FLUX 3 Image
Black Forest Labs' new image model: in early tests back at the frontier for generation and photo editing, and fairly fast.
Quality
Modality
image
Resolution
4K
Access
closed
Fabian's Take
"I've only tested it a bit so far, but FLUX 3 seems to have caught up with the frontier again, both for generating images and for editing photos, and it's fairly fast while doing it. Quite impressive."
FLUX 3 Image is the image model of the FLUX 3 family from Black Forest Labs, the German lab behind the FLUX models. It went live on the company’s API on 1 October 2026. One model handles both generation and editing: you can give it up to 10 reference images, point at parts of the picture in your prompt, and get results up to 4K.
Back at the front
For everyday image work I’d been reaching for GPT-Image and Nano Banana. In my first, short tests it looks like FLUX 3 has caught up with them, both for generating images and for editing photos, and it’s fairly quick, which matters when you go through a dozen variations to get one you keep.
The older FLUX.2 Pro is still sold, and Black Forest Labs released a small open-weights version, FLUX 3 Image Klein, on 15 October for people who want to run it themselves. More on how I use FLUX in the FLUX tool review.
The Verdict
Best for: Photorealistic images and photo editing, when you want frontier quality without waiting.
Pros
- Seems to have caught up with the frontier on generation and photo editing (early tests)
- Fairly fast for its quality
- One model for generating and editing, with up to 10 reference images
- Output up to 4K
Cons
- 4K images cost about 60 cents each, so the price climbs quickly with resolution
- Mostly an API product; most people will meet it inside other tools
Specs
- Pricing From $0.041 per image at 768 px to $0.607 at 4K on Black Forest Labs' API
- Cost Tier moderate
- ⚡Speed Tier fast
- License Proprietary (the small Klein version has open weights under the FLUX Kommunity License)
