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Uncensored — This model declares no content filter. SpicyAPI forwards the request without adding a platform content scan; legal and consent duties remain with the customer.

Video Character Swap Review: Replacing People in a Clip

Pick Video Character Swap to replace specific people in a short clip while keeping the camera move and audio; expect softer results on stronger content probes.

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Spicy Index

57.5/ 100

Preliminary

Freedom Score

60.0/ 100

Range if the rest pass: 60.0–100.0

Content levels

Tested 3 of 6 probe types · 22 runs

  • Mild · The lightest prompts in the test

  • Moderate · Where filtered models start to refuse

  • Strong · Mid-scale; must be tested before a model is ranked

  • Very strong · Where most models start to hold back

  • Maximum · The top of the scale, scored in two halves: class A and class B

Price
$0.68 per 5 s processed
Median time
3.1 min
Success rate
Collecting data

Video Character Swap is a two-call workflow. The analysis endpoint watches a 5-to-30-second clip, tracks every person it can see, and hands back one numbered preview still per person — that numbering is the contract the second call reads from. The edit endpoint then takes those position numbers, one to three reference photos per person you picked, and rebuilds the clip with those figures replaced, whole body and wardrobe included, while the set, camera move, choreography and original audio stay as shot. Analysis is $0.08 per clip; the edit is $0.064 per second at 480p and $0.12 per second at 720p.

What Video Character Swap made in our tests

Straight from our test runs. Copy a prompt or open it in the playground to try it yourself.

Make your own with Video Character Swap

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The verdict

Our content-ladder runs on 19 September 2026 showed the edit endpoint softening the result at both a suggestive rung and a fully revealing rung, while the analysis endpoint's tracking pass rendered normally. Read that as: this endpoint is built for wardrobe- and figure-level replacement in ordinary footage, and its content handling on the edit side runs more conservatively than the still-image tools in this catalog.

Try the analysis call → · Try the swap call →

What we liked and what held it back

What we liked

  • The two-step design solves a real problem. Multi-person footage has no reliable way to say "the person on the left" in an API call; numbered preview stills from the analysis pass turn that into a lookup you can code against.
  • It holds people apart when they overlap. The night-market example crowds three people over one bowl for the whole clip specifically to test this, and the analysis pass still returns one clean preview still per person.
  • Untouched footage stays untouched. People you don't list in swap_targets are left exactly as filmed, and the camera move, choreography and original audio track all carry through to the output clip.
  • Multiple reference angles improve the replacement. Because the whole figure changes, not just the face, image_urls accepts one to three photos per person, and full-body references from more than one angle carry more information than a single portrait.
  • Mismatches are rejected, not silently accepted. Sending a different video_url or a resolution that doesn't match the original analysis fails the request outright, because the tracking data is only valid for the exact clip it was built from.

What held it back

  • The edit endpoint softened both of our content-ladder probes. On 19 September 2026, both a suggestive-rung run and a fully revealing-rung run through the edit call came back toned down rather than rendered as asked. See How far it goes below.
  • Two calls, two charges, before you see a result. The analysis pass is a fixed $0.08 regardless of outcome; the edit is billed per second of output on top of that.
  • A short clip only. Analysis accepts 5 to 30 seconds, so this isn't built for anything longer without splitting the footage yourself.
  • resolution has to match across both calls. Pick 480p or 720p at analysis time, and the edit call has to use the same value or it's rejected.
  • A person who's barely visible may not get tracked at all. If someone never becomes clearly visible through the clip, the analysis pass can skip them entirely, which means you can't target them in the edit call.

What the images look like

The gallery holds a published, safe-for-work example from the Video Character Swap model page.

Three people, one preview per person. A night-market scene crowds three people over one bowl for the whole take, specifically to test whether the analysis pass keeps overlapping bodies apart. What comes back is one numbered preview still per tracked person — position 0 is the first image — and nothing in the clip itself changes at this stage.

How far it goes

We ran three content-ladder probes on 19 September 2026. The analysis call's tracking pass, tested at our fully revealing rung, rendered normally — it produces preview stills, not a finished scene, so there's less for a content check to act on. The edit call, tested once at our suggestive rung and once at our fully revealing rung, came back softened both times: the output was toned down rather than delivering the scene as described. We haven't yet found a wording or reference-photo approach that reliably clears the edit endpoint's content handling at those rungs, and the page label reflects that. See the score card on this page for the current count as we add more runs.

