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How to Use Pika H3 Flex: 4 Ways (Browser, Pika App, API, ComfyUI) Step by Step

Nov 1, 2026PikaH3Flex EditorialPikaH3Flex Editorial

Every way to use Pika H3 Flex, step by step: a browser studio, Pika’s creation app, the developer API and the open weights in ComfyUI or the CLI. Costs, limits and which to pick.

There are four ways to use Pika H3 Flex: a browser studio such as this site, Pika’s own creation app, Pika’s developer API, or the open weights on your own GPU. They all run the same model — 5–15 second clips at 24 fps with synchronized stereo audio — but differ in cost, setup time and maximum resolution. Pick the browser if you want a clip in minutes, the API if you are building a product, and the open weights only if you have an 80 GB-class GPU.

Quick comparison

Way to use itSetupMax resolutionPay withBest for
Browser studio (here)Sign in4K (upscaled)CreditsCreators, marketers
Pika creation appPika accountPer Pika’s appPika’s plansExisting Pika users
Pika developer APIKey + code4K (upscaled)Prepaid USD, per secondDevelopers, products
Open weights (local)Hours, 216 GB768pYour own hardwareResearch, private pipelines

1. Use Pika H3 Flex in your browser (fastest)

  1. Open Pika H3 Flex text to video — or image to video if you are starting from a picture.
  2. Sign in and pick a plan or a one-time credit pack on the pricing page.
  3. Write the shot and the sound: “Close-up of an old fisherman on a wooden dock at golden hour; he says ‘The sea always gives back what it takes.’ Sound: gulls, gentle waves.”
  4. Choose 5, 10 or 15 seconds, a resolution from 480p to 4K and an aspect ratio. The credit cost appears on the Generate button.
  5. Generate, watch, adjust one thing, generate again. Download the MP4 — no watermark, commercial use included.

Failed generations return their credits automatically. For better prompts, read the Pika H3 Flex prompt guide.

2. Use it in Pika’s creation app

Pika announced that Flex is coming to the Pika creation product on November 2, 2026 at create.pika.art. Once it is live, select Pika H3 Flex as the model in Pika’s app and generate as you would with Pika’s other models. Pricing and limits there follow Pika’s own plans; check them in the app.

3. Use the Pika H3 Flex API

  1. Create a key at dev.pika.art and add a prepaid balance.
  2. POST your prompt to /v1/media/pika/pika-h3-flex/text-to-video (or image-to-video) with duration, resolution and aspect ratio.
  3. Poll /v1/media/jobs/{id} or use webhooks until the job is completed, then download the MP4.

The API adds things the open weights do not have — 1080p to 4K upscaling, five audio stems, a prompt rewriter and reference-to-video with up to 12 files. Code and prices: Pika H3 Flex API guide.

4. Run the open weights (ComfyUI, CLI or Diffusers)

  1. Check hardware: Pika tested on one H100 80GB; a 5-second 480p clip used about 66–69 GiB. You also need ~216 GB of disk.
  2. Either install the CLI from GitHub (pika-h3-pro --task t2va …) or load ComfyUI’s templates (video_pika_h3_flex_t2v, …_fl2va, …_ref2va).
  3. Keep the six-step settings: lcm sampler, ManualSigmas, CFG 1.0, LoRA strength 1.0 — see how the 6-step sampler works.
  4. Generate at 480p or 768p. Higher resolutions are not available locally.

Full walkthrough: run Pika H3 Flex locally in ComfyUI. For the adapter files and community LoRAs, see the LoRA guide.

What you can make with each mode

  • Text to video — prompt in, clip with dialogue, music and effects out.
  • Image to video — animate a start frame, generate toward an end frame, or bridge both.
  • Reference to video — steer characters, style and sound with up to 9 images, 3 videos and 3 audio clips (API and open weights).

Which one should you pick?

  • You want a clip today: the browser. No code, no GPU, 4K available.
  • You already pay for Pika: try it in Pika’s app once it lands.
  • You are building an app or pipeline: the API.
  • You need data to stay on your machines, or you research video models: the open weights.

Still deciding whether it is worth paying for? Read is Pika H3 Flex free? and the pricing guide.

FAQ

How do I use Pika H3 Flex without a GPU? Use a hosted option: this site’s browser studio, Pika’s creation app or Pika’s API.

Can I use Pika H3 Flex for free? The weights are free to download, but running them needs datacenter hardware; hosted generation is paid.

How long are Pika H3 Flex videos? 5 to 15 seconds per generation, at 24 fps, with synchronized stereo audio.

Does Pika H3 Flex work in ComfyUI? Yes. ComfyUI ships official templates for text to video, first/last-frame and reference-to-video.