4K AI image: generate at 4K or upscale a 1K image? The cost
Nano Banana can render at a 4K tier on Sume. Image Upscale 1.0 enlarges an existing image. What each costs per image and what each needs as input.
You have two ways to get a 4K image on Sume, and they cost different amounts. Generating at resolution: "4K" is $0.20 for Nano Banana 2 and $0.38 for Nano Banana Pro; upscaling an image you already have is $0.20 per image through Image Upscale 1.0. Which fits depends on whether you have a source image.
Prices are the Sume estimate from pricing code and the API pricing rate card; behavior is from the Image API docs, read 2026-09-29.
What does each route cost?
| Route | Endpoint | One image |
|---|---|---|
| Generate, Nano Banana 2 at 4K | POST /v1/images | $0.20 |
| Generate, Nano Banana Pro at 4K | POST /v1/images | $0.38 |
| Upscale an existing image | POST /v1/image-upscale-1.0/upscale | $0.20 per image |
When should I generate at 4K?
When the image does not exist yet, or you want the detail rendered at that size. The Nano Banana models are the only catalog models with a 4K tier, and 4K is more likely to exceed the 30-second wait, so handle a 202 job envelope as well as a 200.
curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/images \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"model": "google/nano-banana-2",
"prompt": "Macro photo of a dew-covered leaf",
"resolution": "4K",
"mode": "async"
}'When should I upscale instead?
When you already have an approved image and only need more pixels. Upscaling takes a public HTTPS image_url and a factor from 1 to 4.
Does either route give a print-ready file?
Neither docs page promises a DPI or print profile. AI image for print at 300 DPI covers the pixel math.
Sources
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Written by Sume