Image Generation API · decision tool
Black Forest Labs (FLUX) vs Stability AI — for your app, not in general
Black Forest Labs (FLUX) or Stability AI? Set your usage, budget and constraints; the verdict, monthly cost and risks update live from verified pricing.
Prices verified 2026-07-17 against official pricing pages · fit weights are our estimates (see methodology) · share the URL to share your configuration
As of Jul 2026, with 5,000 images/month at standard quality (~1MP), a $50 budget for this slot, Stability AI ranks first for these inputs at 36% fit and a StackSays-estimated $325.00/month (Black Forest Labs (FLUX): 30% fit, $150.00/month). Fit weights are our estimates; prices trace to official pages. Change any input below and the verdict recomputes.
Your situation
The verdict updates as you move these.
Narrow pick — the runner-up is close
Credit-based SD3.5 API whose open weights give you a self-hosting exit
vs Black Forest Labs (FLUX): fit 36% against 30%, est $325.00 against $150.00 per month
Comparing 2 tools head-to-head. Open the full field (8 options) →
The decision, in plain words
For a solo builder at 5,000 images/month at standard quality (~1MP) and a $50.00/mo budget for the image API slot, Stability AI leads at 36% fit and $325.00/mo. The two rules doing the work: ecosystem maturity (established — our estimate from ecosystem age, docs and hiring pool); batteries included (Bundles editing/inpainting — fewer services to glue at team size 1).
Black Forest Labs (FLUX) runs close (30% fit, $150.00/mo). It takes the lead if bundles editing/inpainting, reliable text-in-image — fewer services to glue at team size 1 matters more to you than the current weights assume.
Honest weak spot of the pick: ~$325/mo is 650% of your $50/mo budget — over it.
Generated from the calculation above — every number traces to the sourced data; nothing here is written by an AI making things up.
Why Stability AI scores 36%
How the $325.00/mo estimate is calculated
What could change this verdict
Cost risk
Official prices verified 2026-07-17; calculation is deterministic code over those prices.
At a glance
| Tool | Free tier | Paid entry | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Forest Labs (FLUX) | No free tier | Pay-as-you-go — $0.03 for the first output megapixel (≈1024×1024); higher resolutions bill extra per MP; FLUX.2 klein is $0.014-0.015/image, FLUX 1.1 [pro] legacy is $0.04/image | 2026-07-17 |
| Stability AI | No free tier | Pay-as-you-go — $0.065/image (6.5 credits); SD3.5 Large Turbo is $0.04, Medium $0.035, Flash $0.025; Stable Image Core $0.03; 25 free credits (~$0.25) at signup | 2026-07-17 |
Data sources
| Tool | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Black Forest Labs (FLUX) | BFL pricing docs | 2026-07-17 |
| Stability AI | Stability AI platform pricing | 2026-07-17 |
A monitor re-checks these pages for changes; when a vendor moves a price, the date updates and every verdict recomputes.