cheapaiapi vs fal.ai
CheapAIAPI costs less on the matched Nano Banana and standard Seedance rows below. Image rows use USD per generation; video rows use USD per generated output second. This is an API migration, not a drop-in client-library replacement.
webhook_url on async Jobs.30,000 Nano Banana Pro 4K images per month
$5,040 with CheapAIAPI instead of $9,000 at the matched public fal.ai price.
Scope: matched rows use one image generation, exact model and resolution, USD per generation. GPT Image 2.5 is a sourced high-quality 1024×1024 price reference without a savings claim.
| Model | cheapaiapiUs | fal.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Nano Banana | $0.025 | $0.039+56% |
| Nano Banana Pro 1K | $0.095 | $0.15+58% |
| Nano Banana Pro 2K | $0.095 | $0.15+58% |
| Nano Banana Pro 4K | $0.168 | $0.3+79% |
| GPT Image 2.5 | $0.04 | $0.0531024×1024 · high |
Scope: standard 16:9 text-to-video or image-to-video, USD per generated output second, with audio included. Video-reference input is excluded.
| Model | Resolution | cheapaiapiUs | fal.ai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seedance 2.0 | 480p | $0.115 | $0.141+22% |
| Seedance 2.0 | 720p | $0.25 | $0.304+21% |
| Seedance 2.0 | 1080p | $0.55 | $0.682+24% |
| Seedance 2.0 | 4K | $1.25 | $1.556+24% |
| Seedance 2.5 | 480p | $0.175 | $0.221+26% |
| Seedance 2.5 | 720p | $0.375 | $0.473+26% |
| Seedance 2.5 | 1080p | $0.93 | $1.164+25% |
Choose a model and resolution, then enter generated output seconds per month.
Estimate uses matched public list prices. Reference-video requests need a whole-request comparison because input duration changes billing.
Choose a model and enter how many images you generate per day.
Estimate uses public list prices and a 30-day month.
CheapAIAPI prices come from the live public catalog. fal.ai values come from matching official model pages and are checked against fal.ai's billing rules.
Image benchmark checked 2026-10-04. The checked-on date records the source review; newer evidence is applied through a deliberate benchmark update.
Compare the same named public workload, not a nearby model.
Keep resolution, text-to-video or image-to-video mode, duration, audio, and optional add-ons separate.
Per-generation values stay per generation. Megapixels, video seconds, tokens, and compute seconds are different comparisons.
Keep the checked-on date beside the comparison, then update the rate when newer source evidence is reviewed.
This is an API migration, not a client-library swap. Four changes make the boundary explicit.
Authorization: Key $FAL_KEY becomes Authorization: Bearer $CHEAPAIAPI_KEY.
Move the fal.ai model endpoint into the request body as one exact CheapAIAPI public SKU.
Every accepted generation request returns a recoverable Job id. Add ?async=true to return immediately, then poll GET /v1/jobs/{id}.
Route a small sample first. Increase traffic only after the results meet your acceptance rules.
curl https://cheapaiapi.org/v1/images/generations \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $CHEAPAIAPI_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"model": "nano-banana-2.1-1k",
"prompt": "product photo on a clean studio background",
"aspect_ratio": "1:1"
}'Change the model value only to another published SKU with matching request fields.
CheapAIAPI image generation is priced in USD per generation for the selected model and resolution. The customer price is fixed per generation and is not calculated from input or output token usage.
No. Authentication, endpoint, model identifier, and response lifecycle change. CheapAIAPI returns a recoverable Job id. Image Jobs should use `webhook_url` for completion and `GET /v1/jobs/{id}` only as recovery, so migrate one matched workload before moving more traffic.
Match the same model, resolution, create or edit mode, output count, and optional add-ons. Matched rows compare one image generation in USD. The GPT Image 2.5 row is a published high-quality 1024-square price reference only, with no savings or quality-equivalence claim. Every fal.ai value links to its official source.
Keep fal.ai when generation speed, its broader image, video, audio, or 3D catalog, queue controls, cancellation, or custom Serverless deployments matter more than the savings shown.
Match the same Seedance version, standard text-to-video or image-to-video mode, resolution, aspect ratio, generated duration, and audio setting. Video-reference pricing includes input duration and must be compared as a whole request.
Bring one model, mode, resolution, monthly volume, and accepted-output rule. We will map the API boundary and calculate total cost.