What is Grok Imagine Image 2.0?
Grok Imagine Image 2.0 is xAI's current image model and the one its docs recommend for images. It makes and edits pictures from a prompt and up to five source images, and xAI says it plans type and layout before drawing so small text stays sharp. On grok.com and in the Grok apps it runs Imagine's Quality Mode, home to a magic wand, segmentation, background removal and templates; on the API it costs $0.04 to $0.08 per image.
xAI is retiring grok-imagine-image-quality and sending its requests here, so this is the xAI image model to build on. Its edge over Nano Banana Pro is price; its weak spot, by users' accounts, is photoreal skin.
Who is Grok Imagine Image 2.0 best for?
Grok Imagine Image 2.0 is best for designers, marketers and developers who need images with clean, readable text and edits that change only what they ask for.
Posters and layouts with text
It plans type and layout before drawing, so headlines and small print stay sharp in dense designs.
Precise photo edits
A magic wand and segmentation change only the area you pick, and background removal exports the subject on a transparent background.
Product and marketing images
Ready-made templates cover product shots, e-commerce and UGC photos, headshots and merch, so you only supply the inputs.
Apps that make images at volume
The API bills per image from $0.04, takes up to five source images per edit and offers wide 21:9 and 5:2 frames.
What's included with Grok Imagine Image 2.0?
Layout-aware text, a magic wand and segmentation for local edits, background removal, five-image edits, smart resize, templates and a quality setting.
- Layout-aware text
- Works out type placement before rendering, which keeps headlines and fine print readable in busy layouts.
- Magic wand and segmentation
- Point at or select a region in Grok's apps and change only that part, leaving the rest of the image untouched.
- Background removal
- Cuts the subject out onto a transparent background for use in other designs.
- Five-image edits
- Combines up to five source images in one edit, sent as URLs, base64 data or Files API IDs.
- Smart resize
- Choose another aspect ratio and it extends the picture to fit; the API offers ratios from 9:20 phone screens to 21:9 and 5:2 banners.
- Templates
- Ready-made workflows for product shots, e-commerce and UGC photos, headshots, icons, game sprites and merch.
- Quality setting
- Choose low or medium on the API; the default auto mode uses low for new images and medium for edits, billed at the quality served.
How much does Grok Imagine Image 2.0 cost?
Grok Imagine Image 2.0 costs $0.04 to $0.08 per image on the xAI API, depending on quality and resolution, plus $0.01 for each image you send in to edit.
- $0.05 at 1.5K, $0.06 at 2K
- Used by default for new images
- $0.01 per input image when editing
- $0.07 at 1.5K, $0.08 at 2K
- Finer detail; used by default for edits
- $0.01 per input image when editing
Images are billed at the quality actually served, so set low or medium yourself if you want a fixed price. Usage comes out of prepaid xAI API credits, with auto top-ups from $5, and image jobs cost the same in the Batch API. The older grok-imagine-image model costs $0.02 per image. On grok.com and in the Grok apps, Image 2.0 is Imagine's Quality Mode, which is priced through Grok's own plans rather than these API rates. Prices are in US dollars. Full pricing on docs.x.ai. We checked these prices on .
What happens to grok-imagine-image-quality?
xAI is retiring it and will serve its requests with Grok Imagine Image 2.0 at low quality, for a cent less per image.
- Redirect
- Requests to the old slug keep working, with the same request and response shape, but Image 2.0 answers them.
- Price
- Image 2.0 at low quality costs $0.01 less per image than the quality model at every resolution.
- Your choice
- Switch the model field yourself if you want medium quality instead of the redirect's low setting.
- Other models
- grok-imagine-image-pro already follows the same redirect, while the original grok-imagine-image stays at $0.02 per image.
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Grok Imagine Image 2.0 pros and cons
It is cheap per image and built for design work and precise edits, but r/grok users widely report plastic-looking people, anatomy slips and heavy moderation in Grok's apps.
Pros
- Cheap per image on the API: $0.04 for a 1K image at low quality, a cent less than the grok-imagine-image-quality model it replaces, with no subscription.
