# bitHuman cloud

URL: https://docs.bithuman.ai/deploy/cloud

> bitHuman renders the avatar on its servers and streams it to your page, app or LiveKit room: the web embed, the REST API or the LiveKit plugin.

## What it is

The fewest moving parts: bitHuman renders the avatar in the cloud and streams its video and audio to a web page, an app or a LiveKit room. You provision no GPU and install nothing. The live demo above is this mode.

## Where it renders

| Question | bitHuman cloud |
|---|---|
| Where the avatar renders | on bitHuman's servers, in the US |
| Where the conversation runs | on bitHuman's voice service, or with your own provider keys |
| What reaches bitHuman | the session's audio and conversation, to run it |
| Network | required for the whole session |

*Diagram: bitHuman cloud.* In the bitHuman cloud the avatar renders on bitHuman's servers, in the US, and the conversation runs on bitHuman's voice service or with the provider keys you connect. The browser or app sends the microphone and shows the video. Your API secret stays on your server; browsers get scoped embed tokens.

A managed agent's conversation runs on bitHuman's voice service with your persona, or with the voice and language providers whose keys you connect ([Voices](https://docs.bithuman.ai/build/voices), [Providers](https://docs.bithuman.ai/api/providers)). Traffic is encrypted in transit: HTTPS, and WebRTC media over DTLS-SRTP.

## Models available here

| Model | bitHuman cloud | How |
|---|---|---|
| [Essence 2](https://docs.bithuman.ai/models/essence-2) | Yes | web embed, REST API, LiveKit |
| [Expression 2](https://docs.bithuman.ai/models/expression-2) | Yes | web embed, REST API, LiveKit |
| [Essence 1](https://docs.bithuman.ai/models/first-generation#essence-1) | Yes | web embed, REST API, LiveKit |
| [Expression 1](https://docs.bithuman.ai/models/first-generation#expression-1) | Yes | web embed, REST API, LiveKit |

## Speed

The bitHuman cloud serves from several kinds of hardware; each is measured:

| Configuration | Hardware | Essence 2 | Expression 2 | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud API · GPU | NVIDIA RTX 4090 | 4.1× real time | 17.0× real time | cloud API, 2026-09-27, 2026-09-23 |
| Cloud API · Apple silicon | Apple M4 Max | 2.8× real time | 5.5× real time | cloud API, 2026-09-26, 2026-09-23 |
| Cloud API · CPU (CPU only (no GPU)) | x86 server CPU | 1.1× real time | 1.3× real time | cloud API, 2026-09-25, 2026-09-24 |

× real time: seconds of video rendered per second; 1.0× or more holds a live conversation ([method](https://docs.bithuman.ai/performance#cloud)).

## Price

4 credits per minute of active session time for Essence 2 and Expression 2, about $0.04 a minute at the top-up rate of $1 = 100 credits. A managed agent's voice chat bills 10 credits per minute, all-inclusive: the avatar is part of it. Realtime usage bills active session time, talking or idle, to the second. Every rate: [Pricing and credits](https://docs.bithuman.ai/pricing).

## Limits

bitHuman cloud sessions are limited per plan: Creator 3, Pro 10, Business 50, Enterprise 200 concurrent sessions. On-device and self-hosted sessions are limited by credits ([plans](https://docs.bithuman.ai/pricing#plans)).

A session over your plan's limit is refused with `403 CONCURRENCY_LIMIT_REACHED` ([Rate limits](https://docs.bithuman.ai/api/rate-limits)). The network is needed for the whole session.

## First command

```html tab="Web embed"
<iframe src="https://www.bithuman.ai/embed/A23WJF0199" allow="microphone *"
        style="width:100%;height:600px;border:0"></iframe>
```

```bash tab="REST API"
curl -s -X POST https://api.bithuman.ai/v1/validate -H "api-secret: $BITHUMAN_API_SECRET"
# → {"valid":true}
```

```bash tab="LiveKit"
pip install "livekit-agents[openai,silero]" livekit-plugins-bithuman python-dotenv
# then pass avatar_id= to bithuman.AvatarSession: /platforms/livekit
```

Next steps: [Web](https://docs.bithuman.ai/platforms/web), [REST API](https://docs.bithuman.ai/platforms/rest), [LiveKit](https://docs.bithuman.ai/platforms/livekit), or [a cloud avatar in your own room without the plugin](https://docs.bithuman.ai/api/cloud-avatar).

## Choosing between modes

- **Keep audio and video on your own machines:** [Your servers](https://docs.bithuman.ai/deploy/self-hosted).
- **Render inside your app on the phone, Mac or browser:** [On the device](https://docs.bithuman.ai/deploy/on-device).
- **A Linux PC with no GPU:** [CPU only (no GPU)](https://docs.bithuman.ai/deploy/cpu).
- **No internet at the site:** [Fully offline](https://docs.bithuman.ai/deploy/offline).
- **All five side by side:** [Deployment options](https://docs.bithuman.ai/deploy).