CheaperGen vs fal.ai

fal.ai Pricing

Independent comparison · Not affiliated with or endorsed by fal.ai.

What fal.ai charges for the video and image models CheaperGen also runs, next to our live prices — per second of video and per image — and how fal.ai bills.

Get an API key See the price list

Up to: 81% lower; than fal.ai
Below official: Up to 52%; under the labs' own API prices
Models compared: 36 models; 20 video · 16 image
Prices verified: October 21; fal.ai's public pages · ours live

Price list

fal.ai's prices next to CheaperGen's

Model price list (36): every tier both platforms list for the models where CheaperGen is lower, with fal.ai's public price beside our live price and the labs' official price. Video is per second of output, images per image.

Video models · 20 · per second

Video models: CheaperGen, fal.ai and the official price
Model · tier	Official	fal.ai	CheaperGen	Lower by
LTX-2.5Lightricks · open weights
720p	open weights	$0.09/s	$0.0285/s−68%	−68%
1080p	open weights	$0.13/s	$0.057/s−56%	−56%
Seedance 2.0 FastByteDanceup to −26% vs official
480p	$0.05625−11%	$0.11249/s	$0.0501/s−55%	−55%
720p	$0.12096−26%	$0.24192/s	$0.0899/s−63%	−63%
Seedance 2.0 MiniByteDanceup to −17% vs official
480p	$0.03515−17%	$0.07031/s	$0.0292/s−58%	−58%
720p	$0.0756−17%	$0.1512/s	$0.0627/s−59%	−59%
Seedance 2.0ByteDanceup to −10% vs official
720p	$0.1512−10%	$0.3034/s	$0.1356/s−55%	−55%
1080p	$0.37422−10%	$0.682/s	$0.3361/s−51%	−51%
Seedance 2.5ByteDanceup to −10% vs official
720p	$0.23112−10%	$0.46224/s	$0.2076/s−55%	−55%
Grok Imagine Video 1.5xAIup to −52% vs official
480p	$0.08−8%	$0.08/s	$0.0736/s−8%	−8%
720p	$0.14−52%	$0.14/s	$0.0675/s−52%	−52%
1080p	$0.25−8%	$0.25/s	$0.23/s−8%	−8%
Vidu Q3 ProShengshuup to −25% vs official
540p	$0.045−25%	$0.07/s	$0.0337/s−52%	−52%
720p	$0.10−25%	$0.154/s	$0.0748/s−51%	−51%
1080p	$0.12−25%	$0.154/s	$0.0897/s−42%	−42%
Vidu Q3 TurboShengshuup to −31% vs official
540p	$0.035−25%	$0.035/s	$0.0262/s−25%	−25%
720p	$0.06−31%	$0.077/s	$0.0412/s−46%	−46%
1080p	$0.065−25%	$0.077/s	$0.0486/s−37%	−37%
Veo 3.1 FastGoogleup to −25% vs official
