Choosing an image generation API
Updated 2026-10-02
Image models differ in style, text rendering, editing ability and price. Choosing is easier when you test them on your own prompts.
A fast evaluation loop
- Pick 10–20 representative prompts.
- Run each through 3–4 candidate models by changing only the
modelstring. - Score outputs, then divide by the per-image price from the price table.
Cost levers
- Resolution and quality settings usually change the price.
- The same model on a different host can cost less — compare before pinning.
- Use a cheap, fast model for drafts and a premium one for finals.
See the quickstart for a working request.
Using image generation is one part of the job.
VideoRouter puts it next to dozens of other video and image models behind one API key, so you can compare providers, prices and fail over automatically. Compare providers on VideoRouter →