Which AI image model should I use?

It depends on the job rather than a single ranking. For readable text inside an image, Flux 2 and Muse Image are the strongest. For brand and design assets — icon sets, poster layouts, illustration in one consistent style — Recraft. For photoreal people and general aesthetic polish, Midjourney. One subscription covers all of them, so the practical answer is to run the same prompt through two or three and compare.

How much do AI image generations cost?

Each model card shows its credit cost per image, ranging from around 10 credits for fast models to several hundred for the highest-fidelity tiers. Credits come from your plan, and there are no per-model surcharges on top.

Can these models edit an existing image?

Many can. Models marked with an Img → Img action accept an input image for editing, restyling or reference-guided generation; some take several reference images at once. The individual model page lists how many references it supports.

Do I need a different subscription for each model?

No. One BudgetPixel subscription covers every image model here, plus video, music and voice, and the API and MCP server.

Can I use the images commercially?

Commercial use depends on the provider's terms for the specific model you used, and those differ. Each model's page links to what its provider allows — check that before using output in paid work.

AI Image Generation Models

62 models available on BudgetPixel

Every text-to-image and image-editing model on BudgetPixel, in one place. They differ more than the marketing suggests: some are built for photoreal people, some for legible typography inside the frame, some for brand-consistent design assets, and some simply for volume at the lowest cost per image.

Each card shows real output from that model, what it costs in credits, and links to a full breakdown of what it does well. One subscription covers all of them, so switching models costs nothing but a click — the practical way to choose is to run the same prompt through two or three and compare.

