Ideogram 4.5 edit with 5 images: only the first is edited, $0.075

On Sume, Ideogram 4.5 (ideogram/ideogram-v4.5) edits the first image you pass and uses up to four more only as references, five images in total. An edit costs the same as a text-to-image call at the same quality: $0.0375 low, $0.075 medium (the default) and $0.275 high.

How the inputs work

The Image API docs say that without input_references Ideogram 4.5 generates from text. With references, it edits the first image and uses up to four more as references. Order therefore matters: the picture you want changed goes first, and style or object references go after it.

An edit that sets no aspect_ratio keeps the shape of the source image, so you do not need to pass the ratio of a photo you are editing. quality takes low, medium or high and defaults to medium; resolution takes 1K or 2K.

Price of an edit session

The fal page for Ideogram V4.5 lists $0.03, $0.06 and $0.22 per image by quality and says size does not change the price (read 2026-10-09). Sume's rows are those numbers times 1.25. The docs list one price per image by quality and no separate line for references, so plan on one image charge per edit.

A typical session is a layout pass at low and a keeper at high: 4 x $0.0375 + $0.275 = $0.425 for four tries and one final. At medium throughout it is 5 x $0.075 = $0.375.

Mistakes to avoid

Do not pass a sixth image; the descriptor allows five, and Sume rejects values outside what a model lists with 400 unsupported_parameter, rather than ignoring them. Do not pass mask_url: the docs document it for ChatGPT Image 2.5 edits, and Ideogram's descriptor does not list it. Read the live descriptor with GET /v1/images/models/ideogram/ideogram-v4.5/endpoints if you are unsure.

A quick test plan

Pick one product photo and three reference images. Run the edit once with the product first and once with a reference first, both at low quality ($0.0375 each, $0.075 for the pair). If the second run edits the wrong picture, you have confirmed the order rule on your own inputs for less than a dime.

Then raise quality only for the order that worked. Keep aspect_ratio unset so the edit keeps the product photo's shape, and set resolution to 1K or 2K for the delivery size you need.