# Research: Image Generation APIs

**Date:** 2026-04-19  
**Purpose:** Find affordable/free image generation for hackathon project

## Pollinations AI (Recommended ✅)

**Why:** Free tier, OpenAI-compatible, multiple models, simple API

### Quick Start
```bash
# No auth needed for basic
curl "https://gen.pollinations.ai/image/a%20cat%20in%20space"

# With auth
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY" ...
```

### Models Available
| Model | Type | Notes |
|-------|------|-------|
| `flux` | Default | Good quality |
| `zimage` | Default | Alternative |
| `wan-image` | Quality | Higher quality option |
| `qwen-image` | Quality | Alibaba model |
| `gptimage` | Quality | GPT-based |
| `seedream5` | Style | Special styles |
| `kontext` | Edit | Image editing |

### Pricing
- **Free tier:** Weekly pollen credits (tier-based)
- **Paid:** $1 ≈ 1 Pollen
- **Free API:** Limited but usable
- **Rate limits:** Anonymous = limited, Seed/Flower = more

### API Details
- **Base URL:** `https://gen.pollinations.ai`
- **Image endpoint:** `GET /image/{prompt}`
- **OpenAI-compatible:** `POST /v1/images/generations`
- **No setup:** Just curl it

### Strengths
- ✅ 100% Open Source
- ✅ Free tier available
- ✅ Multiple model options
- ✅ Simple API (no complex setup)
- ✅ OpenAI-compatible SDK

### Weaknesses
- ⚠️ Quality may not match DALL-E/Midjourney
- ⚠️ Free tier has rate limits
- ⚠️ Infrastructure may vary in reliability

## Other Options Considered

| Provider | Free Tier | Quality | Notes |
|----------|-----------|---------|-------|
| **Midjourney** | ❌ No | High | Expensive |
| **Stable Diffusion** | Local only | High | Needs GPU |
| **DALL-E 3** | ❌ No | High | OpenAI pricing |
| **Ideogram** | Limited | Good | API in beta |
| **Flux (Local)** | ✅ Free | High | Self-hosted, needs GPU |

## Recommendation

**Primary:** Pollinations AI (free tier + simplicity)  
**Fallback:** Flux if we have GPU resources

## Sources
- https://gen.pollinations.ai
- https://docs.pollinations.ai/
- https://github.com/pollinations/pollinations