{"subject":{"id":"ideogram","slug":"ideogram","name":"Ideogram","tagline":"Use when agents must render readable text in images. Fal remains default multi-model media router.","website":"https://ideogram.ai","status":"active","overall":7.88,"scoreKind":"curated_estimate","confidence":"high","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","lastReviewed":"2026-09-14","categoryIds":["cat-media-gen"],"regions":["global","us"],"pricing":{"normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationStatus":"unavailable","normalizationReason":"no_sourced_price","shape":"prose_notes_only","filterable":false,"priceSortEligible":false,"priceSortKeyUsdPerMillionInputTokens":null,"rows":[],"notesExcerpt":"As of 2026-09-14: Consumer Plus ~$20/mo (site). API pay-as-you-go per image (ideogram.ai/api-pricing): 4.0 Turbo ~$0.03, Default ~$0.06, Quality ~$0.10; volume via sales. Strong text-in-image reputation.","notesCheck":{"status":"no_known_contradiction","pairs":[],"review":null,"note":null},"lastReviewed":"2026-09-14","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","website":"https://ideogram.ai","doNotParse":"Do not parse pricingNotes. Use rows only. normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens is a single number only when this provider has exactly one sourced token row. Input/output, context tiers, and non-token units stay null at this level.","gap":"No sourced price row for this provider. pricingNotes stay prose. See research/gaps.md."}},"relatedJtbdSlugs":["image-generation","media-generation","text-in-image-generation"],"alternatives":[{"id":"fal","slug":"fal","name":"Fal","tagline":"Depot default for programmatic image/video/audio gen. One API to rule the media zoo.","website":"https://fal.ai","status":"active","overall":8.5,"scoreKind":"curated_estimate","confidence":"high","scoreAsOf":"2026-10-19","deltaOverallVsSubject":0.62,"roles":["same_jtbd_pick","same_jtbd_runner"],"sharedJtbdSlugs":["image-generation","media-generation","text-in-image-generation"],"pricing":{"normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationStatus":"unit_mismatch","normalizationReason":"unit_mismatch","shape":"sourced_rows","filterable":false,"priceSortEligible":false,"priceSortKeyUsdPerMillionInputTokens":null,"rows":[{"id":"fal-image-nano-banana-2","providerId":"fal","sku":"Nano Banana 2","unit":"usd_per_image","amountUsd":0.08,"currency":"USD","sourceUrl":"https://fal.ai/pricing","asOf":"2026-10-19","normalizationStatus":"unit_mismatch","normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationReason":"unit_mismatch_per_image","priceSortEligible":false,"qualifier":"Model API billed per image (billing unit \"images\"). Megapixel-billed models were not converted to per image."},{"id":"fal-image-seedream-v4-5","providerId":"fal","sku":"Bytedance Seedream V4.5","unit":"usd_per_image","amountUsd":0.04,"currency":"USD","sourceUrl":"https://fal.ai/pricing","asOf":"2026-10-19","normalizationStatus":"unit_mismatch","normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationReason":"unit_mismatch_per_image","priceSortEligible":false,"qualifier":"Model API billed per image (billing unit \"images\"). Megapixel-billed models were not converted to per image."},{"id":"fal-image-nano-banana-pro","providerId":"fal","sku":"Nano Banana Pro","unit":"usd_per_image","amountUsd":0.15,"currency":"USD","sourceUrl":"https://fal.ai/pricing","asOf":"2026-10-19","normalizationStatus":"unit_mismatch","normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationReason":"unit_mismatch_per_image","priceSortEligible":false,"qualifier":"Model API billed per image (billing unit \"images\"). Megapixel-billed models were not converted to per image."}],"notesExcerpt":"Serverless generative media API (1000+ models); per-second/per-output; extremely agent-friendly.","notesCheck":{"status":"no_known_contradiction","pairs":[],"review":null,"note":null},"lastReviewed":"2026-10-19","scoreAsOf":"2026-10-19","website":"https://fal.ai","doNotParse":"Do not parse pricingNotes. Use rows only. normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens is a single number only when this provider has exactly one sourced token row. Input/output, context tiers, and non-token units stay null at this level.","gap":"Partial coverage. Providers without a fetched SKU are omitted. See GET /api/pricing."