FLUX
: How to use it, features, and the business problems it solves
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What is FLUX?
A family of frontier image-generation and editing models from Germany's Black Forest Labs (founded by Stable Diffusion's creators). The current still-image workhorse is the FLUX.2 generation, with the multimodal FLUX 3 as the newest. Strong at photorealism, prompt adherence, in-image text, and editing (Kontext); usable via Playground/API/open weights on pay-as-you-go (1 credit = $0.01).
Business problems it solves
About "FLUX"
What is FLUX
FLUX is a family of frontier visual-AI models, centered on image generation and editing, from Germany's Black Forest Labs — founded by members of the Stable Diffusion team. Known for photorealism and strong prompt adherence, it supports image editing (Kontext), consistent generation referencing multiple images, and accurate in-image text. You can use it via a pay-as-you-go API and a browser Playground, and some models are released as open weights. It is also embedded in many creative tools.
The lineup keeps evolving. The newest is the multimodal FLUX 3 (currently FLUX 3 Video is available first; images and more follow), while the still-image workhorse is the FLUX.2 generation (max / pro / flex for typography / klein as open weights). The earlier FLUX.1 family (FLUX1.1 [pro], the Kontext editing models, the open-weight [dev], etc.) is still offered.
How to use
Generate/edit via the Playground or API, and self-host if needed.
Choose an access point
Use the browser Playground, or the API.
Pick a model
Choose FLUX.2 / Kontext, etc., for the job.
Generate & edit
Generate from a prompt and edit images with Kontext.
Embed & self-host
Embed via API into your app, or self-host [dev], etc.
Pricing is subscription-free, pay-as-you-go (internally 1 credit = $0.01). Open-weight models (FLUX.2 [klein], FLUX.1 [dev], etc.) can be self-hosted, with commercial use governed by their licenses.
Key features
01Image generation & editing (Kontext)
Supports photorealistic image generation and prompt-based image editing (Kontext). It is strong at consistent generation referencing multiple images and at accurate in-image text (especially FLUX.2 [flex]).
02Rich models and tools
Includes the top-quality FLUX.2 [max], the standard [pro], the typography-focused [flex], the fast open-weight [klein], and the high-resolution FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra (up to 4MP). It also offers inpainting (Fill) and various editing tools.
03API, open weights, multimodal
Easy to use via a pay-as-you-go API and Playground, with FLUX.2 [klein] and FLUX.1 [dev] released as open weights on Hugging Face and elsewhere. The newest FLUX 3 is multimodal, starting with video (synchronized audio, up to 20 seconds).
Pricing
Pricing is subscription-free and pay-as-you-go (internally 1 credit = $0.01). The figures below are representative per-image guides.
| Model | Per image (guide) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| FLUX.2 [klein] 4B/9B | from $0.014 | Fast, open weights |
| FLUX.2 [pro] | generation from $0.03 / editing from $0.045 | Recommended default |
| FLUX1.1 [pro] | $0.04 | Proven image generation |
| Kontext [pro] / [max] | $0.04 / $0.08 | Image editing |
FLUX.2 [max] is from $0.07, and [flex] (typography) from $0.05. FLUX 3 Video is billed per second (e.g., HD $0.17/s). Open-weight models are free to self-host, but the [dev] line is non-commercial by default (a separate commercial license is available). Prices are in USD and subject to change; check the official site for the latest (as of August 2026).
How it differs from other image-generation AIs
FLUX stands out as a foundational offering that provides high-quality models via both API and open weights, and is widely embedded in other tools. Rather than a self-contained creation app, it is often used as the generation "engine."
| Aspect | FLUX | Midjourney | Recraft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Model family (API/open weights) | High-quality image-generation service | Design assets (vector/text) |
| Strength | Photorealism, editing, self-host, embedding | Style, expressiveness | SVG, style consistency |
| Delivery | API/Playground/self-host | App/service | App/service |
Midjourney, a self-contained generation service, and Recraft, strong at design assets, make good points of comparison (FLUX is also selectable in many tools such as Krea). If you want a high-quality image-generation foundation you can embed, self-host, and edit with, FLUX is a strong option.
The information on this page is based on the official site as of August 2026. Please check the official site for the latest specifications and pricing.
