FLUX.2 Pro vs FLUX.2 Flex vs FLUX.2 Max
FLUX is the image model family from Black Forest Labs, the German lab founded by the researchers behind Stable Diffusion. The hosted FLUX.2 tiers live in September 2026 are Pro, the production default; Flex, with tunable steps and guidance; and Max, the top tier. The open-weight Dev and Klein models are for running yourself. Each hosted tier has its own page with the same twelve prompts.
Black Forest Labs · facts checked
Which one to pick
FLUX.2 Pro
$0.03 per 1k image via BFL API
Default choice. Photoreal, three cents a megapixel, nothing to tune.
FLUX.2 Flex
$0.05 per 1k image via BFL API
Typography, or when you want to set steps and guidance yourself.
FLUX.2 Max
$0.07 per 1k image via BFL API
When the last bit of detail is worth twice the price.
Side by side, measured
| Model | Price | Seconds per image | 12 prompts cost | Sizes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLUX.2 Pro | $0.03 per 1k image via BFL API | 8 to 16 | $0.495 | Exact width and height, priced by area |
| FLUX.2 Flex | $0.05 per 1k image via BFL API | 9 to 13 | $1.05 | Exact width and height, priced by area |
| FLUX.2 Max | $0.07 per 1k image via BFL API | 14 to 35 | $1.11 | Exact width and height, priced by area |
Seconds and cost are from our own runs of the same 12 prompts through each model; open a model for every picture and the request behind it.
Every version
| Version | Released | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| FLUX.1 flux-pro, flux-dev, flux-schnell | Launch: Pro on the API, Dev under a non-commercial licence, Schnell under Apache 2.0. Briefly the image engine inside Grok. | |
| FLUX1.1 Pro flux-pro-1.1 | Faster flagship; Ultra and Raw modes and the Fill, Depth, Canny and Redux tools followed in November. | |
| FLUX.1 Kontext flux-kontext-pro, flux-kontext-max | In-context editing from text plus images; later added to Photoshop's generative fill. | |
| FLUX.2 Pro flux-2-pro | The FLUX.2 generation: latent flow matching with a Mistral vision-language model, better references, realism and typography. | |
| FLUX.2 Flex flux-2-flex | Tunable steps and guidance, up to 10 reference images. | |
| FLUX.2 Max flux-2-max | The top tier for realism and precision. | |
| FLUX.2 Klein flux-2-klein | Small open-weight models under Apache 2.0 that generate in under a second. |
Frequently asked questions
Is FLUX AI free?
Not from Black Forest Labs, which sells by the megapixel. The Dev and Klein models are free to download and run, and several apps bundle FLUX with free credits.
Who owns FLUX?
Black Forest Labs, founded in 2024 in Freiburg, Germany. The flux-branded websites on page one of most searches are unrelated resellers.