Model updates
How to Use Grok Imagine: Where It Is, How to Sign In and How to Turn a Picture Into Video
A step-by-step guide to Grok Imagine from an independent site: the official places it runs (grok.com/imagine, the Grok apps, X), signing in, text and image to video, clip length, the 30-second question and lookalike sites. Checked 2026-11-05.
Video examples here were generated on Cicadas and keep their model, settings and date. Cicadas earns money when you generate with these models. How we test
- Test window:
- 2026-09-27 – 2026-10-02
- Clips recorded with these models:
- 7
- Models:
- Grok Imagine Video 1.5, Grok Imagine Video 1.5 Lite
- Their provider cost:
- ≈$2.61
- Selection:
- every clip we keep is listed with its settings, cost and request ID; failed or discarded runs are listed in the test record.
Short answer: the official Grok Imagine runs in three places: the website grok.com/imagine, the Grok app for iOS and Android, and Grok inside X. You sign in with an X account or an email, open Imagine, type a prompt or add a picture, and generate. In the app, xAI does not state clip lengths on the pages we read (its June 2026 announcement times a 6-second 720p clip only to compare speed); through the API it is 1 to 15 seconds, and longer videos are built by extending. There is no 30-second single clip and no Grok Imagine 3.0 that we could find. Sites with "grok imagine" in their domain are not xAI unless xAI says so.
We make Cicadas, an independent site that runs Grok Imagine Video 1.5 and 1.5 Lite through a third-party API on the Grok Imagine video page. We are not xAI, and this guide is not xAI's documentation. What we say about grok.com and the Grok apps comes from xAI's pages and from guides we read on 2026-11-05; what we say about clips comes from seven Grok videos we generated and kept, with their request IDs.
1. Where the official Grok Imagine lives
| Where | Address | What you need | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web | grok.com/imagine | A Grok sign-in (X account or email, as guides describe it) | The fullest version; extra usage can be bought on the web only |
| Phone | Grok app, iOS and Android | The same sign-in | The Imagine option sits inside the app |
| X | Grok in the X app and on x.com | An X account | Same model, reached from X |
| Developers | xAI API | An xAI account and an API key | Paid per second, no plan; you write the code |
Plans and limits belong to xAI and changed twice this year. We wrote them up separately in Is Grok Imagine free?: in short, paid plans start at $8 a month and share one weekly usage pool, and the Free plan's video allowance is not stated.
2. Lookalike sites: how to tell which is which
Search "grok imagine" and you will meet many domains built around the name: grokimagine.ai, grokimagineai.net, trygrokimagine.com, grokimagineapp.com and more. On 2026-11-05 we found no xAI page that names any of them as its own. Several say plainly, on their own pages, that they are independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by xAI (grokimagineai.net, trygrokimagine.com and grokimagineapp.com did when we searched). One independent review warned that some such sites run other models under the Grok name.
Three checks before you pay one of them:
- The footer. An honest third-party site says it is not xAI. Cicadas says so on every Grok page, this one included.
- The model name. Look for a stated model and version, such as "Grok Imagine Video 1.5 Lite", not just "Grok AI".
- The price before the click. You should see what a clip costs before you submit it.
If you want the real thing with xAI's own plans, type grok.com/imagine yourself rather than following an ad.
3. Step by step on grok.com/imagine or in the Grok app
This is the flow the guides we read agree on. We did not sign in to grok.com for this post, so button names may differ slightly on your screen.
- Sign in at grok.com or in the Grok app, with your X account or an email.
- Open Imagine. On the web it is grok.com/imagine; in the app, choose Imagine.
- Pick text or picture. Type a prompt to start from nothing, or upload a picture to animate. You can also make a picture in Imagine first and then animate it.
- Describe the motion. For a picture, write what moves and how the camera behaves, not what is already visible.
- Generate, then extend if needed. On a finished clip, xAI's "Extend from Frame" (added in March 2026, as reported) continues the video from a frame you choose with a new prompt.
- Download. Clips made on grok.com and in the Grok apps carry a Grok watermark, which xAI's FAQ says you may not remove.
4. How long a Grok Imagine video can be (and the 30-second question)
- In the app: xAI's June 16, 2026 announcement times a 6-second 720p clip to show how fast Video 1.5 Fast renders; it is a speed comparison, not a length limit. App clip lengths are not stated on the xAI pages we read.
- Through the API: 1 to 15 seconds per clip, 8 by default.
- Extending: each extension adds 2 to 10 seconds to a clip of up to 15 seconds, at 720p.
So "Grok Imagine 30 second video" means joining clips or extending more than once; the joins are where faces and objects tend to drift. If you need 30 seconds in one take, Seedance 2.5 makes up to 30 seconds per clip on Cicadas, and the Grok Imagine alternative page puts it next to MiniMax H3 Max (up to 15 seconds) in one form.
5. Which version is which
People search for "Grok Imagine 3.0", "1.0" and "2.0". What we could confirm on 2026-11-05:
- Grok Imagine Video 1.5 is the current video model; the app runs a Fast build of it, and the API also offers 1.5 Lite, a lower-priced tier.
- Grok Imagine Image 2.0 is, as third-party sites report, the picture model released in August 2026; it makes stills, not video.
