FAQ

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Answers to the questions developers ask first: SDKs, where the avatar renders, the conversation, pricing, offline use and what reaches bitHuman.

Short answers, each with the page that has the detail.

Building an app

Is there an iOS and Android SDK?

Yes. The Swift package renders Essence 2 and Expression 2 on iPhone, iPad and Mac. essence2-android and expression2-android on Maven Central render them on arm64 Android phones, and the Flutter plugin wraps them for Flutter apps on Android. Measured results for each device are on Performance.

Does the avatar render on the phone or in the cloud?

With the Swift and Android SDKs, on the phone. With the web embed, in the bitHuman cloud by default, or in the browser tab with WebGPU (render=local), falling back to cloud rendering. With the web embed the conversation runs on bitHuman’s servers, even when the avatar renders in the tab. With the LiveKit cloud avatar, the avatar renders in the bitHuman cloud. Every mode side by side: Deploy.

Does the SDK include the voice and the AI conversation?

The Swift and Android SDKs only render: your app passes in 16 kHz mono speech and draws the frames, so any speech-recognition, language-model and voice stack works. For a managed conversation, use a bitHuman agent through the web embed or LiveKit. On a Mac or a Linux PC, the CLI’s local conversation brain runs speech recognition, the language model and the voice on the machine.

Can I use my own language model and persona?

Yes. Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint works, including one in your own network (voice and model providers). Set the persona in your model’s system prompt or, for a managed agent, as its system_prompt (Persona).

Can I build an AI companion app?

Yes. bitHuman provides the companion’s face, rendered in real time on the phone, on the Mac or in the browser, and you choose the voice, the language model and the persona. The companion app recipe covers the conversation loop, the app lifecycle and cost.

Can I use bitHuman in a React or Next.js app?

Yes, with the iframe embed; there is no npm package. Web has the React snippet.

Can I test on the iPhone Simulator or an Android emulator?

Use a physical device. Essence 2 on Apple needs a physical iPhone or iPad, not the Simulator, and Android needs a physical arm64 device, not an emulator.

Does a computer need a GPU?

No. Both models run live on a standard Linux PC with no GPU; see CPU only (no GPU) for the measured speed.

Pricing and plans

What does it cost?

From 12 October 2026, API and SDK use requires the Creator plan or higher. On the device:

2 credits per minute of active session time for Essence 2 and Expression 2, about $0.02 a minute at the top-up rate of $1 = 100 credits. Realtime usage bills active session time, talking or idle, to the second. Every rate: Pricing and credits.

In the bitHuman cloud:

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.

The credit calculator turns your minutes into credits and a plan.

How is a session billed?

Realtime usage bills active session time, talking or idle, to the second. End sessions you are not using. The Video API bills whole minutes of output (Pricing).

Connectivity and data

Does it work offline on a phone?

No. Apps on phones and Macs need a connection to start a session, and they keep rendering through a network drop of up to 5 minutes. The web embed needs a connection throughout. Fully offline realtime is a separate license: Fully offline.

What data does the SDK send to bitHuman?

Usage reports for metering. They contain no audio, video, images or conversation text. When the avatar renders in your app on the device and you use your own voice and language services, bitHuman receives usage metering only. With the web embed, the conversation runs on bitHuman’s servers. The full picture per mode: What leaves the device.

Quickstart · Deploy · Glossary