},"decideHint":"/api/decide?jtbd=image-generation","human":"/providers/fal","compare":"/compare/ideogram-vs-fal"},{"id":"openai-media","slug":"openai-media","name":"OpenAI Media (Images/Audio)","tagline":"Convenient if you're already on OpenAI. For best image variety/cost, keep Fal in the toolkit.","website":"https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/images","status":"active","overall":8.15,"scoreKind":"curated_estimate","confidence":"high","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","deltaOverallVsSubject":0.27,"roles":["same_jtbd_runner"],"sharedJtbdSlugs":["image-generation","media-generation","text-in-image-generation"],"pricing":{"normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationStatus":"unavailable","normalizationReason":"no_sourced_price","shape":"prose_notes_only","filterable":false,"priceSortEligible":false,"priceSortKeyUsdPerMillionInputTokens":null,"rows":[],"notesExcerpt":"Image generation, TTS, Whisper/transcription via OpenAI API; billed per image/minute/token as applicable.","notesCheck":{"status":"no_known_contradiction","pairs":[],"review":null,"note":null},"lastReviewed":"2026-09-14","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","website":"https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/images","doNotParse":"Do not parse pricingNotes. Use rows only. normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens is a single number only when this provider has exactly one sourced token row. Input/output, context tiers, and non-token units stay null at this level.","gap":"No sourced price row for this provider. pricingNotes stay prose. See research/gaps.md."},"decideHint":"/api/decide?jtbd=image-generation","human":"/providers/openai-media","compare":"/compare/ideogram-vs-openai-media"},{"id":"black-forest-labs","slug":"black-forest-labs","name":"Black Forest Labs","tagline":"First-party FLUX when you want BFL terms/quality without a reseller markup. Fal remains Depot media-gen…","website":"https://bfl.ai","status":"active","overall":8.14,"scoreKind":"curated_estimate","confidence":"high","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","deltaOverallVsSubject":0.26,"roles":["same_jtbd_runner"],"sharedJtbdSlugs":["image-generation","media-generation","text-in-image-generation"],"pricing":{"normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationStatus":"unit_mismatch","normalizationReason":"unit_mismatch","shape":"sourced_rows","filterable":false,"priceSortEligible":false,"priceSortKeyUsdPerMillionInputTokens":null,"rows":[{"id":"bfl-flux-3-image-1k","providerId":"black-forest-labs","sku":"FLUX 3 Image (1K tier)","unit":"usd_per_image","amountUsd":0.048,"currency":"USD","sourceUrl":"https://bfl.ai/pricing","asOf":"2026-10-19","normalizationStatus":"unit_mismatch","normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationReason":"unit_mismatch_per_image","priceSortEligible":false,"qualifier":"Per image generated at the 1K (~1 MP) resolution tier; 768x768 is $0.041 and higher tiers cost more. Text-to-image and image-to-image."},{"id":"bfl-flux-3-image-klein-1k","providerId":"black-forest-labs","sku":"FLUX 3 Image Klein (1K tier)","unit":"usd_per_image","amountUsd":0.009,"currency":"USD","sourceUrl":"https://bfl.ai/pricing","asOf":"2026-10-19","normalizationStatus":"unit_mismatch","normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationReason":"unit_mismatch_per_image","priceSortEligible":false,"qualifier":"Per image at the 1K resolution tier."