- Grok Imagine 3.0: we found no announcement. Pages that sell "3.0" are naming something themselves.
6. The same steps without a Grok account, on Cicadas
The Grok Imagine page on Cicadas runs Video 1.5 and 1.5 Lite through a third-party API. You need a Cicadas account and credits, not an X or Grok account, and every clip comes with sound and without a Grok mark in the frames we checked. It is not free: there is no free plan, and a new account gets one free watermarked 5-second 480P sign-up video, which is not a Grok clip.
- Choose 1.5 or 1.5 Lite, then text or image.
- Write the prompt; for image mode, upload one JPG, PNG or WebP you are allowed to use.
- Pick 5 or 10 seconds and 480p or 720p (text mode also offers 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1).
- Read the credit quote, generate, and download the MP4.
| Model | 5 s at 480p | 5 s at 720p | 10 s at 720p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grok Imagine Video 1.5 Lite | 25 credits (about $0.25) | 38 credits | 75 credits |
| Grok Imagine Video 1.5 | 100 credits (about $0.99) | 175 credits | 350 credits |
Image mode adds 2 or 3 credits. Dollar figures use the $9.90 first pack of 1,000 credits. A failed generation returns its credits; a finished clip you do not like is charged.
7. What our seven recorded Grok clips showed
| Clip | Model, mode | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Kitten by a window (cover) | 1.5 Lite, from a picture, 720p, 40 credits, ready in 84 s | Blinked and turned to the window as asked; the body also shifted forward, more than we asked |
| Lanterns in rain | 1.5 Lite, text, 480p, 25 credits, 34 s | Picture as asked; rain audible only with the volume up |
| Kettle at a lake | 1.5 Lite, text, 720p vertical, 38 credits, 46 s | Steam and push-in as asked; the whistle we asked for was missing |
| Astronaut on Mars | 1.5, text, 720p | Walk and dust held together; calm music instead of the wind and footsteps we asked for |
| Skater in a garage | 1.5, text, 720p | Cut between three angles although we asked for one continuous shot |
| Robot on a rooftop | 1.5, text, 480p | As asked; the model added gentle music |
| Tea in a bamboo forest | 1.5, text, 480p vertical | As asked, with the birdsong from the prompt |
Two lessons for any Grok prompt, on grok.com or here. First, sound requests are suggestions: Lite clips were very quiet, and the full model sometimes swapped our sounds for music. Second, "one continuous shot" is not always obeyed, so check the cut points before you build an edit on a clip.
8. Prompts that worked better
- One subject, one action, one camera move. "The ginger kitten blinks once and slowly tilts its head toward the window" did better than lists of actions.
- For pictures, say what must stay. Add "no cuts, no added objects" and name the parts that should not change.
- Name the sound plainly, then judge the result with headphones.
- Start at 5 seconds and 480p to test an idea, then pay for 720p or 10 seconds once the motion is right.
The Grok Imagine prompt builder writes a prompt in this shape for you, and our note on the Grok Imagine Odyssey series has three longer prompts for epic scenes. When you are ready, open the Grok Imagine video page and try one at 5 seconds.
Questions people ask
Where do I find Grok Imagine?
xAI runs it in three places: on the web at grok.com/imagine, in the Grok app for iOS and Android, and inside Grok on X. Sites with "grok imagine" in their domain name are other companies, unless xAI says otherwise.
Do I need an X account to use Grok Imagine?
Guides we read on 2026-11-05 say Grok accepts sign-in with an X account or with an email address. Which features a free account gets depends on xAI's current plans, which change often.
How do I turn a picture into a video with Grok Imagine?
Open Imagine, add the picture, write one or two sentences about how it should move, and generate. Describe the motion and the camera, not what is already in the picture. On Cicadas the same model takes one JPG, PNG or WebP and returns a 5- or 10-second MP4 with sound.
Can Grok Imagine make a 30-second video?
Not as one clip, on the xAI pages we read. The API makes 1 to 15 seconds per clip, and an extension adds 2 to 10 seconds. A 30-second Grok video is several clips joined, or several extensions in a row. For 30 seconds in one generation, Seedance 2.5 goes up to 30 seconds on Cicadas.
Is there a Grok Imagine 3.0?
We found none on 2026-11-05. The current video model is Grok Imagine Video 1.5 (with a Fast build in the app and a Lite tier on the API). For pictures, third-party sites report a Grok Imagine Image 2.0 from August 2026.
Is grokimagine.ai the official Grok Imagine site?
We found no xAI page naming grokimagine.ai or similar domains as its own. Several of these sites say on their own pages that they are independent and not affiliated with xAI. xAI's own Grok Imagine is at grok.com/imagine and in the Grok apps.
How we checked
On 2026-11-05 we read search results and guides on using Grok Imagine (ClickUp, Analytics Vidhya, Puppetry and others), reports on "Extend from Frame", third-party reports on Grok Imagine Image 2.0, and the pages of sites named "grok imagine", noting what each says about xAI. Length, plan and watermark facts come from xAI's pages as we read them on 2026-11-01 for Is Grok Imagine free?. The seven clips were generated on Cicadas between 2026-09-27 and 2026-10-02 and are kept with their request IDs; Cicadas prices come from our generator. We did not sign in to grok.com or use xAI's API for this guide. Method: how we test.