720p + audio	$0.10−25%	$0.15/s	$0.075/s−50%	−50%
720p	$0.08−8%	$0.10/s	$0.0736/s−26%	−26%
1080p + audio	$0.12−8%	$0.15/s	$0.1104/s−26%	−26%
1080p	$0.10−8%	$0.10/s	$0.092/s−8%	−8%
4K + audio	$0.30−8%	$0.35/s	$0.276/s−21%	−21%
4K	$0.25−8%	$0.30/s	$0.23/s−23%	−23%
Veo 3.1 LiteGoogleup to −25% vs official
720p	$0.05−25%	$0.05/s	$0.0375/s−25%	−25%
Wan 3.0Alibabaup to −24% vs official
1080p	$0.20−24%	$0.20/s	$0.1513/s−24%	−24%
PixVerse V6PixVerseup to −15% vs official
360p	$0.02222−15%	$0.025/s	$0.019/s−24%	−24%
360p + audio	$0.03111−15%	$0.035/s	$0.0266/s−24%	−24%
540p	$0.03111−15%	$0.035/s	$0.0266/s−24%	−24%
540p + audio	$0.04−8%	$0.045/s	$0.0368/s−18%	−18%
720p	$0.04−8%	$0.045/s	$0.0368/s−18%	−18%
720p + audio	$0.05333−14%	$0.06/s	$0.046/s−23%	−23%
1080p	$0.08−8%	$0.09/s	$0.0736/s−18%	−18%
1080p + audio	$0.10222−9%	$0.115/s	$0.0932/s−19%	−19%
MiniMax H3MiniMaxup to −18% vs official
2K	$0.13−18%	$0.13/s	$0.1068/s−18%	−18%
Wan 3.0 PrimeAlibabaup to −15% vs official
480p	$0.068−14%	$0.068/s	$0.0582/s−14%	−14%
720p	$0.14−14%	$0.14/s	$0.1198/s−14%	−14%
1080p	$0.28−15%	$0.28/s	$0.2394/s−15%	−15%
Veo 3.1Googleup to −24% vs official
720p + audio	$0.40−24%	$0.40/s	$0.3043/s−24%	−24%
720p	$0.20−8%	$0.20/s	$0.184/s−8%	−8%
1080p + audio	$0.40−8%	$0.40/s	$0.368/s−8%	−8%
1080p	$0.20−8%	$0.20/s	$0.184/s−8%	−8%
4K + audio	$0.60−8%	$0.60/s	$0.552/s−8%	−8%
4K	$0.40−8%	$0.40/s	$0.368/s−8%	−8%
FLUX 3 VideoBlack Forest Labs
720p	fal API ref.	$0.17/s	$0.1564/s−8%	−8%
Kling 3.0Kuaishouup to −9% vs official
720p	$0.084−8%	$0.084/s	$0.0773/s−8%	−8%
720p + audio	$0.126−9%	$0.126/s	$0.115/s−9%	−9%
1080p	$0.112−8%	$0.112/s	$0.1031/s−8%	−8%
1080p + audio	$0.168−8%	$0.168/s	$0.1546/s−8%	−8%
4K	$0.42−8%	$0.42/s	$0.3853/s−8%	−8%
Kling 3.0 OmniKuaishouup to −8% vs official
720p	$0.084−8%	$0.084/s	$0.0773/s−8%	−8%
1080p + audio	$0.14−8%	$0.14/s	$0.1288/s−8%	−8%
4K	$0.42−8%	$0.42/s	$0.3853/s−8%	−8%
Kling 3.0 TurboKuaishouup to −8% vs official
1080p	$0.14−8%	$0.14/s	$0.1294/s−8%	−8%
Gemini Omni FlashGoogleup to −13% vs official
720p · 4 s	$0.10211−9%	$0.10/s	$0.0927/s−7%	−7%
720p · 8 s	$0.10173−13%	$0.10/s	$0.089/s−11%	−11%