}],"notesExcerpt":"As of 2026-09-14 (docs.bfl.ai/quick_start/pricing): 1 credit = $0.01; API = Playground. FLUX.2 Klein 4B from $0.014/image, Klein 9B from $0.015, Pro from $0.03/MP (edit $0.045), Flex $0.05, Max $0.07. FLUX 3 video (t2v/i2v) $0.17/s hd / $0.29/s fhd, draft $0.06/s. FLUX.1 Kontext …","notesCheck":{"status":"no_known_contradiction","pairs":[],"review":null,"note":null},"lastReviewed":"2026-09-14","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","website":"https://bfl.ai","doNotParse":"Do not parse pricingNotes. Use rows only. normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens is a single number only when this provider has exactly one sourced token row. Input/output, context tiers, and non-token units stay null at this level.","gap":"Partial coverage. Providers without a fetched SKU are omitted. See GET /api/pricing."},"decideHint":"/api/decide?jtbd=image-generation","human":"/providers/black-forest-labs","compare":"/compare/ideogram-vs-black-forest-labs"},{"id":"recraft","slug":"recraft","name":"Recraft","tagline":"Best when agents need SVG/brand-consistent assets. Fal for general media zoo; BFL for FLUX-first.","website":"https://www.recraft.ai","status":"active","overall":8.07,"scoreKind":"curated_estimate","confidence":"high","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","deltaOverallVsSubject":0.19,"roles":["same_jtbd_runner"],"sharedJtbdSlugs":["image-generation","media-generation","text-in-image-generation"],"pricing":{"normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationStatus":"unavailable","normalizationReason":"no_sourced_price","shape":"prose_notes_only","filterable":false,"priceSortEligible":false,"priceSortKeyUsdPerMillionInputTokens":null,"rows":[],"notesExcerpt":"As of 2026-09-14 (recraft.ai docs API pricing): Prepaid API units $1 = 1,000 units (never expire). V4.1 raster $0.035 (35u) / Pro $0.21 (210u); V4.1 vector $0.08 / Pro Vector $0.30; V3 ops ~$0.04 raster / $0.08 vector; bg removal $0.01; crisp upscale $0.004; creative upscale $0.2…","notesCheck":{"status":"no_known_contradiction","pairs":[],"review":null,"note":null},"lastReviewed":"2026-09-14","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","website":"https://www.recraft.ai","doNotParse":"Do not parse pricingNotes. Use rows only. normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens is a single number only when this provider has exactly one sourced token row. Input/output, context tiers, and non-token units stay null at this level.","gap":"No sourced price row for this provider. pricingNotes stay prose. See research/gaps.md."},"decideHint":"/api/decide?jtbd=image-generation","human":"/providers/recraft","compare":"/compare/ideogram-vs-recraft"},{"id":"replicate","slug":"replicate","name":"Replicate","tagline":"Ship a model demo by lunch. Migrate hot paths to Modal/RunPod/Fireworks when the bill hurts.","website":"https://replicate.com","status":"active","overall":7.82,"scoreKind":"curated_estimate","confidence":"high","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","deltaOverallVsSubject":-0.06,"roles":["same_jtbd_runner"],"sharedJtbdSlugs":["image-generation","media-generation"],"pricing":{"normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationStatus":"unavailable","normalizationReason":"no_sourced_price","shape":"prose_notes_only","filterable":false,"priceSortEligible":false,"priceSortKeyUsdPerMillionInputTokens":null,"rows":[],"notesExcerpt":"Run Cog models per-second; prediction-based billing; higher effective GPU cost, lowest friction.","notesCheck":{"status":"no_known_contradiction","pairs":[],"review":null,"note":null},"lastReviewed":"2026-09-14","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","website":"https://replicate.com","doNotParse":"Do not parse pricingNotes. Use rows only. normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens is a single number only when this provider has exactly one sourced token row. Input/output, context tiers, and non-token units stay null at this level.","gap":"No sourced price row for this provider. pricingNotes stay prose. See research/gaps.md."