Compare · checked 25 October 2026
FaceNinja vs KeenFace, side by side.
Both services turn photos into a 3D head on MetaHuman topology, through a web app and an asynchronous REST API. This page sets out what each company publishes about price, files and API, so you can choose the one that fits your work.
Last checked: 25 October 2026. KeenFace details come from the keenface.ai pages linked in each row. Prices and features change, so check their site before you decide.
KeenFace is made by KeenTools, the team behind FaceBuilder. cloud.keentools.io now redirects to keenface.ai.
Price and billing
| FaceNinja | KeenFace | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per head | 1,500 credits at $0.01 a credit ($15), tax added at checkout; buying opens soon | 150 credits at €0.10 a credit, so €15, excluding VAT (pricing) |
| Free on sign-up | No credits; 20 sample heads to download free | 450 credits, enough for 3 heads (pricing) |
| Subscription | None | None; usage-based (pricing) |
| Bundles and volume | Packs of 1, 5 and 20 heads or a custom amount; bonus credits from 3 heads | Credits at €0.10 each; a Custom plan with post-paid billing and volume pricing through sales (pricing) |
| A head that fails | Its credits come back by themselves | "Failed heads cost nothing" (pricing) |
| Files | Every format included; downloads are free | "Every file is included" (pricing) |
| Credits expire | Never | "Credits never expire" (pricing) |
The two prices are in different currencies: US dollars and euros, both before tax.
What a head contains
| FaceNinja | KeenFace | |
|---|---|---|
| Topology | MetaHuman head with neck and shoulders, eyes and teeth; one vertex order and one UV layout on every head | MetaHuman topology including the neck and shoulders, with consistent vertex order and UVs (features) |
| Skin maps | 4K base colour, normal, cavity and specular/roughness | 4K base colour, normal, roughness and specular, cleaned of hair (features) |
| ARKit blendshapes | All 52, tongueOut included, in GLB and FBX | 51 of the 52 (tongueOut absent), in GLB only, on request (docs) |
| Scale | Life size in real units; optionally scaled to an estimate of the person's size | "Relative proportions are preserved, but absolute physical scale is not calibrated" (docs) |
| Photos per head | 1–15 | 1–15 in Default mode; 2–15 in Scan Reconstruction (docs) |
Formats and the MetaHuman ZIP
| FaceNinja | KeenFace | |
|---|---|---|
| Formats from the API | GLB, FBX, OBJ, STL, PLY, MetaHuman ZIP | GLB, OBJ, MetaHuman ZIP (docs) |
| Formats in the web app | The same six | GLB, OBJ, PLY, STL, FBX (pricing) |
| MetaHuman ZIP | head.fbx; Head_Color, Head_Normal, Head_Cavity, Head_SRMF at 4K; a groom recipe; a README with the Unreal steps | head.fbx; Head_Color, Head_Normal, Head_SRMF; described as a head mesh without eyes, teeth or blendshapes (docs) |
What FaceNinja adds after the head
These are the parts of FaceNinja built for finishing a character. We did not find them described on the public pages of keenface.ai on 25 October 2026. If KeenFace offers them, write to us and we correct this page.
- Groom recommendations: MetaHuman hair, brows, lashes, moustache and beard, named, with colour values.
- Neck and trapezius fitted to the person.
- Unreal automation (early access): conforms the face, overrides the skin, puts on the grooms and picks a body.
- A hair preview in the 3D viewer, coloured from your photos, before you download.
- A skill for AI agents: paste one prompt into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI or OpenClaw, approve a code, and the agent makes and downloads heads. It states the cost before it spends.
The API, for developers
Both APIs follow the same pattern: create a head, wait, get a signed file link.
| FaceNinja | KeenFace | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting a file | Files are made with the head; asking returns a link at once (other options are prepared on the first request) | Request a file from /model and repeat on retry-after until it is ready (docs) |
| Longest single wait | ?wait up to 60 s per call | ?wait up to 900 s; a bare ?wait is 600 s (docs) |
| Download link | Start within 60 s | Start within 20 s (docs) |
| Webhooks, event stream, idempotency | Yes, yes, 24-hour keys | Yes, yes, 24-hour keys (docs) |
| Retention | Photos deleted 7 days after the head; files kept 30 days, and the master they are rebuilt from 1 year | Head, photos and files kept until you delete the head (docs) |
| Docs for language models | llms.txt and an OpenAPI 3.1 file | llms.txt, a Markdown reference and an OpenAPI file (llms.txt) |
| AI agent skill | A skill for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI and OpenClaw; sign-in by approving a code, no key to copy (AI agents) | Not described on their public pages (checked keenface.ai/llms.txt and keenface.ai/docs/reference.md) |
Where KeenFace may suit you better
- A sign-up allowance: 450 credits, or 3 heads, at no charge. We give no credits; we give 20 sample heads to download instead.
- A mature multi-view mode. Scan Reconstruction takes 2–15 photos from one session and returns camera positions and focal lengths, with an optional Raw texture (docs). Our reconstruction from several photos is in beta.
- Files kept until you delete them, if you want the service to store your heads (docs). We delete photos after 7 days and files after 30; the master you can download again from stays a year.
- Long single waits of up to 15 minutes per request.
- Pages for more fields: medical visualisation, 3D scanner integration and virtual try-on (home).
- A long track record: KeenTools has made face tools such as FaceBuilder for Blender for years.
- Heads you can buy today. KeenFace sells credits now; FaceNinja's paid heads open soon.
A short way to decide
- You want a MetaHuman that is finished (skin, grooms, neck, all 52 ARKit shapes) and FBX, STL or PLY through the API: look at our samples, then try FaceNinja.
- You want your AI agent to make the heads, or to write the pipeline: FaceNinja's skill does that today.
- You run a calibrated multi-camera rig and need the camera positions in your 3D tool: KeenFace's Scan Reconstruction is built for that today.
- Not sure: compare the samples on both sites, then run the same photo through both.
- You need to buy heads this week: KeenFace sells them now; FaceNinja's paid heads open soon.
KeenFace is a trademark of its owner.
Product names on this page are trademarks of their owners. FaceNinja is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them.
Facts about other products come from their public pages, linked next to each fact, as they read on the date shown. Prices are as listed, before tax.
Something out of date or wrong? Write to support@faceninja.net and we correct it within two working days.