AI image generation API pricing
19 image models from 8 companies, priced per image at about one megapixel (1K). The lowest listed price is MiniMax Image-01 at $0.0035 an image; among models priced at 1K, GPT Image 2.5 starts at $0.00588 and FLUX 3 Image Klein starts at $0.009. Each price is checked on the company’s own pricing page, 6 Nov 2026.
Image generation API prices
Cheapest first
| Model | Size compared | Per image | 1,000 images | Other sizes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 MiniMax Image-01MiniMax · image-01 | Size not stated | $0.0035 | $3.50 | — | Source for MiniMax Image-01: MiniMax pricing (opens in a new tab) |
 GPT Image 2.5OpenAI · gpt-image-2.5-sunburst, gpt-image-2.5-flare | 1K | $0.00588–$0.21072Low to Max · maker’s estimate · 50% off in batch | $5.88up to $211 | — | Source for GPT Image 2.5: OpenAI image generation guide (opens in a new tab) |
| FLUX 3 Image KleinBlack Forest Labs | 1K | $0.009 | $9.00 | 768×768 $0.008 · 1.5K $0.011 · 2K $0.014 · 4K $0.036 | Source for FLUX 3 Image Klein: Black Forest Labs pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Gen-4 Image TurboRunway · gen4_image_turbo | Any size | $0.02 | $20.00 | — | Source for Gen-4 Image Turbo: Runway API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
 Grok Imagine ImagexAI · grok-imagine-image | 1K | $0.02 | $20.00 | 2K $0.02 | Source for Grok Imagine Image: xAI API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
 Imagen 4Google · Imagen 4 Fast, Imagen 4, Imagen 4 Ultra | Size not stated | $0.02–$0.06Fast to Ultra | $20.00up to $60.00 | — | Source for Imagen 4: Google Cloud generative AI pricing (opens in a new tab) |
GPT Image 2.6OpenAI · gpt-image-2.6-sunburst, gpt-image-2.6-flare | 1K | $0.02469–$0.21072Low to Max · maker’s estimate | $24.69up to $211 | — | Source for GPT Image 2.6: OpenAI image generation guide (opens in a new tab) |
| Ideogram 4.5Ideogram | 1K | $0.03–$0.10Low to High | $30.00up to $100 | 2K $0.03–$0.10 | Source for Ideogram 4.5: Ideogram API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
 Qwen-Image 3.0Alibaba · qwen-image-3.0 | 1K | $0.03 | $30.00 | 2K $0.03 | Source for Qwen-Image 3.0: Alibaba Cloud Model Studio pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Wan 2.6 Text-to-ImageAlibaba · wan2.6-t2i | Size not stated | $0.03 | $30.00 | — | Source for Wan 2.6 Text-to-Image: Alibaba Cloud Model Studio pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Nano Banana 2 LiteGoogle · gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image | 1K | $0.0336maker’s estimate | $33.60 | — | Source for Nano Banana 2 Lite: Gemini API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Nano Banana 2.1Google · gemini-nano-banana-2.1 | 1K | $0.0336maker’s estimate · 50% off in batch | $33.60 | 2K $0.0504 · 4K $0.113 | Source for Nano Banana 2.1: Gemini API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Nano BananaGoogle · gemini-2.5-flash-image | 1K | $0.039maker’s estimate · retires 15 Mar 2027 | $39.00 | — | Source for Nano Banana: Gemini API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Grok Imagine Image 2.0xAI · grok-imagine-image-2.0 | 1K | $0.04–$0.06Low to Medium | $40.00up to $60.00 | 1.5K $0.05–$0.07 · 2K $0.06–$0.08 | Source for Grok Imagine Image 2.0: xAI API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Qwen-Image 3.0 ProAlibaba · qwen-image-3.0-pro | 1K | $0.04 | $40.00 | 2K $0.075 | Source for Qwen-Image 3.0 Pro: Alibaba Cloud Model Studio pricing (opens in a new tab) |
| FLUX 3 ImageBlack Forest Labs | 1K | $0.048 | $48.00 | 768×768 $0.041 · 1.5K $0.07 · 2K $0.10 · 4K $0.607 | Source for FLUX 3 Image: Black Forest Labs pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Gen-4 ImageRunway · gen4_image | 720p | $0.05 | $50.00 | 1080p $0.08 | Source for Gen-4 Image: Runway API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Nano Banana 2Google · gemini-3.1-flash-image | 1K | $0.067maker’s estimate | $67.00 | 0.5K $0.045 · 2K $0.101 · 4K $0.151 | Source for Nano Banana 2: Gemini API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Nano Banana ProGoogle · gemini-3-pro-image | 1K–2K | $0.134maker’s estimate | $134 | 4K $0.24 | Source for Nano Banana Pro: Gemini API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
US dollar list prices before tax, checked 6 Nov 2026 on each company’s own pricing page. 1K is about 1024×1024 pixels. A range shows the cheapest to the dearest quality setting at that size; 1,000 images uses the cheapest. OpenAI and Google bill images per token and publish what an image works out at, marked as the maker’s estimate. GPT Image 2.5 and Nano Banana 2.1 cost half through batch processing.
What each price includes
- MiniMax Image-01 MiniMax
- MiniMax lists one price per image.
- GPT Image 2.5 OpenAI
- Billed per token: $30 per 1M image output tokens. Per-image figures are OpenAI's own estimates for a 1024×1024 image; prompt text and input images are billed on top. Sunburst (precise editing) and Flare (fast everyday generation) share the same rates.
- FLUX 3 Image Klein Black Forest Labs
- A 5.6B-parameter model with open weights that runs on a single consumer GPU; self-hosting needs a licence from Black Forest Labs.
