Recraft V4 on Sume returns WebP only: a PNG conversion step, 5 cents

Recraft V4 on Sume bills 5 cents per image, is text-to-image only, and lists webp as its only output format. If your pipeline needs PNG or JPEG, convert the downloaded file yourself. Asking the API for another output_format would not match the catalog descriptor, and Sume rejects values a model does not list.

What the catalog says

The list price is $0.04, times 1.25 is $0.05, so the bill is exactly 5 cents with no rounding. The row lists 13 ratios, up to 4 images per call, no quality tiers and no references.

Convert to PNG

WebP is fine for the web, but some print tools, marketplaces and app stores want PNG or JPEG. Pillow reads WebP and writes PNG. Pass the image URL from data[].url in the response as the first argument.

import io, sys
import requests
from PIL import Image

url = sys.argv[1]  # data[0].url from POST /v1/images
resp = requests.get(url, timeout=60)
resp.raise_for_status()
img = Image.open(io.BytesIO(resp.content))
img.convert("RGBA").save("recraft.png")
print(img.format, img.size)

Where it fits

Because Recraft V4 cannot take a reference, it suits first-pass generation from a prompt, not edits. If you need a transparent background, note that the background field is listed only on the two GPT Image 2.5 rows, so a WebP from Recraft will not come with a requested alpha. Check the converted file before you rely on it.

Compared with its price neighbors, Seedream 5.0 Lite also bills 5 cents and adds edits and png, jpeg and webp output. Choose Recraft V4 when you want its look and can live without references. Sume does not publish a style comparison, so judge by a 20-prompt test that costs $1.00.

Notes on WebP

WebP supports alpha, so Pillow's RGBA conversion keeps any transparency the file has. For JPEG, flatten onto a solid background first, since JPEG has no alpha channel. Save the original WebP too; converting from WebP to a lossy JPEG adds another round of compression.

At 5 cents, a 12-piece style board is 60 cents and a 100-piece set is $5. The conversion adds no Sume charge, since you do it on your side after the download.