Every price by quality and resolution
Each listed setting and what it costs per image and per 1,000 images.
| Model | Setting | Per image | 1,000 images |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT Image 2.5 FlareOpenAI | low · 1024×1536 | $0.00474 | $4.74 |
| low · 1536×1024 | $0.00474 | $4.74 | |
| low · 1024×1024 | $0.00588 | $5.88 | |
| medium · 1024×1536 | $0.0103 | $10.29 | |
| medium · 1536×1024 | $0.0103 | $10.29 | |
| medium · 1024×1024default | $0.0132 | $13.17 | |
| high · 1024×1536 | $0.0412 | $41.16 | |
| high · 1536×1024 | $0.0412 | $41.16 | |
| high · 1024×1024 | $0.0527 | $52.68 | |
| xhigh · 1024×1536 | $0.0738 | $73.77 | |
| xhigh · 1536×1024 | $0.0738 | $73.77 | |
| xhigh · 1024×1024 | $0.0937 | $93.66 | |
| max · 1024×1536 | $0.165 | $164.64 | |
| max · 1536×1024 | $0.165 | $164.64 | |
| max · 1024×1024 | $0.211 | $210.72 | |
| GPT Image 2.5 SunburstOpenAI | low · 1024×1536 | $0.00474 | $4.74 |
| low · 1536×1024 | $0.00474 | $4.74 | |
| low · 1024×1024 | $0.00588 | $5.88 | |
| medium · 1024×1536 | $0.0103 | $10.29 | |
| medium · 1536×1024 | $0.0103 | $10.29 | |
| medium · 1024×1024default | $0.0132 | $13.17 | |
| high · 1024×1536 | $0.0412 | $41.16 | |
| high · 1536×1024 | $0.0412 | $41.16 | |
| high · 1024×1024 | $0.0527 | $52.68 | |
| xhigh · 1024×1536 | $0.0738 | $73.77 | |
| xhigh · 1536×1024 | $0.0738 | $73.77 | |
| xhigh · 1024×1024 | $0.0937 | $93.66 | |
| max · 1024×1536 | $0.165 | $164.64 | |
| max · 1536×1024 | $0.165 | $164.64 | |
| max · 1024×1024 | $0.211 | $210.72 | |
| Grok Imagine ImagexAI | 1Kdefault | $0.02 | $20.00 |
| 2K | $0.02 | $20.00 | |
| Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite ImageGoogle Gemini API | 1Kdefault | $0.0336 | $33.60 |
| Gemini Nano Banana 2.1Google Gemini API | 1Kdefault | $0.0336 | $33.60 |
| 2K | $0.0504 | $50.40 | |
| 4K | $0.113 | $113.40 | |
| Grok Imagine Image 2.0xAI | low · 1Kdefault | $0.04 | $40.00 |
| low · 1.5K | $0.05 | $50.00 | |
| medium · 1K | $0.06 | $60.00 | |
| low · 2K | $0.06 | $60.00 | |
| medium · 1.5K | $0.07 | $70.00 | |
| medium · 2K | $0.08 | $80.00 | |
| GPT Image 2OpenAI | low · 1024×1536 | $0.00474 | $4.74 |
| low · 1536×1024 | $0.00474 | $4.74 | |
| low · 1024×1024 | $0.00588 | $5.88 | |
| medium · 1024×1536 | $0.0412 | $41.16 | |
| medium · 1536×1024 | $0.0412 | $41.16 | |
| medium · 1024×1024default | $0.0527 | $52.68 | |
| high · 1024×1536 | $0.165 | $164.64 | |
| high · 1536×1024 | $0.165 | $164.64 | |
| high · 1024×1024 | $0.211 | $210.72 | |
| Gemini 3.1 Flash ImageGoogle Gemini API | 0.5K | $0.045 | $45.00 |
| 1Kdefault | $0.067 | $67.00 | |
| 2K | $0.101 | $101.00 | |
| 4K | $0.151 | $151.00 | |
| Gemini 3 Pro ImageGoogle Gemini API | 1K or 2Kdefault | $0.134 | $134.00 |
| 4K | $0.24 | $240.00 |
Per-image billing vs token billing
xAI charges a fixed price per image for each quality and resolution. OpenAI and Google bill image output tokens instead: the model spends more tokens on larger or more detailed images, and the per-image figures here are those token counts multiplied by the published rate. Token billing also adds a small charge for the prompt text, and for editing it charges the reference images as input tokens. For short prompts that is a fraction of a cent, but long prompts and several reference images add up.
How to keep image costs down
- Draft with the cheapest quality setting and only re-render the images you keep at a higher setting.
- Ask for the size you will display. On Gemini a 4K render costs well over a 1K render; the table above shows how much for each model.
- Send non-urgent jobs through the Batch API on OpenAI or Gemini to halve the token rate.
- Check text rendering and prompt adherence on your own prompts; the cheapest model is not always the cheapest per usable image.
Related pricing pages
Provider pages list every model with its sources: OpenAI, Google Gemini and xAI. Other non-text APIs are compared on the embedding API pricing and text-to-speech API pricing pages. The raw records are in the AI API Pricing Dataset.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest image generation API?
The lowest listed price here is OpenAI GPT Image 2.5 Flare at $0.00474 per image (low · 1024×1536). At each model's default setting the cheapest is GPT Image 2.5 Flare at $0.0132 per image, or $13.17 per 1,000 images. Cheap settings trade away detail and text rendering, so test the quality you need before comparing on price.
How much does OpenAI's GPT Image API cost per image?
GPT Image 2.5 Flare: $0.00474 (low · 1024×1536) to $0.211 (max · 1024×1024) per image; GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst: $0.00474 (low · 1024×1536) to $0.211 (max · 1024×1024) per image; GPT Image 2: $0.00474 (low · 1024×1536) to $0.211 (high · 1024×1024) per image. OpenAI bills these models in image output tokens, and larger sizes and higher quality settings use more tokens. Text and reference-image input tokens are billed on top.
How much does Gemini image generation (Nano Banana) cost?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image: $0.0336 per image; Gemini Nano Banana 2.1: $0.0336 (1K) to $0.113 (4K) per image; Gemini 3.1 Flash Image: $0.045 (0.5K) to $0.151 (4K) per image; Gemini 3 Pro Image: $0.134 (1K or 2K) to $0.24 (4K) per image. Google bills image output tokens and publishes these per-image equivalents for each resolution.
How much does Grok Imagine cost per image?
Grok Imagine Image: $0.02 per image; Grok Imagine Image 2.0: $0.04 (low · 1K) to $0.08 (medium · 2K) per image. xAI charges a flat price per generated image for each quality and resolution, with no token charge for the prompt.
Is there a Batch discount for image generation?
OpenAI and Google bill Batch image generation at half the standard token rate, so Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image at its default setting drops from $0.0336 to about $0.0168 per image if you can wait for results. xAI supports Batch for image models but bills images at standard rates.
What does image editing with a reference image cost?
Edits are billed like generation, plus a charge for each input image: Grok Imagine Image $0.002 per input image, Grok Imagine Image 2.0 $0.01 per input image, Gemini 3 Pro Image $0.0011 per input image. OpenAI and the other Gemini models bill input images as image input tokens, which depend on the image size.
Where do these prices come from?
Each price is a verified record in the AICostBudget pricing dataset, linked to the provider's official pricing page with its verification date. OpenAI per-image figures come from the token formula in OpenAI's image generation guide, which matches its published per-image table for GPT Image 2.