api.video

api.video is a video infrastructure platform built specifically for developers who need to add video capabilities to their applications without managing the underlying complexity of encoding, storage, delivery, and playback. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Bordeaux, France, the company offers a REST API and SDKs that abstract away the entire video pipeline, from upload to global delivery, through a few lines of code.

The platform competes with US-based services like Mux and Wistia, but with a distinct European identity. For developers and businesses subject to GDPR, or those who simply prefer working with European vendors, api.video provides a compelling combination of developer experience, global delivery performance, and European data governance. The service was acquired by Vonage (part of Ericsson) but continues to operate as a standalone product with its original Bordeaux team.

API-First Design Philosophy

Everything in api.video is built around its REST API. Uploading a video is a single API call. Starting a live stream takes one request. Retrieving analytics is another. This simplicity is deliberate and stands in contrast to traditional video platforms that require extensive configuration and specialized knowledge of video codecs, bitrates, and delivery protocols. A developer with no video experience can have a working video upload and playback system running within an hour.

The API follows RESTful conventions with clear, predictable endpoints. Client libraries are available for JavaScript, Python, Go, PHP, Swift, Kotlin, and C#. For frontend integration, api.video provides a customizable player widget and React/Vue components that handle adaptive bitrate playback, captions, and responsive sizing out of the box. The documentation is thorough and includes interactive examples, making it one of the more accessible video APIs on the market.

Video On Demand (VOD)

The core VOD workflow is straightforward: upload a video file via the API or client SDK, and api.video handles transcoding into multiple quality levels (adaptive bitrate HLS), generates thumbnails, and distributes the content through a global CDN. The encoding pipeline supports common input formats including MP4, MOV, AVI, and MKV. Videos can be uploaded in chunks for large files, and a delegated upload feature allows end users to upload directly from the browser without exposing your API key.

Once transcoded, videos are delivered through a global content delivery network that ensures fast playback regardless of the viewer's location. The platform supports private videos with token-based access control, watermarking, chapter markers, and subtitle/caption tracks in multiple languages. For businesses building video-centric applications -- whether e-learning platforms, video marketplaces, or internal communication tools -- this covers the essential feature set.

Live Streaming

api.video supports low-latency live streaming via RTMP ingest. Creating a live stream programmatically takes a single API call, which returns an RTMP URL and stream key that can be used with OBS, FFmpeg, or any RTMP-compatible encoder. The stream is automatically transcoded for adaptive delivery and can be embedded using the api.video player or played back via HLS in any compatible player.

Live streams can be automatically recorded and made available as VOD assets after the broadcast ends. This is particularly useful for webinar platforms, live commerce applications, or event streaming where content needs to remain accessible after the live event. The live streaming latency is competitive with other API-based solutions, typically ranging from 5 to 15 seconds depending on configuration and network conditions.

Player Customization

The api.video player is a lightweight, embeddable component that handles adaptive bitrate playback across devices and browsers. It supports custom branding through theme configuration -- colors, logos, and controls can be adjusted via API parameters. The player handles responsive sizing, fullscreen mode, captions, and chapter navigation. For developers who need deeper customization, the player is available as an open-source component, and HLS playback URLs can be used with any third-party player like Video.js, hls.js, or native platform players.

Analytics and Insights

api.video provides built-in analytics that track video performance metrics including play count, watch time, viewer location, device type, and engagement patterns. The analytics API exposes this data programmatically, enabling integration with business intelligence tools or custom dashboards. For product teams building video features, these metrics help understand which content resonates and where viewers drop off.

The analytics are aggregated and privacy-friendly by default -- individual viewer tracking requires explicit opt-in, aligning with GDPR principles. This contrasts with some US video platforms that default to extensive user-level tracking and require careful configuration to comply with European privacy regulations.

Pricing Model

api.video uses a usage-based pricing model with a generous free tier that makes it practical for prototyping and small-scale projects. The free tier includes limited encoding minutes and delivery bandwidth per month. Paid plans start with pay-as-you-go pricing based on encoding volume and bandwidth consumption, scaling with usage rather than requiring upfront commitment. For high-volume customers, enterprise pricing with committed usage discounts is available.

This pricing structure is attractive for startups and growing businesses because costs scale linearly with actual usage. You do not pay for infrastructure you are not using, and there are no minimum commitments on standard plans. Compared to building and maintaining your own video transcoding and delivery infrastructure (which requires significant engineering expertise and operational overhead), the cost-per-video economics are favorable even at moderate scale.

GDPR and European Data Processing

api.video is headquartered in Bordeaux, France, and operates under French and EU law. The company is GDPR compliant and provides data processing agreements (DPAs) for customers who need formal documentation of data processing terms. Video content is distributed globally through CDN partners for playback performance, but the control plane -- API endpoints, metadata, account data, and analytics -- is managed by the European-based team under EU jurisdiction.

For organizations with strict data residency requirements, this European corporate structure provides a meaningful advantage over US-based video APIs like Mux (San Francisco) or Wistia (Cambridge, Massachusetts), which are subject to the CLOUD Act. While video content delivery inherently involves global CDN distribution for performance, having the business logic, analytics, and account management under European governance reduces regulatory risk.

Integration Ecosystem

Beyond the core API, api.video provides pre-built integrations and tutorials for common use cases: uploading from React Native apps, recording browser video and uploading directly, building video galleries, creating live shopping experiences, and integrating with no-code tools like Bubble and Zapier. The open-source SDKs and player components are maintained actively on GitHub, and the developer community -- while smaller than Mux's -- is responsive and growing.

Who Should Choose api.video

api.video is best suited for developers and product teams who need to add video upload, processing, and playback to their applications without deep video engineering expertise. If you are building an e-learning platform, a video marketplace, a social application with user-generated video, or internal tools that need video capabilities, api.video gets you from zero to working video features faster than most alternatives. For European businesses specifically, the French headquarters and GDPR-native design make it a natural choice over US-based video infrastructure providers.