AI Design
Best OpenRouter Image Models for Designers (2026)
August 17, 2026 - Updated August 17, 2026 - 8 min read - By Pantr AI Team
OpenRouter lists a lot of image models. You do not need a lot. You need a small set you can switch on the same brief. This is a 2026 designer’s map of the ones Pantr actually puts in the catalog — not a dump of every OpenRouter ID.
Prices move. Caps move. Treat this as a switching guide, then confirm the live API price in the prompt bar. Background: OpenRouter for creatives. Hands-on: Flux vs Nano Banana vs GPT Image.
Photoreal: Flux.2 Pro
Black Forest Labs / Flux.2 Pro is the default still when the picture should look shot. Product, fashion, automotive, interiors. About $0.03 per first megapixel on the API the last time we synced — always check the bar. Up to 8 input references. If you are lighting a bottle, start here.
Edit and high-ref: Nano Banana 2 / Pro
Google’s Gemini image models (Nano Banana 2, Nano Banana Pro) are the ones to switch to when the brief is “change this, keep that,” or when the board is crowded. Up to 14 refs. Pantr pins Nano Banana 2 for inpaint. If Flux refuses to respect the layout of a packed frame, this is the fork.
Type and structure: GPT Image 2
When letters have to hold — posters, packaging, UI frames — switch to GPT Image. Higher ref limits (up to 16 on GPT Image 2 in our catalog). It will lose some photographic romance. It will win the lockup. Don’t make Flux spell the drop name.
Illustration: Seedream 4.5
Seedream is the illustration / anime fork when Flux goes too photographic. Pantr also uses Seedream 4.5 for 2K/4K export (a generative re-render instructed to stay identical — not a pixel-perfect upscaler). Auto will lean here when the prompt reads as illustration.
Graphics: Recraft
Recraft is the “I need a graphic, not a photo” model. Low reference caps (often 1). Use it for icons, flat assets, and brand marks — then composite on the canvas. Don’t feed it a 12-image moodboard.
How to actually pick
| Brief | First model | Switch to if… |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign photo | Flux.2 Pro | Edit needed → Nano Banana |
| Packed layout / many refs | Nano Banana 2 | Type fails → GPT Image |
| Poster with words | GPT Image | Photo still needed → Flux beside it |
| Illustration / anime | Seedream 4.5 | Photoreal client → Flux |
| Icon / graphic | Recraft | Needs a scene → Flux or Seedream |
Use Change model so the prompt stays put. That is the whole point of a switchboard. Video is a separate list: Sora, Veo, Kling, Seedance.
What we are not ranking
OpenRouter has more image endpoints than this. Some are cheap, some are experimental, some are duplicates across providers. Pantr curates. If a model is not in the picker, it is not a slight — it is a product choice. We sync capabilities with OpenRouter; we do not auto-enable every new row.
Start with €1.00 or your key. Generate the same prompt on two of these. Keep the frame that matches the job, not the lab you heard about this week.
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