Hedra's developer API is in private beta; the Sume routes open to call

If you want to build on an avatar API this week, Hedra's own announcements page, dated June 1, 2026, lists its developer API as a private beta, which I read as an API you request access to rather than one you sign up for and call. Sume documents its avatar-related routes in its public API reference. The table below lists the ones that matter for talking-head work, with the limits in the docs, so you can compare it with whatever you are offered.

The routes you can read about now

Everything in the Sume column comes from the public docs or the repo's API notes. Hedra's column is the single line on its page, which does not say what the private beta includes.

What to ask any vendor in a private beta

• Is there a public price, or is it quoted per account?
• What are the limits on clip length and file size, and are they rejected or silently clamped?
• What happens to charges when a job fails?
• Is there a status endpoint and a way to retry without paying twice?
• Will the beta terms change before general release?

A five-minute check against Sume

You can answer those five questions for Sume from the docs. Prices are in the repo rate cards: the lip-sync route is $0.0625, $0.10 or $0.20 per billed second at 480p, 768p and 1080p. Out-of-range durations are rejected, not clamped. Jobs reserve at admission, capture on completion and refund on failure. Jobs have status, events and result endpoints, and create calls accept an Idempotency-Key. I cannot say what Hedra's beta terms are, because the page does not list them.

How to evaluate it in a day

Plan a short bake-off with a real job, not a sample. Pick one 10-second line and one portrait, and run them through every candidate. On Sume the lip-sync run needs two calls: upload or generate the audio, then submit the job with duration_seconds; a 10-second line at 768p reserves $1.00. Write down what each service needs from you (formats, file hosting, length), what it returns, how long it takes and what you were charged. Repeat once with a bad input, such as a line that is too long, and note how the error reads. An API that explains its refusal saves you hours later. For a private beta, also ask when the terms will change, since a price or a limit that holds today may not hold at launch.

What Sume does not do

Sume does not offer a real-time avatar, which Hedra lists as a separate product, and it does not list a character library of outfits and environments. A private beta may also include features that the public page does not mention, so the table is a floor for Hedra, not a ceiling.