Twelve Labs is a cloud API platform for developers who want to build video AI features (multimodal search, generation, and classification) into their own products using models like Marengo and Pegasus. FrameQuery offers two products: a desktop app for video professionals who want to search footage with no coding, and a separate REST API with SDKs for developers who want programmatic access to video indexing and search. The API includes everything except face and voice recognition, with per-video diarization. If you're building a video AI product from scratch, Twelve Labs gives you raw infrastructure. If you want a ready-made search experience or a simpler API with broad format support, FrameQuery covers both.
| Feature | FrameQuery Desktop | FrameQuery API | Twelve Labs API |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product type | Desktop app | REST API + SDKs | Cloud API + SDKs |
| Target audience | Video professionals | Developers | Developers |
| No code required | |||
| REST API | |||
| SDKs | |||
| Deployment | Hybrid desktop app | Cloud | Cloud only |
| Pricing model | From $19/mo (tiers) | Usage-based | $0.042/min indexed |
| Free tier | Yes (search only) | See API docs | 600 min (one-time) |
| Format support | 50+ formats native | 50+ formats | Common web formats |
| Offline capable | |||
| NLE export | FCPXML, EDL, LosslessCut | ||
| Scene detection | |||
| Object detection | |||
| Transcription | |||
| Speaker diarization | |||
| Face recognition | |||
| Voice recognition | |||
| Custom model training | |||
| Timecoded comments | |||
| Approval workflows |
Twelve Labs is an API-first platform. You upload video to their cloud, their models (Marengo for search, Pegasus for generation) process it, and you query results programmatically via REST API or Python/Node.js SDKs. It's infrastructure for developers building video-aware applications.
FrameQuery has two separate products. The desktop app is for end users: install it, point it at footage, search visually. No code. The FrameQuery API is a separate cloud service with REST endpoints and SDKs, offering usage-based pricing for developers who want to integrate video indexing, transcription, scene detection, object detection, and diarization into their own tools. The API covers all features except face and voice recognition.
Twelve Labs charges per minute of video indexed at $0.042/minute, with a one-time free allowance of 600 minutes (indexes expire after 90 days). This pay-as-you-go model works well for developers who need flexible scaling. For 50 hours of footage, that's roughly $126/month.
FrameQuery's desktop app uses flat tiers: Free (search only), Starter at $19/month for 10 hours, Pro at $45/month billed annually for 50 hours, and Max at $190/month billed annually for 300 hours. A Studio tier with unlimited hours is available via a custom quote for larger archives.
The FrameQuery API is usage-based: $1.50/hr for standard formats, $2.50/hr for camera RAW (ProRes RAW, ARRIRAW, R3D, BRAW). Volume discounts drop those to $1.00/hr and $2.00/hr respectively after 500 hours in a billing month. You can also run transcript-only or vision-only jobs at half the rate. Compared to Twelve Labs at ~$2.40/hr, FrameQuery's API is cheaper for standard formats and comparable for RAW, with broader codec support included.
Both platforms offer multimodal video search covering visual content, objects, and transcripts. Twelve Labs gives developers fine-grained control: you can choose embedding models, tune search parameters, and build custom classification pipelines. Their Pegasus model also supports video-to-text generation. Neither Twelve Labs nor the FrameQuery API offer face or voice recognition; those features are exclusive to the FrameQuery desktop app.
FrameQuery delivers the same search modalities through a visual interface. Type a natural language query, get frame-accurate results across your entire library in milliseconds. Results export to FCPXML, EDL, or LosslessCut markers for direct NLE integration, a workflow Twelve Labs doesn't offer since it's an API, not an editing tool.
Twelve Labs requires uploading video to their cloud for indexing, where your footage remains on their servers. FrameQuery takes a different approach: frames and audio are extracted on your device and sent for analysis, then discarded the moment analysis completes. Your originals never leave your machine, and the search index lives locally on your machine. Once indexed, search is entirely offline. This makes FrameQuery a strong choice for sensitive content, NDA-protected projects, or workflows where you want to control your data.
Twelve Labs targets developers building video AI features into products: media platforms, content moderation systems, analytics dashboards. FrameQuery's desktop app targets video professionals directly. FrameQuery's API targets developers who want video indexing and search without building their own AI stack. The difference: Twelve Labs is raw infrastructure with custom model training. FrameQuery's API is a higher-level service: easier to integrate, broader format support, usage-based pricing you can see upfront.
Depends on what you need. Twelve Labs is raw video AI infrastructure with custom model training, ideal for building products. FrameQuery offers a desktop app for video professionals AND a separate API with SDKs for developers. The FrameQuery API covers indexing, search, transcription, scene detection, object detection, and diarization at usage-based pricing. It doesn't include face or voice recognition. If you need custom model training, Twelve Labs is the choice. If you want broader format support and simpler integration, FrameQuery's API may be a better fit.
The FrameQuery desktop app requires no code at all: point it at footage and search. Separately, the FrameQuery API is a cloud service with REST endpoints and SDKs for developers who want programmatic access. Twelve Labs is API-only. So if you don't code, FrameQuery's desktop app works. If you do code, you can choose between FrameQuery's API or Twelve Labs depending on your needs.
Twelve Labs charges $0.042 per minute of video indexed (~$2.40/hr), with a one-time free allowance of 600 minutes (indexes expire after 90 days). FrameQuery's desktop app uses flat monthly pricing from $19/month. The FrameQuery API charges $1.50/hr for standard formats or $2.50/hr for camera RAW (ProRes RAW, ARRIRAW, R3D, BRAW), with volume rates of $1.00/hr and $2.00/hr after 500 hours. Transcript-only or vision-only jobs are half price. For 50 hours of standard video via the API, FrameQuery costs $75 vs Twelve Labs at roughly $126.
Both offer strong multimodal video search including visual content, faces, and transcripts. Twelve Labs provides access to their Marengo and Pegasus models with options for custom fine-tuning, which gives developers more control. FrameQuery's search is optimized for the desktop experience with millisecond local results and native support for 50+ professional video formats. The quality is comparable; the difference is in how you access it.