AI image models, tested
One page per model: what it costs, what the free tier really gives you, which settings matter and what they look like, and the same twelve prompts run through every model so you can compare real output. Each picture below is the model drawing itself.
Black Forest Labs
FLUX.2 Pro
$0.03 per 1k image via BFL API
Black Forest Labs' production model: 3 cents a megapixel, photoreal, no knobs to tune.
FLUX.2 Flex
$0.05 per 1k image via BFL API
The FLUX.2 tier with knobs: steps and guidance you can tune, better typography, 5 cents a megapixel.
FLUX.2 Max
$0.07 per 1k image via BFL API
The top FLUX.2 tier: 7 cents a megapixel for BFL's most realistic and precise output and edits.
OpenAI
GPT Image 2.5 Flare
$0.053 per 1024 by 1024, high quality via fal
OpenAI's fast default since September 2026: GPT Image 2's tricks, faster, and a quarter of the price at high quality.
GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst
$0.053 per 1024 by 1024, high quality via fal
OpenAI's precision tier: same prices as Flare, slower, built for edits where fidelity to the original matters most.
GPT Image 2
$0.211 per 1024 by 1024, high quality via fal
The model behind ChatGPT's image generator from April to September 2026: exact sizes, cut-outs, precise edits, slow at high quality.
xAI
Grok Imagine 2.0
$0.04 per image via xAI API
xAI's current image model: cheap, fast, sharp small text, and edits from up to three reference images.
Grok Imagine Pro
$0.05 per image via xAI API
xAI's quality tier: a cent more than 2.0 per image, no quality dial, the same shapes and edits.
Grok Imagine
$0.02 per image via xAI API
The original 2025 Grok Imagine image model: two cents an image and still on the API, superseded by 2.0.
Ideogram
Google DeepMind
Nano Banana 2
$0.067 per 1k image via Gemini API
Google's everyday model and the Gemini app default: near-Pro quality at Flash speed and half the price.
Nano Banana 2 Lite
$0.034 per 1k image via Gemini API
The cheapest and fastest Nano Banana: about $0.034 an image and a few seconds each, at a fixed 1K.
Nano Banana Pro
$0.134 per 1k or 2k image via Gemini API
Google's premium tier: the best at text and complex briefs, the slowest and dearest of the three.
Recraft
Recraft V4.1
$0.035 per raster image via Recraft API
Recraft's design-first model: brand colours as an input, real SVG in the vector variant, 3.5 cents an image.
Recraft V3
$0.04 per raster image via Recraft API
Recraft's 2024 model, still on sale: 70 named styles, an image-to-image endpoint, 4 cents an image.
ByteDance
Seedream 5.0 Pro
$0.068 per image up to 1536 by 1536 in area via fal
ByteDance's flagship: reasons before it draws, text in 14 languages, dense layouts, under 7 cents at 1K.
Seedream 5.0 Lite
$0.035 per image via fal
ByteDance's fast tier: 3.5 cents an image, 2K to 4K output, up to ten reference images.
Seedream 4.5
$0.04 per image via fal
ByteDance's late-2025 model: 4 cents an image, 2K and 4K, generation and editing in one model.
Every page runs the same 12 prompts (prompt set 2026-09-09): text in an image, a product on white, a face and hands, a logo, a busy scene, a named art style, a chart, a wide banner, an infographic, food, a hard composition and an edit of an earlier result. Output is shown as it came back.