FLUX 3 Image vs FLUX.2 Pro vs FLUX.2 Flex vs FLUX.2 Max
FLUX is the image model family from Black Forest Labs, the German lab founded by the researchers behind Stable Diffusion. Five image models are live on fal in October 2026: FLUX 3 Image, the 1 October release with native 2K and 4K, up to 10 references and box-placed layouts; FLUX 3 Image Klein, its small open-weights sibling from 15 October at about a cent an image; and the FLUX.2 tiers, Pro, the per-megapixel production default; Flex, with tunable steps and guidance; and Max, the FLUX.2 top tier. The older open-weight Dev and FLUX.2 Klein models are for running yourself. Each image model has its own page with the same twelve prompts. On 19 October FLUX 3 Max, fal's fast post-trained version of FLUX 3 Video, added video to the family pages: 5 to 20 second clips with native audio, tested on our nine video prompts.
Black Forest Labs · facts checked
Which one to pick
FLUX 3 Image
$0.048 per 1k image, about 1 megapixel via BFL API
Text, layouts and edits that must leave the rest of the picture alone, or anything you need at 2K or 4K. $0.048 at 1K.
FLUX 3 Image Klein
$0.009 per 1k image via fal
Drafts, volume and edits: about a cent a 1K image and three seconds a picture, with open weights. Text and the product edit were right in our run; the chart was not.
FLUX.2 Pro
$0.03 per 1k image via BFL API
Volume photoreal work at three cents a megapixel, and exact custom pixel sizes.
FLUX.2 Flex
$0.05 per 1k image via BFL API
Typography, or when you want to set steps and guidance yourself.
FLUX.2 Max
$0.07 per 1k image via BFL API
When the last bit of detail is worth twice the price.
FLUX 3 Max
$0.17 per second at 720p via fal
Video: cinematic and realistic clips with sound, fast. $0.17 a second at 720p, 75% off until November 7.
Side by side, measured
| Model | Price | Seconds per image | Cost of its fixed set | Sizes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLUX 3 Image | $0.048 per 1k image, about 1 megapixel via BFL API | 21 to 112 | $0.29 12 prompts | |
| FLUX 3 Image Klein | $0.009 per 1k image via fal | 1 to 8 | $0.11 12 prompts | Any width and height from 256 to 4096 pixels, or a preset |
| FLUX.2 Pro | $0.03 per 1k image via BFL API | 8 to 16 | $0.49 12 prompts | Exact width and height, priced by area |
| FLUX.2 Flex | $0.05 per 1k image via BFL API | 9 to 13 | $1.05 12 prompts | Exact width and height, priced by area |
| FLUX.2 Max | $0.07 per 1k image via BFL API | 14 to 35 | $1.11 12 prompts | Exact width and height, priced by area |
| FLUX 3 Max | $0.17 per second at 720p via fal | 16 to 39 | $1.91 9 prompts |
Seconds and cost are from our own runs of each model's fixed set: the same 12 prompts for every model that makes pictures from a prompt. Open a model for every picture and the request behind it.
Every version
| Version | Released | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| FLUX.1 flux-pro, flux-dev, flux-schnell | Launch: Pro on the API, Dev under a non-commercial licence, Schnell under Apache 2.0. Briefly the image engine inside Grok. | |
| FLUX1.1 Pro flux-pro-1.1 | Faster flagship; Ultra and Raw modes and the Fill, Depth, Canny and Redux tools followed in November. | |
| FLUX.1 Kontext flux-kontext-pro, flux-kontext-max | In-context editing from text plus images; later added to Photoshop's generative fill. | |
| FLUX.2 Pro flux-2-pro | The FLUX.2 generation: latent flow matching with a Mistral vision-language model, better references, realism and typography. | |
| FLUX.2 Flex flux-2-flex | Tunable steps and guidance, up to 10 reference images. | |
| FLUX.2 Max flux-2-max | The top tier for realism and precision. | |
| FLUX.2 Klein flux-2-klein | Small open-weight models under Apache 2.0 that generate in under a second. | |
| FLUX 3 Image flux-3-image | The image model of the FLUX 3 family: one model for generation and edits, native 1K, 2K and 4K, up to 10 references, optional bounding boxes, and a flat price per image by size instead of per megapixel. | |
| FLUX 3 Image Klein flux-3-image-klein | A 5.6 billion parameter open-weights FLUX 3 for generation, edits and up to 10 references, native to 4K, in base and step-distilled versions under the FLUX Kommunity License; $0.009 a 1K image on fal. | |
| FLUX 3 Max blackforestlabs/flux-3-max | fal's post-trained FLUX 3 Video for text-, image- and keyframes-to-video: 5 to 20 seconds with native audio, about 16 seconds for a five-second clip in our run. |
Frequently asked questions
Is FLUX AI free?
Not from Black Forest Labs, which sells hosted images per megapixel or per image. The Dev and Klein models are free to download and run (FLUX 3 Image Klein commercially only below $5 million in annual revenue), and several apps bundle FLUX with free credits.
Who owns FLUX?
Black Forest Labs, founded in 2024 in Freiburg, Germany. The flux-branded websites on page one of most searches are unrelated resellers.
What is the newest FLUX model?
FLUX 3 Max, the fast video version fal built on FLUX 3 Video, announced on 19 October 2026. The newest image model is FLUX 3 Image Klein, the small open-weights model released on 15 October 2026 at $0.009 a 1K image on fal; FLUX 3 Image, released on 1 October, is the full-size one at $0.048 at 1K.