- Editing covers real design work: up to five source images per edit, plus a magic wand, segmentation and background removal in Grok's apps.
- Some r/grok users who drop words like photorealistic and ask for a candid or amateur look say they get natural-looking people.
Cons
- Photoreal people often come out plastic or waxy: it is the top complaint on r/grok, and many users say the model before it looked more natural.
- Anatomy slips are back for many users, with extra limbs, missing hands and morphing characters, plus stray text or cut-off areas on some images.
- Moderation in Grok's apps blocked many harmless prompts after launch, and users say false flags eat into their usage allowance.
- Output stops at 2K on the API, and several users comparing the same prompts now rate ChatGPT's image model higher.
What are the best Grok Imagine Image 2.0 alternatives?
Nano Banana Pro for 4K and Search grounding, Seedream 5.0 Pro for layered edits at a similar price, and Ideogram 4.0 for weights you can run yourself.
Nano Banana ProFreeChoose it when you need 4K output or images grounded in Google Search; it costs $0.134 per 1K or 2K image and $0.24 at 4K, over three times Grok's low-quality rate.
Seedream 5.0 ProPaidChoose it when you want an image split into up to 16 editable layers or text in 14 more languages, at a similar $0.045 per image up to 1.5K.
Ideogram 4.0FreeChoose it when you want weights you can run on your own hardware: free for non-commercial use, or $300 a month for commercial self-hosting of 10,000 images.
Questions about Grok Imagine Image 2.0
What is Grok Imagine Image 2.0?
Grok Imagine Image 2.0 is xAI's model for making and editing images, built for text-heavy designs and precise local edits, on grok.com, the Grok apps and the xAI API.
Who is Grok Imagine Image 2.0 for?
Grok Imagine Image 2.0 is best for designers, marketers and developers who need images with clean, readable text and edits that change only what they ask for.
Is Grok Imagine Image 2.0 free?
No. Grok Imagine Image 2.0 is a paid tool, from $0.04 per image at 1K.
How much does Grok Imagine Image 2.0 cost?
Grok Imagine Image 2.0's paid plans are Low quality at $0.04 per image at 1K and Medium quality at $0.06 per image at 1K.
What are the best Grok Imagine Image 2.0 alternatives?
The closest alternatives on Recaply are Nano Banana Pro, Seedream 5.0 Pro and Ideogram 4.0.
Where can I try Grok Imagine Image 2.0?
On its official website, x.ai.
Can I use Grok Imagine Image 2.0 without the API?
Yes. Grok Imagine Image 2.0 is the Quality Mode in Imagine on grok.com and in the Grok apps for iOS and Android, where the editing tools and templates live. Developers call the same model as grok-imagine-image-2.0 on the xAI API, billed per image.
How many images can Grok Imagine Image 2.0 combine in one edit?
Up to five. Grok Imagine Image 2.0 accepts five source images in a single edit, sent as public URLs, base64 data or uploaded file IDs, and the result takes the shape of the first image unless you set an aspect ratio. Each input image costs $0.01 on the API.
Does Grok Imagine Image 2.0 add a watermark?
Yes, in Grok's apps: images made in Grok Imagine on grok.com and in the Grok apps carry a Grok watermark that marks them as AI-made. There is no setting to remove it, and xAI's usage policy forbids removing or hiding it.
What resolution does Grok Imagine Image 2.0 support?
Grok Imagine Image 2.0 makes images at 1K by default or 2K on the xAI API, and the pricing page also lists a 1.5K size. Each size costs more at medium quality than at low, from $0.04 up to $0.08 per image.
Our verdict
Grok Imagine Image 2.0 is a cheap, capable API model for text-heavy designs and targeted edits, but a step back for photoreal people.
At $0.04 for a 1K image it costs about 70% less than Nano Banana Pro and replaces xAI's pricier quality model, yet r/grok users widely report plastic skin, stray limbs and heavy moderation in Grok's apps.
- Skip it for
- Photoreal portraits and character art, where users find the results plastic.
- Check first
- Run your own prompts at low and medium quality before you commit, since the default auto mode bills edits at the medium rate.
Seedream 4.5
GPT Image 2
Ideogram 4.5
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