Flux 2 Dev vs Flux Dev vs Flux Schnell
Three names in the same model picker, and most comparisons of them argue about sample images. We are going to argue about the price instead, because it is the one hard fact nobody can spin, and because it changes how you should actually work.
The three are one family with different step budgets and different generations. Flux Schnell is the fast few step model, built to produce something usable in a handful of steps. Flux Dev is the established quality model, the one most tooling grew up around. Flux 2 Dev is the newer generation of that same quality tier. They are not three tiers of good, better, best. They are one exploratory model and two finishing models.
The Number That Decides It
In the hosted image lane, a Flux Schnell render costs 300 credits. Flux Dev costs 1,200. Flux 2 Dev costs 1,200 as well. That is the whole pricing story: a Schnell render costs a quarter of a Dev render, so you can afford four tries instead of one.
| Model | Per image | Good at | 5 EUR pack (165,000 credits) | Hosted month (900,000 credits) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flux Schnell | 300 credits | Fast drafts, composition tests, prompt wording, volume work | about 550 images | about 3,000 images |
| Flux Dev | 1,200 credits | Finished renders, and the model inpainting runs on | about 137 images | about 750 images |
| Flux 2 Dev | 1,200 credits | Finished renders on the newer generation, the default keeper | about 137 images | about 750 images |
Credit packs need no subscription, work from the first purchase, and the credits do not expire: 5 EUR for 165,000 credits, 10 EUR for 350,000, 25 EUR for 900,000. The Hosted plan is 19 EUR a month with 900,000 credits and adds two LoRA trainings a month. Current numbers live on the LU Labs pricing page.
The Workflow That Falls Out of That
Here is the opinionated part. Iterate on Schnell, finish on Flux 2 Dev. That is the default, and it is not a compromise, it is just where the money is.
Prompt exploration is where credits actually go. The first render is almost never the one you keep. You find out the subject is centred when it should be off to the left, the light is flat, the word "cinematic" pulled the whole thing somewhere you did not want. Every one of those discoveries is worth 300 credits, not 1,200.
Run ten drafts on Schnell to settle the composition and the wording, then re-render the winner on Flux 2 Dev. Total: 4,200 credits. The same ten attempts straight on Flux 2 Dev cost 12,000 credits and tell you nothing extra about framing. On a 5 EUR pack that is the difference between roughly thirteen finished pieces and roughly four.
The catch to know about: Schnell and the Dev models are close in how they read a prompt, but not identical. Wording that helps on Schnell almost always helps on Flux 2 Dev, while fine texture and small detail will shift when you switch. Treat the Schnell pass as a composition and prompt test, not as a preview of the final pixels.
Why Flux Dev Stays in the Rotation
If Flux 2 Dev is the newer generation at the same price, why keep the older one open? Because editing is attached to it. Inpainting runs on Flux Dev, so the moment your job is patching a region of an image you already have rather than generating a fresh one, that is the model you are on.
The rest of the editing set sits alongside it: Qwen Image Edit for instruction style changes, background removal, an eraser, and upscaling to 2k, 4k or 8k. Face swap is not offered. For a lot of real work the sequence is draft on Schnell, finish on Flux 2 Dev, then fix one hand or one sign on Flux Dev inpainting and upscale the result. All three names earn their place in a single job.
Where the Other Seven Fit
The hosted lane carries ten image models, and the seven outside the Flux family are there because different houses have different tastes. Qwen Image is strong when your image needs readable text in it. HiDream and HunyuanImage 2.1 are alternative photographic looks worth a try when Flux keeps giving you the same face. Z-Image Turbo is another fast option in the draft slot. Chroma leans stylised. Prefect Pony XL and Neta Lumina are the anime and illustration end of the catalog. Switching costs a click, so if two Flux attempts have not landed the look, the fastest fix is often a different model rather than a longer prompt.
The Local Option and Its VRAM Reality
None of this is required. Flux runs at home, and every render after the download is free. The reality check is memory: the Dev tier is comfortable on a 24 GB card, and under that you start trading quality or patience for the missing VRAM. That gap is the entire reason the hosted lane exists. If you have the card, run Flux locally and keep your credits. If you do not, the browser route walks through the six steps from sign in to download. For the wider desktop setup there is the local image and video generator guide and the shortest install path.
The Honest Note
Hosted image prompts follow the Terms of Service and the prompt is checked before it renders. That is the deal on shared, rented hardware, and we would rather write it down than have you find out at the render button. Content involving minors is refused everywhere, always, no exception. The local desktop app is the other side of that: free, open source, and it runs whatever you install with nothing in the middle.
Short Version
- Exploring an idea: Flux Schnell, 300 credits, four tries for the price of one.
- Rendering the keeper: Flux 2 Dev, 1,200 credits, the default finisher.
- Patching an existing image: Flux Dev, 1,200 credits, because inpainting lives there.
- You own a 24 GB card: none of the above, run it locally.