image-to-video output without the per-second pricing of higher-tier models.
Grok Imagine Video is documented as suited to generating videos from text prompts, including text-to-video workflows. It is also documented for image-to-video use, where a still image is animated into a video.
It is documented for reference-to-video generation, using reference images to guide the output and preserve specific visual elements. It is also documented for extending an existing video by continuing from its last frame.
import requests, time headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer " + AIMLAPI_KEY} job = requests.post( "https://api.aimlapi.com/v2/video/generations", headers=headers, json={ "model": "x-ai/grok-imagine-video", "prompt": "A serene timelapse of clouds over a mountain range" }, ).json() gid = job["id"] while True: res = requests.get(f"https://api.aimlapi.com/v2/video/generations?generation_id={gid}", headers=headers).json() if res.get("status") in ("completed", "error"): break time.sleep(5) print(res["video"]["url"])
const headers = { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.AIMLAPI_KEY}`, "Content-Type": "application/json", }; const job = await (await fetch("https://api.aimlapi.com/v2/video/generations", { method: "POST", headers, body: JSON.stringify({ "model": "x-ai/grok-imagine-video", "prompt": "A serene timelapse of clouds over a mountain range" }), })).json(); let res; do { await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 5000)); res = await (await fetch(`https://api.aimlapi.com/v2/video/generations?generation_id=${job.id}`, { headers })).json(); } while (!["completed", "error"].includes(res.status)); console.log(res.video.url);
# submit the generation — the response contains the job "id" curl -X POST https://api.aimlapi.com/v2/video/generations \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIMLAPI_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"model":"x-ai/grok-imagine-video","prompt":"A serene timelapse of clouds over a mountain range"}' # then poll until status is "completed" — video.url holds the result curl "https://api.aimlapi.com/v2/video/generations?generation_id={id}" -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIMLAPI_KEY"
OpenAI-compatible — swap the base URL and it works with your existing SDK.
| Type | Price |
|---|---|
| Output | |
| Benchmark | Score | What it measures | Source | Retrieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image-to-Video Arena | 1329 | Human preference Elo from blind pairwise comparisons of videos animated from the same input image, measured independently by Artificial Analysis | Source | September 28, 2026 |
| Text-to-Video Arena | 1235 | Human preference Elo from blind pairwise comparisons of generated videos, measured independently by Artificial Analysis | Source | September 28, 2026 |
| Model | Input | Output | Context | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Grok Imagine Video This page | Video generation |
Grok Imagine Video takes image, text, video as input and returns video.
Grok Imagine Video is priced at $0.065 / sec (variable).
Grok Imagine Video is billed per generation — a fixed charge per output rather than by prompt length.
Yes, Grok Imagine Video accepts image input as well as a text prompt.
Grok Imagine Video was built by xAI .
Use x-ai/grok-imagine-video as the model id on AI/ML API.
Yes. Grok Imagine Video is served through AI/ML API, so the same key and endpoint format used for other models applies.
Yes, it takes image and text inputs together with video and produces video output.
It transforms static images into short animated video clips with coherent motion and visual consistency.
It is classified as a video generation model.
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