FLUX from Black Forest Labs delivers photorealism and illustration via the official API and Playground (credit-based, 1 credit = $0.01 USD) and via open-weight checkpoints such as FLUX.2 [dev] for local use. Hosted FLUX.2 [pro] text-to-image starts around $0.03 per megapixel as of October 2026. It is aimed at developers and teams that need API access or per-image pricing rather than a single consumer app. Tooling is fragmented across hosts, so beginners face a steeper setup curve. Editorial teams should verify fit against their compliance and workflow needs before rolling it out broadly.
Black Forest Labs
FLUX
Hosted API and open-weight image models
FreemiumScore 85.8#25 overall#2 in Image Generation
323 editorial upvotes · editor score 4.6 / 5
Specs
| Pricing | Freemium |
|---|---|
| Starting price | — |
| Free tier | Yes |
| Platforms | API, Web |
| Launched | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Last verified | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Vendor | Black Forest Labs |
Highlights
- Excellent detail
- Open and hosted options
Pros
- Strong prompt adherence
- Flexible deployment
Cons
- Fragmented consumer apps
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Reviews
Reviews open in the next release. Editor scores on this page are editorial estimates, not user ratings.