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Do more with your video than host and stream it with api.video

api.video is infrastructure for hosting, managing, delivering, and live-streaming video, with AI transcription and summaries. Rendley composes and renders edits: an in-browser SDK, a REST API, and an MCP server. They solve different problems and can work together.

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Unlimited exportsFree planBrowser-based

api.video is video hosting and delivery infrastructure: fast encoding, VOD and live streaming, a player, and a global delivery network, plus AI transcription and summaries. Rendley is a compositional editor and render engine. They are adjacent, not head-to-head. Edit and render in Rendley, then host and stream through api.video.

One platform, three surfaces

Everything ships in code.

SDK
npm i @rendley/sdk import { Engine } from '@rendley/sdk'const engine = await Engine.create()await engine.addClip('intro.mp4')await engine.export() // WebCodecs

A real editing engine that renders in the browser.

REST API
curl api.rendley.com/v1/agent/sessions \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KEY" \  -d '{ "prompt": "30s launch promo" }' # poll the job, then pull a signed URL

Prompt to video from one deterministic endpoint.

MCP
# mcp.rendley.com — Apache-2.0claude mcp add rendley \  https://mcp.rendley.com "Cut a 15s teaser from these clips"

Hosted server, 18 tools, open source.

3
Surfaces in one platform: SDK, API, MCP
25+
AI models built in, added as they launch
18
Tools in the hosted MCP server
EU
Assets stored in Germany (Hetzner)
How they compare

Where Rendley Studio pulls ahead.

Hosting and streaming vs editing and rendering

The core distinction. api.video ingests, encodes, and streams your video. Rendley builds the edit and renders the output. Different jobs in the pipeline.

Rendley Studio
  • @rendley/sdk is a timeline editing engine that runs completely in the browser
  • Layers, cuts, transitions, effects, text, audio mixing, and captions
  • Renders client-side with WebCodecs and WebGL, with an FFmpeg (WASM) fallback
  • It is the same engine that powers the Rendley app
api.video
  • Fast encoding, VOD, and live streaming with a hosted player
  • Global delivery across 140+ points of presence
  • Hosting and streaming, not compositional editing; no editor SDK

Delivery and the player

api.video’s delivery network and player are a real strength. Rendley focuses on producing the finished file rather than streaming it.

Rendley Studio
  • Exports returned via signed URLs after a render job completes
  • Object storage on EU infrastructure (Hetzner, Germany)
  • Focused on editing and rendering, not adaptive streaming
  • Complementary: render in Rendley, then upload to a streaming host
api.video
  • Cheap per-minute hosting and delivery
  • Adaptive streaming and an embeddable player out of the box
  • AI transcription and summarization of hosted videos

The API and MCP

Rendley’s REST API and hosted MCP server are built for editing and rendering. api.video’s API is built for ingest, hosting, and delivery.

Rendley Studio
  • REST API at api.rendley.com/v1 with an OpenAPI schema
  • Prompt-to-video agent at /agent/sessions; jobs poll to a signed URL
  • Hosted MCP server with 18 tools (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex); paid plan
  • Same engine callable from the SDK, HTTP, and MCP
api.video
  • REST API for uploads, VOD, live streaming, and delivery
  • SDKs for Node, Python, and other languages
  • No compositional editing MCP server

AI generation models

Rendley aggregates 25+ generation models inside a project. api.video’s AI is centered on transcription and summarization of hosted content.

Rendley Studio
  • 25+ models across video, image, voice, music, and translation
  • Video: Veo, Kling, Seedance, Sora, Wan, Hailuo; image: Flux, DALL-E, Nano Banana, Imagen
  • Voice and audio via ElevenLabs and more; new models added as they launch
  • Every AI call has a matching /cost endpoint for predictable billing
api.video
  • AI transcription and video summarization
  • Not positioned as a generative multi-model editing catalog
The details

Rendley Studio vs api.video, side by side.

Rendley Studioapi.video
Primary use caseCompositional video editing and renderingVideo hosting, management, delivery, and live streaming
In-browser editing SDKYes — @rendley/sdk renders client-side (WebCodecs/WebGL)No editing SDK; upload/streaming SDKs (Node, Python, …)
Timeline compositionYes — layers, transitions, effects, audio, captionsNo — hosting and streaming, not multi-clip editing
Hosting and live streamingExports via signed URLs; not a streaming hostYes — VOD + live, player, 140+ PoP delivery
Official MCP serverYes — hosted, 18 toolsNo editing MCP server
AI features25+ generation models + capability actionsTranscription and summarization
Object storage regionEU — Hetzner, Nuremberg (Germany)Check vendor docs
Pricing modelPlans + credits: Free, $15, $30, $70/mo (1 credit = $0.01)Pay-as-you-go per minute: storage $2.85/1,000 min, delivery $1.70/1,000 min, transcription $0.10/min; free sandbox

Competitor details are from public pricing and documentation and can change. Verify current specifics on the vendor’s own site.

Credit where due

Where api.video is the stronger choice

  • For hosting, managing, and delivering video, api.video is purpose-built. Its per-minute model makes cheap, scalable VOD and live streaming straightforward.
  • Delivery across 140+ points of presence plus an embeddable player means you can ship streaming to end users without building a delivery network yourself.
  • Built-in AI transcription and summarization add useful metadata to hosted content out of the box.
  • It is complementary to Rendley: a clean pattern is to edit and render in Rendley, then host and stream the finished video through api.video.
Best-in-class AI models, built in

Generate clips, images, and voiceovers without leaving the editor. New models are added as they launch.

KlingVeoSoraSeedanceNano BananaElevenLabs
FAQ

Asked. Answered.

No. api.video is infrastructure for hosting, managing, delivering, and live-streaming video, with AI transcription and summaries. It is not a compositional editor. Rendley is the editor and render engine, so the two address different parts of the pipeline.

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