Mocai

Mocai creates markerless motion-capture data from a single video, reconstructing a subject’s body, mesh, and movement. The maker says footage from any single camera, including a phone, can be used without markers, suits, or calibration. It tracks 70 keypoints per performer and uses a 127-joint rig for skeleton exports. Capture options include finger articulation, multiple performers, root motion, floor grounding, occlusion repair, adjustable smoothing, and synchronized footage review. Exports include FBX, GLB, BVH, USD, and raw keypoints, with optional retargeting to Mixamo, UE5 Manny, and MetaHuman rigs. Plugins for Blender, Unity, Maya, and Unreal Engine let users upload clips and import takes. A public API supports uploads and webhooks, and an MCP server can manage takes and exports. The free plan allows one minute of footage per month, clips up to 15 seconds, and one performer. Basic costs $10 a month and includes 10 minutes monthly. Portal and API use share the footage allowance, and uploads pause when it is reached.

Mocai offers video-based motion capture with several export formats, editor plugins, and API access. Check the footage allowance and clip limits against the amount of capture you need.

Mocai suits people using Blender, Maya, Unity, Unreal, or their own tools who need motion capture from video. Its free and paid plans set specific monthly footage, clip-length, and performer limits.

Overview

Mocai is a video-based motion-capture tool for 3D creators and developers who want to turn footage into animation data for their existing workflow. It suits people who can work within monthly footage and clip limits; it is a poor fit for anyone who needs real-time capture.

Its strongest case is flexibility: Mocai pairs multi-person tracking with common 3D exports, editor plugins, and API access. The trade-off is that even paid plans ration footage, performers, and clip length, so frequent or long-form capture calls for careful planning.

Key features

Tracking and capture

Mocai reconstructs a subject’s body, mesh, and skeleton from a single video. The maker says phone footage and other single-camera video work without markers, suits, or calibration. Each performer has 70 tracked keypoints from pelvis to fingertips, and exports use a 127-joint rig. That level of articulated tracking is useful for animation work where hand and finger motion matters, but capture is not real time.

Capture options include finger articulation, multi-person capture, root motion, floor grounding, occlusion repair, adjustable smoothing, and synchronized footage review. These tools address several common animation and review needs, though the number of performers and maximum clip duration are capped by plan.

Exports, integrations, and automation

Exports include FBX, GLB, BVH, USD, and raw keypoints, with optional retargets to Mixamo, UE5 Manny, and MetaHuman rigs. Free plugins for Blender, Unity, Maya, and Unreal Engine let users upload clips and import takes without leaving those editors. The range makes Mocai useful across different 3D pipelines rather than tying output to one destination.

The public API supports uploads and webhooks, and an MCP server lets AI agents manage takes and exports. API uploads have two size paths: two-step uploads support files up to 2 GB, while inline multipart uploads stay under about 30 MB. Portal and API footage share the same monthly allowance, and new uploads pause when that allowance is exhausted, so automation does not bypass usage limits.

Privacy and retention

Mocai says customers own their footage and reconstructions, uploads are not used to train machine-learning models, and stored takes are automatically deleted after the plan’s retention period. Its privacy policy says data is encrypted in transit and at rest, stored content uses short-lived signed URLs, and internal access is limited to operational needs. Retention ranges from seven days on Free to 90 days on Pro, which matters for teams that need to keep takes available between projects.

Pricing

Mocai has a free plan and paid plans from $10 a month. All three tiers include downloads in all formats and public API access with webhooks; the differences are footage quota, clip length, performer count, processing priority, and retention.

• Free — free: 1 minute of footage per month, clips up to 15 seconds, one performer, standard queue, and seven-day retention. It includes all-format downloads and API access, making it useful for short tests, but the monthly allowance and single-person cap limit ongoing work.
• Basic — $10 a month: 10 minutes per month, clips up to 30 seconds, up to three performers, priority processing, and 30-day retention. This is the most practical entry point for modest recurring projects or small group captures, though the footage allowance remains restrictive for frequent use.
• Pro — $39 a month: 60 minutes per month, clips up to 60 seconds, up to 10 performers, highest-priority processing, and 90-day retention. It fits heavier use and larger groups, but even this tier imposes a monthly ceiling on footage.
• Enterprise — custom pricing: Custom builds, integrations, and usage limits make this the route for organizations that need terms beyond the standard plans.

Because portal and API uploads draw from one allowance, teams should count footage across both workflows before choosing a tier. The per-plan quotas and clip caps are more consequential than the export-format count for anyone capturing regularly.

Platforms

Mocai supports web access, a public API, and plugins for Blender, Maya, Unity, and Unreal Engine. Its platform coverage also includes Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, and Windows. The core capture source is video, so platform breadth does not change its non-real-time workflow.

Who it's for

Mocai is best suited to solo creators and small teams already working in Blender, Maya, Unity, Unreal Engine, or their own tools, especially when they need multiple export targets or API-driven uploads. Free is a low-commitment way to try short, single-person clips; Basic fits limited recurring capture; Pro suits longer clips or more performers. It is less suitable for real-time capture or workloads that routinely exceed the monthly footage allowance.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Single-camera capture without markers, suits, or calibration keeps the source setup simple.
• Pros: FBX, GLB, BVH, USD, raw keypoints, and optional character retargets support varied downstream workflows.
• Pros: Plugins, API uploads, webhooks, and an MCP server give both editor users and automation workflows a route into Mocai.
• Cons: Monthly footage quotas and clip-length caps constrain ongoing or long-form capture, including on Pro.
• Cons: The portal and API share the same footage allowance, so separate workflows cannot increase the included monthly capacity.
• Cons: Free allows only one performer and clips up to 15 seconds, limiting its usefulness beyond brief individual tests.

Alternatives

For a daily-token model and limited monthly FBX exports, consider mimem.ai: its free plan includes 50 tokens daily, 2 GB of storage, three cameras, three FBX exports monthly, retargeting preview only, and commercial use. Move One is another freemium option, with a free allowance of 30 one-time credits for videos up to 30 seconds; choose it if that credit-based starting point better matches occasional use.

Webcam Motion Capture offers a free tier where all tracking features can be tried, with prepaid 90- and 360-day options. QuickMagic offers a free plan with 50V Coins, two queued videos, a 30-second maximum video, a 50 MB upload limit, 15-day storage, and FBX export; it is worth comparing if those queue and storage terms suit your workflow.

XR Animator is a free alternative. PINOC has a free plan with five videos per day, one generation at a time, limited multi-track sessions, and seven-day asset and generation storage. DeepMotion Animate 3D is another freemium option. MocapX is a paid alternative with a $19.99 a month plan that includes real-time facial capture, offline recording, camera tracking, body tracking, 2D motion tracking, and WiFi and USB support.

Browse AI Motion Capture Software and Game Motion Capture Software for more options in those categories.

Verdict

Choose Mocai if you need markerless video capture that can feed established 3D tools through broad exports, plugins, or an API. Its tracking and integration range is compelling for controlled, quota-conscious projects; look elsewhere if you need real-time capture or expect to process more footage than its monthly caps allow.