},"decideHint":"/api/decide?jtbd=image-generation","human":"/providers/replicate","compare":"/compare/ideogram-vs-replicate"},{"id":"stability","slug":"stability","name":"Stability AI","tagline":"Use API for convenience or self-host SD/Flux on RunPod/Fal for control. Great escape hatch from closed image…","website":"https://stability.ai","status":"active","overall":8.12,"scoreKind":"curated_estimate","confidence":"high","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","deltaOverallVsSubject":0.24,"roles":["same_jtbd_runner"],"sharedJtbdSlugs":["image-generation"],"pricing":{"normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationStatus":"unavailable","normalizationReason":"no_sourced_price","shape":"prose_notes_only","filterable":false,"priceSortEligible":false,"priceSortKeyUsdPerMillionInputTokens":null,"rows":[],"notesExcerpt":"As of 2026-09-14: Stable Diffusion / Stability platform APIs with credit-based billing; open weights freely self-hostable. Platform.stability.ai for hosted; escape hatch is self-host on RunPod/Fal/Modal.","notesCheck":{"status":"no_known_contradiction","pairs":[],"review":null,"note":null},"lastReviewed":"2026-09-14","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","website":"https://stability.ai","doNotParse":"Do not parse pricingNotes. Use rows only. normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens is a single number only when this provider has exactly one sourced token row. Input/output, context tiers, and non-token units stay null at this level.","gap":"No sourced price row for this provider. pricingNotes stay prose. See research/gaps.md."},"decideHint":"/api/decide?jtbd=image-generation","human":"/providers/stability","compare":"/compare/ideogram-vs-stability"},{"id":"midjourney","slug":"midjourney","name":"Midjourney","tagline":"Best looks, worst agent API story. For programmatic image agents prefer Fal/OpenAI/Stability unless you have…","website":"https://www.midjourney.com","status":"active","overall":7.29,"scoreKind":"curated_estimate","confidence":"medium","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","deltaOverallVsSubject":-0.59,"roles":["same_jtbd_runner"],"sharedJtbdSlugs":["image-generation"],"pricing":{"normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens":null,"normalizationStatus":"unavailable","normalizationReason":"no_sourced_price","shape":"prose_notes_only","filterable":false,"priceSortEligible":false,"priceSortKeyUsdPerMillionInputTokens":null,"rows":[],"notesExcerpt":"As of 2026-09-14: Primarily Discord/web subscription product; official public developer API historically limited/partner-gated. Treat programmatic access as constrained vs OpenAI/Fal/Stability. Subscription tiers for human creative use.","notesCheck":{"status":"no_known_contradiction","pairs":[],"review":null,"note":null},"lastReviewed":"2026-09-14","scoreAsOf":"2026-09-14","website":"https://www.midjourney.com","doNotParse":"Do not parse pricingNotes. Use rows only. normalizedUsdPerMillionTokens is a single number only when this provider has exactly one sourced token row. Input/output, context tiers, and non-token units stay null at this level.","gap":"No sourced price row for this provider. pricingNotes stay prose. See research/gaps.md."},"decideHint":"/api/decide?jtbd=image-generation","human":"/providers/midjourney","compare":"/compare/ideogram-vs-midjourney"}],"rankContract":{"style":"editorial_weighted","notAnElo":true,"note":"deltaOverallVsSubject is Depot overall (0–10) minus the subject. It is not Arena Elo and not an Artificial Analysis index."},"freshness":{"scoreAsOfMin":"2026-09-14","scoreAsOfMax":"2026-10-19","contractAsOf":"2026-10-03"},"honesty":["Alternatives are other catalog providers that share a JTBD as pick or runner-up. If fewer than three exist, same-category active providers fill the list and are labeled same_category.","Overall deltas are catalog scores. kind=curated_estimate is not a lab measurement.","Pricing rows are sourced or explicitly null. Do not parse pricingNotes. A single normalized USD figure is set only for a provider with exactly one token row."],"links":{"human":"/alternatives/ideogram","machine":"/api/alternatives?provider=ideogram","provider":"/api/providers/ideogram","canonical":"/api/canonical"}}