FFmpeg is free. Running it well isn't. Your VPS chokes on it. Vercel crashes. And every "video API" alternative wants you to learn their proprietary interface and pay ~$29/month whether you use it or not. Very Good FFmpeg just runs your FFmpeg commands on dedicated 16-core hardware with a 6-hour timeout. Pay per GB. Works wherever you build - REST API, TypeScript, Python, MCP, Make, or n8n.