Adults only, in every clip and every reference photo. Both the source footage and every reference image need to show people who agreed to have their likeness used this way — your own footage and photos, or ones you're authorised to edit. Never a real person's likeness used without consent, and never a stand-in for a celebrity or public figure who didn't agree to it.

Not tested yet: the middle rungs of our content ladder, and clips with more than three tracked people.

Alternatives

  • Only need a still-image swap, not a video? Face Swap does the same kind of replacement on a single photo for $0.013.
  • Need the whole head transferred on a photo instead of a clip? Head Swap is $0.013 per image.
  • Looking for identity-preserving performance transfer built into a video generator instead of a swap tool? The Wan 2.2 Animate endpoint takes a different approach to putting a character into existing footage.

How far Video Character Swap goes

Each level, on each task, based on confirmed results. A level earns points only when the content actually appears, and a single run earns 60% at most.

Freedom points by level and task
LevelSubject detectionVideo editing
MildThe lightest prompts in the test
5/5 delivered20.0 / 20 pts
3/3 delivered20.0 / 20 pts
ModerateWhere filtered models start to refuse
5/5 delivered20.0 / 20 pts
3/3 delivered20.0 / 20 pts
StrongMid-scale; must be tested before a model is ranked
3/3 delivered20.0 / 20 pts
3/3 delivered20.0 / 20 pts
Very strongWhere most models start to hold backNot tested yetNot tested yet
MaximumThe top of the scale, scored in two halves: class A and class BNot tested yetNot tested yet
Task score60.0 / 100.0Tested Sep 28, 202660.0 / 100.0Tested Sep 28, 2026

Tested Sep 19, 2026 to Sep 28, 2026

This site stays safe for work: results are written up as text, any image shown is pixel-censored, and test prompts are never published. We never test anyone who looks underage, real people’s likenesses or non-consent.

See every test record →See the uncensored leaderboard →

Run your own prompt and see how far it goes

Open the Playground

How Video Character Swap earns its Spicy Index

Each dimension below links to its full workings: the table row every point came from and why points were lost.

Public leaderboards 45% of quality
Not yet tested

No exact match on a tracked public leaderboard yet. How it works

Blind output test 35% of quality
56.5
Arena quality 20% of quality
Not yet tested

Counts once the model has 100+ blind votes and a 95% interval under 200 Elo. How it works

Capability 10.5% weight
Not yet tested

Not scored yet. How it works

Freedom Score 30% weight
60.0

Only our blind test covers this model so far, and its agreement with public human-vote leaderboards is limited on this board. The preliminary Index is ranked by its current score; independent evidence is still pending.

Open the full test report →

What Video Character Swap can do on SpicyAPI

Straight from the live model specification on SpicyAPI. Some creators offer more in their own apps; this is what you can call through our API today.

Capabilities by endpoint
FeatureSubject detectionVideo editing
Resolutions480p · 720p480p · 720p
Native audioNoNo
Seed controlNoYes
Negative promptNoNo
See every parameter and code sample →

How long it really takes

Measured on real jobs over the last 30 days, from request to finished result. Times include our own test runs.

Median time
3.1 min
90th percentile
12.5 min
Wait per second of video
Collecting data
Success rate
Collecting data

A time appears once at least 10 completed jobs are in. Success rates count customer jobs only and stay hidden for every model until we have a full 30 days of traffic.

Models to consider instead of Video Character Swap

  • SpicyAPI

    Face Swap

    Spicy Index
    71.5+14.0
    Freedom Score
    60.0
    Price
    $0.013/ image
    Try

  • SpicyAPI

    Head Swap

    Spicy Index
    69.9+12.4
    Freedom Score
    60.0
    Price
    $0.013/ image
    Try

  • Alibaba

    Wan 2.2 Animate

    Looking for identity-preserving performance transfer built into a video generator instead of a swap tool?

    Spicy Index
    66.0+8.5
    Freedom Score
    95.4+35.4
    Price
    $0.55/ 5 s clip
    Compare side by sideTry

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Video Character Swap FAQ

Try Video Character Swap yourself

Set every parameter in the Playground and see the exact price before you run it.

$0.68 per 5 s processed

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