---
title: "Pixeltable vs Twelve Labs: table vs hosted video API"
description: "Twelve Labs is a hosted video API (Marengo 3.0, Pegasus 1.6). Pixeltable is one app file; it can call Twelve Labs as a column. Last reviewed Oct 2026."
keywords:
  - Pixeltable vs Twelve Labs
  - Twelve Labs alternative
  - Marengo 3.0
  - Pegasus 1.6
  - video search API
  - video understanding
url: "https://www.pixeltable.com/compare/pixeltable-vs-twelve-labs"
---

# Pixeltable and Twelve Labs

Twelve Labs is a hosted video API: Marengo for search embeddings, Pegasus for generated text. Pixeltable is the application schema those results can live on. Often and, not or: call Marengo as a computed index, keep the clip in a Video column you own.

## Summary

### Pixeltable

- Video column plus a video_splitter view; insert indexes new segments
- First-party twelvelabs.embed.using(model_name='marengo3.0') on video_segment
- Cross-modal similarity(string=), similarity(image=), similarity(audio=), similarity(video=)
- Same file can serve FastAPIRouter; Cloud is Limited Beta

### Twelve Labs

- Marengo 3.0: any-to-video search over a hosted index (visual + audio)
- Pegasus 1.6: generate text from video or images (Pegasus 1.5 remains for batch analyze)
- Python SDK: indexes.create, assets.create, indexes.indexed_assets.create, search.query
- Cloud-only core models; you do not self-host Marengo or Pegasus

## Comparison

| Feature | Pixeltable | Twelve Labs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | Application schema: store, transform, index, serve | Hosted video understanding API (search + generation) |
| Video-native models | Calls providers; CLIP, Whisper, YOLOX, or Twelve Labs as columns | Marengo search and Pegasus generation are the product |
| Where the clip lives | A Video column you query, version, and attach other columns to | An asset in their index; metadata and stream URLs via their API |
| Insert a new file | Insert a row; video_splitter and the index run for that clip | Upload an asset, poll until ready, then indexed_assets.create |
| Search API | column.similarity(...) on the segment view you own | search.query against a Marengo index, with rank and time range |
| Images, PDFs, HTTP | Same schema: Image, Document, FastAPIRouter | Video-first; not a general multimodal application backend |
| Self-host | pip install pixeltable; Cloud is Limited Beta | No self-host of Marengo or Pegasus |

## Index a lecture and search a moment

Pixeltable: video_splitter view and EmbeddingIndex with the first-party Twelve Labs UDF. Apply with pxt schema update app.py clips. Twelve Labs SDK (v1.3): create an index, upload an asset, index it, then search.query. Last reviewed: Oct 2026.

### Pixeltable

```python
import pixeltable as pxt
from pixeltable.functions.video import video_splitter
from pixeltable.functions import twelvelabs
from pixeltable.serving import FastAPIRouter

TableModel = pxt.model_base()
embed = twelvelabs.embed.using(model_name='marengo3.0')

class Videos(TableModel, name='videos'):
    video: pxt.Video
    title: pxt.String

class Segments(
    TableModel,
    name='segments',
    base=Videos,
    iterator=video_splitter(
        video=Videos.video, duration=5.0, min_segment_duration=4.0
    ),
):
    __indexes__ = [pxt.EmbeddingIndex(video_segment, embedding=embed)]

@pxt.query
def search_clips(query: str, limit: int = 5):
    sim = Segments.video_segment.similarity(string=query)
    return (
        Segments.order_by(sim, asc=False)
        .limit(limit)
        .select(Segments.video_segment, Segments.title, sim)
    )

api = FastAPIRouter(name='clips')
api.add_insert_route(Videos, path='/videos', inputs=[Videos.video, Videos.title])
api.add_query_route(path='/search', query=search_clips)
```

### Twelve Labs

```python
from twelvelabs import TwelveLabs

client = TwelveLabs(api_key='...')
index = client.indexes.create(
    index_name='lectures',
    models=[{'model_name': 'marengo3.0', 'model_options': ['visual', 'audio']}],
)
asset = client.assets.create(
    method='url',
    url='https://example.com/lecture.mp4',
)
# Poll client.assets.retrieve until status == 'ready', then:
client.indexes.indexed_assets.create(
    index_id=index.id, asset_id=asset.id
)
# Poll indexed_assets.retrieve until ready, then:
hits = client.search.query(
    index_id=index.id,
    query_text='person at a whiteboard',
    search_options=['visual', 'audio'],
)
# Pegasus 1.6 is a separate analyze call for generated text.
```

## When to choose Pixeltable

- **You need the clip next to other columns**: Transcripts, detections, documents, and HTTP in one file. Twelve Labs can still be the embedding function on the segment view.
- **A coding agent writes the app**: One app.py to review. pip install pixeltable. Pixeltable Cloud is Limited Beta, not GA.

## When to choose Twelve Labs

- **Hosted video search is the product**: You want Marengo any-to-video search or Pegasus generation without owning a catalog. Pixeltable is extra if the API response is enough.
- **You already pay for a Twelve Labs index**: Keep it. Point Pixeltable at Marengo when you also need an owned table; otherwise stay on their SDK. Docs: https://docs.twelvelabs.io/

## Making the right choice

### And, not or

- Do not migrate off Twelve Labs just to “complete the stack.” Keep it if Marengo or Pegasus is the contract.
- Pixeltable’s first-party UDF uses model_name='marengo3.0' as of Oct 2026 (docs.pixeltable.com/howto/providers/working-with-twelvelabs).
- Twelve Labs v1.3 flow: indexes.create → assets.create → indexed_assets.create → search.query (docs.twelvelabs.io).
- Pegasus 1.6 generates text; batch analyze may still use Pegasus 1.5. Confirm on the current model pages.

## FAQ

### Is Pixeltable a Twelve Labs alternative?

Not as a video-native foundation model. Pixeltable is the table those models can write into. If you only need hosted search or summaries, Twelve Labs is the product. If you need clips, other modalities, and HTTP you own, use Pixeltable and optionally call Marengo as a column.

### Does Pixeltable replace Marengo or Pegasus?

No. CLIP, Whisper, and YOLOX are different models. Marengo is video-native embeddings; Pegasus is video-to-text. Pixeltable can call Twelve Labs; it does not ship those weights.

### Where were these facts checked?

Last reviewed: Oct 2026. Twelve Labs: docs.twelvelabs.io v1.3 (indexes, assets, indexed-assets, search.query; Marengo 3.0; Pegasus 1.6). Pixeltable: docs.pixeltable.com/howto/providers/working-with-twelvelabs (video_splitter, video_segment, marengo3.0).