Image models · 16 · per image

Image models: CheaperGen, fal.ai and the official price
Model · tier	Official	fal.ai	CheaperGen	Lower by
FLUX.2 [klein] 4BBlack Forest Labs · open weights
1K	open weights	$0.005/image	$0.001/image−80%	−80%
2K	open weights	$0.02/image	$0.0038/image−81%	−81%
Z-Image TurboAlibaba · open weights
2K	open weights	$0.02/image	$0.0108/image−46%	−46%
Seedream 5.0 FlashByteDanceup to −14% vs official
1K	$0.018−14%	$0.027/image	$0.0154/image−43%	−43%
2K	$0.018−14%	$0.027/image	$0.0154/image−43%	−43%
FLUX 3Black Forest Labsup to −34% vs official
1K	$0.048−34%	$0.048/image	$0.0317/image−34%	−34%
Grok Imagine Image 2.0xAIup to −28% vs official
1K · low	$0.04−18%	$0.04/image	$0.0329/image−18%	−18%
1K · medium	$0.06−28%	$0.06/image	$0.0429/image−28%	−28%
2K · low	$0.06−8%	$0.06/image	$0.0552/image−8%	−8%
2K · medium	$0.08−8%	$0.08/image	$0.0736/image−8%	−8%
OMOSS ImageOpenMOSS · open weights
2K	open weights	$0.20/image	$0.1534/image−23%	−23%
Seedream 4.5ByteDanceup to −23% vs official
2K	$0.04−23%	$0.04/image	$0.0309/image−23%	−23%
Nano Banana ProGoogleup to −18% vs official
1K	$0.138−13%	$0.15/image	$0.1197/image−20%	−20%
2K	$0.138−13%	$0.15/image	$0.1197/image−20%	−20%
4K	$0.244−18%	$0.30/image	$0.1995/image−34%	−34%
FLUX.1 Kontext [max]Black Forest Labsup to −13% vs official
Image	$0.08−13%	$0.08/image	$0.0695/image−13%	−13%
FLUX.1 Kontext [pro]Black Forest Labsup to −13% vs official
Image	$0.04−13%	$0.04/image	$0.0348/image−13%	−13%
FLUX.2 [pro]Black Forest Labsup to −23% vs official
2 MP	$0.045−12%	$0.045/image	$0.0396/image−12%	−12%
4 MP	$0.075−23%	$0.075/image	$0.0575/image−23%	−23%
FLUX.2 [max]Black Forest Labsup to −21% vs official
2 MP	$0.10−11%	$0.10/image	$0.0889/image−11%	−11%
3 MP	$0.13−16%	$0.13/image	$0.1091/image−16%	−16%
4 MP	$0.16−21%	$0.16/image	$0.1263/image−21%	−21%
Qwen-Image 3.0 ProAlibabaup to −11% vs official
1K	$0.04−11%	$0.04/image	$0.0357/image−11%	−11%
2K	$0.075−9%	$0.075/image	$0.0679/image−9%	−9%
Seedream 5.0 LiteByteDanceup to −9% vs official
2K	$0.035−9%	$0.035/image	$0.0317/image−9%	−9%
FLUX.2 [flex]Black Forest Labsup to −32% vs official
1 MP	$0.05−8%	$0.05/image	$0.046/image−8%	−8%
2 MP	$0.10−14%	$0.10/image	$0.0861/image−14%	−14%
3 MP	$0.15−23%	$0.15/image	$0.115/image−23%	−23%
4 MP	$0.20−32%	$0.20/image	$0.1364/image−32%	−32%
Krea 2 TurboKrea · open weights
1K square	open weights	$0.008/image	$0.0076/image−5%	−5%

Only models where CheaperGen is lower are listed, and only when fal.ai isn't cheaper at any tier both publish. fal.ai: its public pages, October 21, 2026 (fal.ai prices as its model pages showed them that day, promotions included); ours are live. Video at 16:9. Prices change — check before you buy.

“Official” is the lab's own API price for the model; open-weights models have none.

Rows marked “open weights” are open-weights models: the same released weights, not a lab's API.

What you'd pay

Typical jobs, at both prices

The same output at fal.ai's public price and at ours, on the best-known model where CheaperGen is lower at that tier.

One 10-second 1080p video

Seedance 2.0 · 1080p

fal.ai: $6.82
CheaperGen: $3.361

51% less · saves $3.459

One 5-second 720p clip

Kling 3.0 · 720p

fal.ai: $0.42
CheaperGen: $0.3865

8% less · saves $0.0335

100 images at 1K

Nano Banana Pro · 1K

fal.ai: $15.00
CheaperGen: $11.97

20% less · saves $3.03

Their total is based on the public prices, multiplied by the number of units; ours uses the live price, rounded up.

Billing

How fal.ai bills, and how CheaperGen does

fal.ai's side is from its public pages, checked October 22, 2026.

Billing: CheaperGen and fal.ai
Feature	CheaperGen	fal.ai
Payment	CheaperGenPrepaid USD credits by card, no top-up fee, credits never expire; bank transfer for large amounts; monthly invoicing on Enterprise	fal.aiPrepaid credits by card or ACH; purchased credits expire 365 days after purchase; invoicing for higher volume^[1][2]
Failed generations	CheaperGenFailed generations, and ones you cancel while still queued, are refunded to your balance automatically	fal.aiServer errors (5xx) aren't charged; invalid inputs (422) may be charged if GPU time was used^[3]
Price before you run	CheaperGenFree price quote for any input before you run it (POST /quote, no key needed)	fal.aiPricing and cost-estimate APIs^[4]

How the prices are lower

The same models, lower prices — here's how

No smaller models and no hidden fees: three things on our side.

Official partnerships

Direct partnerships with the official model labs give us their best partner pricing on their official models.

