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Anam avatar models control how a persona’s face is generated during a live session. You select a model in Anam Lab or by setting avatarModel when you create a persona or session token. For most new production builds, set avatarModel to cara-4.
If you omit avatarModel, Anam uses the latest model version available for the selected avatar. This default can change as new versions become available, so set avatarModel explicitly when you need predictable rendering behavior.

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Available models

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Cara 3

Set avatarModel to cara-3 when an existing deployment needs to stay on the previous stable model. Cara 3 outputs 720x480 landscape video.

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Cara 4

Set avatarModel to cara-4 for new production avatars, higher-resolution sessions, and stronger custom avatars from a single photo. Cara 4 supports 1152x768 landscape output and 768x1152 portrait output. For custom avatar setup, see Create custom avatars and Custom avatar best practices.

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Cara 4 Latest

Set avatarModel to cara-4-latest to test Anam’s newest model capabilities before they are pinned to a stable release. Cara 4 Latest is experimental and is not recommended for production sessions.

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Cara 3 vs. Cara 4

Cara 4 is the current generation of Anam’s avatar model. Compared with Cara 3, it produces higher-resolution video, better lip sync, more natural expressivity, smoother transitions between speaking and idle states, and stronger identity preservation for custom avatars. Cara 4 also supports portrait output for mobile and vertical layouts. To request a portrait session, set videoWidth to 768 and videoHeight to 1152 in sessionOptions. See Video options for supported dimensions and crop behavior. Use Cara 3 only when you need continuity with an existing integration or avatar that was built around Cara 3 output.

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Pricing and concurrency

Avatar model choice does not change how session minutes are counted. Minutes are counted from the start of an avatar conversation until the session ends, and each active conversation uses one simultaneous session slot. Self-serve plans include different monthly minutes, overage rates, and simultaneous session limits. Enterprise plans start at 100 concurrent sessions and can be customized for larger deployments. See the Anam pricing page for current plan details.

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Director Notes

Use Director Notes with Cara 4 avatars to guide emotion, delivery, and expressivity during a conversation.
Last modified on July 3, 2026