Open the Image Workshop

All image generation models

Muse Image 1.012 credits
Meta's agentic image model — it can research your prompt with web and image search and run code for charts, tables and text layouts before rendering. Superb typography and real-world accuracy, ~2K output, editing and multi-reference composition. Flat 12 credits per image.
Grok Imagine 2.050 credits
xAI's latest Grok image model — precise editing, infographics, ads, game assets, UI/UX mockups and storyboards. Pick a quality tier and resolution: Low 1K=50 / 2K=80, Medium 1K=80 / 2K=100 credits.
Qwen Image 3.040 credits
Alibaba's Qwen Image 3.0 - unified image generation and editing balancing quality and speed, with text rendering, multi-image fusion (up to 3 references), negative prompt support, and seed control. 40 credits at 1K, 45 at 2K.
Qwen Image 3.0 Pro45 credits
Alibaba's flagship Qwen Image 3.0 Pro - professional infographics, exquisite photorealism, and stronger prompt adherence. Supports multi-image fusion with up to 3 references, negative prompt, and seed control. 45 credits at 1K, 85 at 2K.
SeeDream 5.0 Pro55 credits
Flagship precise image editing with full layer control. 1K/2K output, up to 9 reference images (first free, then +5 credits each).
Nano Banana 2 Lite40 credits
Budget Nano Banana 2 — fast 1K text-to-image and image editing with multi-image fusion (up to 14 references).
Ideogram V440 credits
Aesthetic-first text-to-image with strong style control. Choose a rendering speed (Turbo, Balanced, or Quality).
Kling v335 credits
Kling AI's image model with strong prompt adherence and aesthetics. Text-to-image and image-to-image at 1K/2K.
Kling v3 Omni35 credits
Kling AI's omni image model — text-to-image, image-to-image, multiple reference images, and series generation. Up to 4K.
Krea 2 Large80 credits
Higher-fidelity tier of Krea 2 with sharper details and stronger prompt adherence. Same creativity dial and up to 3 style references.
Krea 2 Medium40 credits
Krea's second-gen image model with a creativity dial (raw/low/medium/high) for steering prompt adherence vs. imagination. Text-to-image and up to 3 style reference images.
Grok Imagine Quality80 credits
xAI's high-quality image generation model with resolution-based pricing (1K=80 / 2K=100 credits). Supports text-to-image and image editing with up to 3 reference images.
ImagineArt 2.060 credits
Next-gen ImagineArt with 1K/2K resolution tiers and high-reasoning generation. Sharper details and stronger prompt adherence than 1.5.
GPT-Image-260 credits
OpenAI's next-gen image model with 1K/2K/4K resolution, significantly improved text rendering, and PNG/JPEG output.
ImagineArt 1.5 Pro55 credits
Pro-grade ultra photorealistic generation with industry-leading text rendering for signs, packaging, and book covers.
Recraft V4 Pro300 credits
Recraft's premium text-to-image model with the highest quality output. Stronger composition, refined lighting, and realistic materials for professional production workflows.
Recraft V445 credits
Recraft's latest text-to-image model with professional design quality, exceptional composition, lighting, and aesthetic cohesion. Supports custom color palettes.
Midjourney Niji 740 credits
Latest anime-focused model with enhanced character and style capabilities. Create next-level anime artwork with improved detail and expression. Generates 4 images per request.
Midjourney V740 credits
Midjourney's latest flagship text-to-image model. Breakthrough quality, realism, and creative capabilities.
Wan 2.735 credits
Alibaba's latest image generation and editing model with thinking mode, multi-reference images (up to 9), and 2K output. Fast generation with strong prompt adherence.
Wan 2.7 Pro80 credits
Professional edition of Wan 2.7 with 4K output support, thinking mode, multi-reference images (up to 9), and enhanced quality for high-fidelity generation.
Hunyuan Image 3 Instruct120 credits
Tencent's instruction-following image generation with text-to-image and image-to-image support. Up to 2 reference images for guided generation.
Qwen Image 2.045 credits
Alibaba's fast unified image generation and editing model with text rendering, multi-image fusion (up to 3 references), negative prompt support, and seed control.
Qwen Image 2.0 Pro85 credits
Alibaba's premium image generation with enhanced text rendering, fine-grained realism, and stronger semantic adherence. Supports multi-image fusion with up to 3 references. (API version: qwen-image-2.0-pro-2026-04-22)
Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash)65 credits
High-efficiency image generation with 0.5K/1K/2K/4K resolution, Google Image Search grounding, and multi-image fusion (up to 9 references).
SeeDream 5.0 Lite40 credits
Fast, lightweight unified generation & editing with superior aesthetics, 2K/3K resolution, multi-reference support, and sequential generation.
Grok Imagine35 credits
xAI's Grok image generation model - creates stunning images from text prompts with support for image editing.
Flux 2 Klein10 credits
Sub-second image generation (FLUX.2-klein-9B) with text-to-image and image editing. Supports up to 3 reference images with excellent prompt adherence.
ImagineArt 1.540 credits
Ultra photorealistic generation with industry-leading text rendering for signs, packaging, and book covers.
Flux 2 Max80 credits
Black Forest Labs' most powerful FLUX model with exceptional detail and quality. Resolution-based pricing with multi-image reference support (up to 4 images). Supports 0.5MP to 4MP resolution.
Wan 2.630 credits
