Flux
Photorealistic image model by Black Forest Labs
- Category
- Image
- Tested version
- Latest stable (2026)
- Free tier
- No
- API
- Available
- Platforms
- Web, API
- Pricing
- Black Forest Labs API: Pro ~$0.05 per image at 1MP. Free credits on signup; otherwise usage-based.
- Official site
- blackforestlabs.ai
- Updated
- 2026-07-21
- Editorial status
- Editorially reviewed
TL;DR — Key Takeaways
- Flux is a image AI tool: Photorealistic image model by Black Forest Labs.
- Pricing: Black Forest Labs API: Pro ~$0.05 per image at 1MP. Free credits on signup; otherwise usage-based.
- Best for: Product.
- Editorially reviewed by AI Tool Hub (tested version: Latest stable (2026)).
What is Flux?
Flux by Black Forest Labs is known for photorealism and prompt adherence; pay per image, no subscription.
Our take
Flux. Flux by Black Forest Labs is known for photorealism and prompt adherence; pay per image, no subscription.
Screenshots
Real test data
Flux is editorially reviewed (tested version: Latest stable (2026)). Our standardized real-test data will be published here once the shared benchmark suite completes.
We do not display fabricated or vendor-supplied benchmark numbers.
Key features
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Realism | Product |
| High-res | Portraits |
| Pay per image | Commercial |
| Variants | Concept |
Use cases that actually work
- Product
- Portraits
- Commercial
- Concept
Best for
- Realistic portraits
- Product shots
- Commercial photo
- Concept
Target audience
Pricing
Black Forest Labs API: Pro ~$0.05 per image at 1MP. Free credits on signup; otherwise usage-based.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Photorealistic
- Pay per image
- Strong prompt adherence
Cons
- Weaker stylized
- Via third-party APIs
- No built-in editor
Example
Our verdict
Pick Flux if: Flux is a fit if you need a reliable image AI tool with photorealistic.
Skip Flux if: Flux is not the right fit if you need capabilities outside image — look at the alternatives below.
Head-to-head comparisons
Alternatives to Flux
Midjourney
Top-tier AI artistic image generator
ImageStable Diffusion
Open-source, free, local AI image generator
ImageLeonardo.AI
AI image generation platform for games and design
ImageIdeogram
AI image generator best at rendering text in images
ImageKrea
Real-time AI image generation and enhancement platform
ImageCanva AI
AI design assistant built into Canva
ImageFrequently asked questions
What is Flux?
Flux is a family of image generation models from Black Forest Labs, the team behind Stable Diffusion. Flux.1 ships in Pro, Dev, and Schnell variants.
Is Flux better than Midjourney?
Flux.1 Pro produces competitive photorealism and excellent prompt adherence; Midjourney still leads in painterly aesthetics. Choose by use case.
How much does Flux cost?
Flux is usage-based via the Black Forest Labs API. Flux.1 Pro is roughly $0.05 per 1MP image; Schnell (faster) is cheaper.
Does Flux have a free tier?
Sign-up credits are available, after which it is paid. The open-weight Schnell and Dev variants can be self-hosted for free on your own GPUs.
Can I self-host Flux?
Yes. The non-commercial FLUX.1 [schnell] and FLUX.1 [dev] weights are released under Apache 2.0 / FLUX.1-dev Non-Commercial License respectively.
What integrations support Flux?
Flux is available on Replicate, fal.ai, Together AI, and through ComfyUI, with new integrations shipping monthly.
Is Flux good for typography in images?
Flux.1 is markedly better at rendering legible text in images than earlier open models, but Ideogram still leads at very long or multilingual strings.
How big is Flux's model?
FLUX.1 [pro] is a 12B parameter rectified flow transformer. Dev and Schnell are similar scale with different training recipes.
Does Flux support LoRA and ControlNet?
The open-weight Dev variant supports LoRA training and ControlNet-style conditioning through ComfyUI and diffusers.
Who should use Flux?
Teams that need a flexible image model with both an API and self-hosting path, especially if text-in-image accuracy matters.
Curated by the AI Tool Hub editorial team — last updated 2026-07-21. We publish real-test benchmark numbers only after running our standardized suite.