Qwen Image Max vs Recraft V4 on Sume: $0.09375 vs $0.05, text-only

Qwen Image Max costs $0.09375 per image on Sume and Recraft V4 costs $0.05, so Qwen is 1.875 times the price. Both rows generate from text only and do not edit images, and Recraft V4 returns WebP only. They list the same 13 aspect ratios, so the ratio you need does not separate them. Prices are as of 2026-10-09 from Sume's catalog.

If you need to edit an existing picture, neither row is the answer. Use a row that lists image editing.

Side by side

The ratio list for both is 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4, 4:5, 5:4, 3:2, 2:3, 21:9, 9:21, 1:2 and 2:1.

What the format means

WebP is smaller than PNG or JPEG for the same picture, and every current browser shows it. Some print tools, older design software and upload forms do not accept it. If your pipeline needs PNG, convert after download. That is one extra step per image, and it is free.

The Qwen row has no such limit, so a team whose downstream tools reject WebP may accept the higher price to avoid the conversion step. Count the work before you decide: for 200 images the price difference is $8.75.

Where each one fits

Recraft V4 is the lower-cost row of the two, so it is the natural first try for a set of simple graphics. Qwen Image Max costs more, so it earns its place only if its pictures are better for your subject. This page has no benchmark results and makes no quality claim for either row. The ten-prompt test below is how you find out for your own subject, using your own prompts, and it costs less than a dollar.

Because both rows list 21:9, 9:21, 2:1 and 1:2, either can make wide banners and tall strips that Seedream 5 Lite and the Imagen rows cannot. Check the ratio list in the docs for the exact values before a batch.

Batch size and jobs

Both rows accept n up to a per-model ceiling set by Sume, with 10 as the most for any row. Large batches are more likely to answer with a 202 job envelope than a direct 200, so write your client to handle both. Poll /v1/jobs/:id/status and fetch /v1/jobs/:id/result when it completes, as the jobs and results docs describe.

How to choose

Start with Recraft V4 at $0.05 for text-to-image work where WebP is fine. Move to Qwen Image Max if the images look wrong for your subject after a ten-prompt test, which costs $0.9375 on Qwen and $0.50 on Recraft. The test costs less than the first hour of arguing about it.

To edit an image, pick a row from the Image API docs that lists references. The catalog marks these two rows as text-only, so do not plan an edit workflow around them.