Alibaba's latest unified model with improved quality, supporting both text-to-image generation and intelligent image editing. Enhanced detail and prompt adherence with automatic capability selection.
SeeDream 4.545 credits
Latest unified generation & editing with superior aesthetics, higher consistency, and smarter instruction following. 2K/4K resolution.
P-Image10 credits
PrunaAI's ultra-fast Qwen-based model generating 1MP images at exceptional speed (~0.6s). State-of-the-art efficiency.
P-Image Edit15 credits
PrunaAI's fast multi-image editing model supporting up to 3 reference images (~0.9s). Great for compositions and edits.
Z-Image-Turbo15 credits
Ultra-fast 6B parameter text-to-image model with only 9 inference steps. Delivers high-quality images at exceptional speed.
Flux 2 Flex80 credits
Advanced FLUX model with resolution-based pricing, adjustable steps and guidance, and multi-image reference support (up to 4 images). Fine-grained control over generation quality.
Flux 2 Pro25 credits
Premium FLUX model with resolution-based pricing and multi-image reference support (up to 4 images). Supports 0.5MP to 4MP resolution.
Flux 2 Dev25 credits
Next-gen FLUX with improved quality and multi-image reference support (up to 4 images).
Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro)120 credits
Professional asset production with Google Search grounding, advanced reasoning, and 1K/2K/4K resolution support. Multi-image fusion with up to 9 reference images.
Flux Schnell Ultra15 credits
4-megapixel model optimized for fast, highly detailed image generation. Budget-friendly and efficient.
Qwen-Image-Edit-Plus20 credits
Advanced multi-image editing with up to 3 input images for complex compositions and edits. Output matches input image dimensions.
Wan 2.530 credits
Alibaba's flagship unified model supporting both text-to-image generation and intelligent image editing. Features exceptional quality, detail, and prompt adherence with automatic capability selection based on input.
Wan 2.2 Image25 credits
High-quality text-to-image generation with 6 aspect ratios.
MiniMax Image-0110 credits
High-quality image generation model. For image-to-image generation, it is good at focusing on the character from the input image.
HiDream I1 Fast15 credits
Optimized text-to-image generation with fast inference and multiple speed optimization levels.
Lucid Origin Standard18 credits
Artistic and high-quality visuals with improved prompt adherence, diversity, and definition.
Lucid Origin Ultra85 credits
Premium artistic visuals with ultra-quality generation mode for professional use.
Flux 1.1 Pro40 credits
6x faster FLUX Pro with enhanced image quality and prompt adherence.
SeeDream 433 credits
Unified generation & editing with up to 4K resolution and multi-reference support.
Flux 1.1 Pro Ultra60 credits
Ultra high-resolution (up to 4MP) for authentic photography.
Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash)40 credits
Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Image): text-to-image and image editing with multi-image fusion (up to 6).
Gen-4 Image80 credits
Reference-based image generation with character and location consistency. Use up to 3 reference images with tags.
Qwen-Image-Edit15 credits
Precise text editing in images while preserving style and appearance.
Qwen-Image15 credits
Best‑in‑class for complex text rendering and typography.
Flux Krea Dev25 credits
Photorealistic image generation that avoids the oversaturated 'AI look'.
Ideogram v3 Balanced60 credits
Great for logo design and text-based graphics.
Ideogram v3 Quality90 credits
Best quality for complex typography and scene graphics.
Ideogram v3 Turbo30 credits
Text rendering and poster‑style graphics at turbo speed.
Flux Kontext Max80 credits
Maximum detail and coherence for context-heavy prompts.
Imagen 4 Ultra60 credits
High‑fidelity photo generation from text prompts.
Flux Kontext Pro40 credits
Great for image editing and image generation.
Flux Dev25 credits
Versatile baseline for fast general-purpose generation.

AI Image Generation Models — common questions

Which AI image model should I use?: It depends on the job rather than a single ranking. For readable text inside an image, Flux 2 and Muse Image are the strongest. For brand and design assets — icon sets, poster layouts, illustration in one consistent style — Recraft. For photoreal people and general aesthetic polish, Midjourney. One subscription covers all of them, so the practical answer is to run the same prompt through two or three and compare.
How much do AI image generations cost?: Each model card shows its credit cost per image, ranging from around 10 credits for fast models to several hundred for the highest-fidelity tiers. Credits come from your plan, and there are no per-model surcharges on top.
Can these models edit an existing image?: Many can. Models marked with an Img → Img action accept an input image for editing, restyling or reference-guided generation; some take several reference images at once. The individual model page lists how many references it supports.
Do I need a different subscription for each model?: No. One BudgetPixel subscription covers every image model here, plus video, music and voice, and the API and MCP server.
Can I use the images commercially?: Commercial use depends on the provider's terms for the specific model you used, and those differ. Each model's page links to what its provider allows — check that before using output in paid work.

Browse other model types

AI Video Generation Models
AI Music Generation Models
AI Voice & Text-to-Speech Models
All AI models