- Gen-4 Image Turbo Runway
- 2 credits per image at any resolution, at $0.01 a credit.
- Grok Imagine Image xAI
- Each input image for editing costs $0.002.
- Imagen 4 Google
- Sold on Google Cloud (Vertex AI), not the Gemini Developer API. Upscaling a generated image to 2K, 3K or 4K costs $0.06.
- GPT Image 2.6 OpenAI
- Released 5 November 2026, adding SVG and animated GIF output. Billed per token: $30 per 1M image output tokens. Per-image figures are OpenAI's own estimates for a 1024×1024 image; prompt text and input images are billed on top. It uses more tokens per image than GPT Image 2.5 at low and medium quality, so it costs about four and three times as much there; from high quality up the two cost the same. Not offered through batch.
- Ideogram 4.5 Ideogram
- Low, Medium and High are rendering speeds. 2K costs the same as 1K. High with source images (image to image) costs $0.22.
- Qwen-Image 3.0 Alibaba
- International deployment (Singapore). Each input image costs $0.003.
- Wan 2.6 Text-to-Image Alibaba
- International deployment (Singapore).
- Nano Banana 2 Lite Google
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image. Billed per token: $30 per 1M image output tokens.
- Nano Banana 2.1 Google
- Billed per token: $30 per 1M image output tokens ($15 through Batch). Google converts this to a price per image at each size.
- Nano Banana Google
- Gemini 2.5 Flash Image. Billed per token: $30 per 1M image output tokens. Google shuts it down on 15 March 2027 and recommends Nano Banana 2 Lite instead.
- Grok Imagine Image 2.0 xAI
- Each input image for editing costs $0.01. Since 2 November 2026, requests to the retired Grok Imagine Image Quality and Pro models run on this model at low quality.
- Qwen-Image 3.0 Pro Alibaba
- International deployment (Singapore). Each input image costs $0.003.
- FLUX 3 Image Black Forest Labs
- Text to image and image to image.
- Gen-4 Image Runway
- Runway bills in credits at $0.01 each: 5 credits per 720p image, 8 per 1080p image.
- Nano Banana 2 Google
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Image. Billed per token: $60 per 1M image output tokens.
- Nano Banana Pro Google
- Gemini 3 Pro Image. Billed per token: $120 per 1M image output tokens; text is billed at Gemini 3.1 Pro rates and each input image costs $0.0011.
How image APIs charge
- Per image or per token. Most companies charge a flat price per image. OpenAI and Google charge per output token instead, so the price depends on size and quality; both publish per-image equivalents, shown here.
- Size and quality. Bigger and higher-quality images cost more, sometimes far more: FLUX 3 Image costs more than 12 times as much at 4K as at 1K, and GPT Image 2.5 on max quality costs 36 times as much as on low.
- Editing. Sending images in to edit or use as references is billed on top by GPT Image 2.5, Grok Imagine Image, GPT Image 2.6, Qwen-Image 3.0, Grok Imagine Image 2.0, Qwen-Image 3.0 Pro and Nano Banana Pro.
- Batch. If you can wait for results, GPT Image 2.5 and Nano Banana 2.1 cost half through batch processing.
- The prompt. Token-billed models also charge for prompt text at their text rates, usually a small part of the cost of an image.
Questions
What is the cheapest image generation API?
The lowest listed price is MiniMax Image-01 from MiniMax at $0.0035 an image (it lists one price, without a size). At 1K (about 1024×1024 pixels), the cheapest are GPT Image 2.5 at $0.00588 on low quality, FLUX 3 Image Klein at $0.009 and Grok Imagine Image at $0.02. Quality differs a lot between these models, so try two or three on your own prompts.
How much does GPT Image 2.5 cost per image?
OpenAI bills GPT Image 2.5 per token, at $30 per 1M image output tokens. Its own estimates for a 1024×1024 image run from $0.00588 on low quality to $0.21072 on max, with $0.01317 on medium and $0.05268 on high. Prompt text and input images cost extra, and the Batch API halves the price.
How much does Nano Banana cost?
In the Gemini API, a 1K image costs $0.0336 on Nano Banana 2 Lite, $0.0336 on Nano Banana 2.1, $0.067 on Nano Banana 2 and $0.134 on Nano Banana Pro (1K–2K). Google bills these models per token and publishes the per-image figures; Nano Banana 2.1 costs half through Batch.
Is Imagen available in the Gemini API?
Imagen 4 is priced on Google Cloud (Vertex AI), at $0.02 an image for Imagen 4 Fast, $0.04 an image for Imagen 4 and $0.06 an image for Imagen 4 Ultra. The image models on the Gemini Developer API's pricing page are the Nano Banana family.
Why does the same model have several prices?
Larger images and higher quality settings cost more. FLUX 3 Image costs $0.048 at 1K and $0.607 at 4K. Image models that edit pictures may also charge for each input image: GPT Image 2.5, Grok Imagine Image, GPT Image 2.6, Qwen-Image 3.0, Grok Imagine Image 2.0, Qwen-Image 3.0 Pro and Nano Banana Pro do.
When were these prices checked?
On 6 Nov 2026, on each company’s own pricing page, linked from every row. Prices are in US dollars before tax. Where a company bills per token, the per-image figure is its own estimate, and we mark it as one.
More pricing
Sources: MiniMax pricing, OpenAI image generation guide, Black Forest Labs pricing, Runway API pricing, xAI API pricing, Google Cloud generative AI pricing, Ideogram API pricing, Alibaba Cloud Model Studio pricing, Gemini API pricing. Checked 6 Nov 2026.