Our own GPU inference

For open-source models, our own GPU inference — optimized kernels, warm pools and per-model tuning — makes generation several times faster and lowers the cost further.

Automatic routing

Every request is routed automatically to fast, cost-effective capacity, with live health checks and failover.

FAQ

fal.ai Pricing questions

Each model on fal.ai is priced individually, per second of video or per image. Across the 36 models compared here, the public prices range from $0.025/s (PixVerse V6, 360p) to $0.682/s (Seedance 2.0, 1080p) for video, and from $0.005 per image (FLUX.2 [klein] 4B, 1K) to $0.30 per image (Nano Banana Pro, 4K) for images. CheaperGen is lower on each of them, up to 81% lower than fal.ai; check fal.ai's own pricing for other models.

On the 36 models compared here, yes — and fal.ai isn't cheaper at any tier both platforms list for them. For example, Seedance 2.0 at 720p is $0.1356/s here against $0.3034/s on fal.ai (55% lower). fal.ai's prices are from its public pages on October 21, 2026; ours are live. We only list models where we're lower, so check fal.ai's pricing for models not shown.

Its public docs say: Server errors (5xx) aren't charged; invalid inputs (422) may be charged if GPU time was used. On CheaperGen a failed generation is always refunded in full, whatever the cause.

From its public pages: Prepaid credits by card or ACH; purchased credits expire 365 days after purchase; invoicing for higher volume. CheaperGen is prepaid in USD credits that never expire, with no top-up fee.

Yes: one price per second of video or per image, whether you generate in the Studio, the API or the MCP server. Every model and tier is on the pricing page.

More on Fal AI

All alternatives →CheaperGen pricing →Model catalog →

Sources — fal.ai's public pages, checked October 21, 2026 (prices) and October 22, 2026 (40)

[1] fal.ai/terms
[2] fal.ai/docs/documentation/model-apis/pricing
[3] fal.ai/docs/documentation/model-apis/faq
[4] fal.ai/docs/llms.txt
[5] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/flux-2/klein/4b
[6] fal.ai/models/lightricks/ltx-2.5/text-to-video/fast
[7] fal.ai/models/bytedance/seedance-2.0/fast/text-to-video
[8] fal.ai/models/bytedance/seedance-2.0/mini/text-to-video
[9] fal.ai/models/bytedance/seedance-2.0/text-to-video
[10] fal.ai/models/bytedance/seedance-2.5/text-to-video
[11] fal.ai/models/xai/grok-imagine-video/v1.5/text-to-video
[12] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/vidu/q3/text-to-video
[13] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/vidu/q3/text-to-video/turbo
[14] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/z-image/turbo
[15] fal.ai/models/bytedance/seedream/v5/flash/text-to-image
[16] fal.ai/models/blackforestlabs/flux-3/text-to-image
[17] fal.ai/models/xai/grok-imagine-image/v2.0/text-to-image
[18] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/veo3.1/fast
[19] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/veo3.1/lite
[20] fal.ai/models/alibaba/wan-3.0/text-to-video
[21] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/moss-image
[22] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v4.5/text-to-image
[23] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/nano-banana-pro
[24] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/pixverse/v6/text-to-video
[25] fal.ai/models/minimax/h3/text-to-video
[26] fal.ai/models/alibaba/wan-3.0-prime/text-to-video
[27] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/flux-pro/kontext/max/text-to-image
[28] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/flux-pro/kontext/text-to-image
[29] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/flux-2-pro
[30] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/flux-2-max
[31] fal.ai/models/alibaba/qwen-image-3/text-to-image
[32] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
[33] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/flux-2-flex
[34] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/veo3.1
[35] fal.ai/models/blackforestlabs/flux-3/text-to-video
[36] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/kling-video/v3/standard/text-to-video
[37] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/kling-video/o3/standard/text-to-video
[38] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/kling-video/v3/turbo/standard/text-to-video
[39] fal.ai/models/google/gemini-omni-flash/v1.1/text-to-video
[40] fal.ai/models/fal-ai/krea-2/turbo

fal.ai and its logo are trademarks of their owner, shown only to identify the platform compared. CheaperGen is not affiliated with or endorsed by fal.ai. fal.ai's prices and features are from its public pages (prices October 21, 2026, features October 22, 2026) and may have changed since. Model names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.