Lounge Image Studio vs Krea
A creative suite with its own models and compute units
Krea is a broad creative suite: its own Krea models plus FLUX, GPT Image, Nano Banana, Ideogram and others, real-time generation, LoRA training, 3D, lip sync, Nodes and an app builder, paid in compute units from $5.25/mo on annual billing. Lounge Image Studio does one thing: run the image models in the LLM Gateway catalogue at the provider's per-image rate, side by side, on the same credits as chat, video and audio.
Lounge Image Studio vs Krea at a glance
Same model, cost per image
Krea prices in compute units. We divided its Pro plan ($21 a month, billed annually) by the number of images Krea says Pro buys for each model.
Krea rates from Krea pricing, checked October 31, 2026. Lounge rates are live catalogue rates. On Plus is that rate spread over the membership's 2.5× credit value. Green means the Lounge rate is lower.
How they compare, in depth
Pricing
Each image costs what the provider charges for it, at the resolution and quality you pick; Flex-tier models cost about half. Memberships turn $9, $19 and $49 into $18, $47.50 and $147 of credits, and top-ups never expire.
Krea's plans are priced in compute units. Annual billing saves 40%, putting Basic at $5.25 and Pro at $21 a month, and each model draws a different number of units (Krea lists around 39 GPT Image 2.5 images or 173 Nano Banana images on Basic). Extra packs expire after 90 days.
Bottom line: Krea annual for the cheapest entry; Lounge for monthly billing and plain per-image prices.
Creative tools
Image Studio focuses on generation: 1 to 4 images per prompt, model-specific resolutions up to 4K, moderation and Flex controls, and Download all bundles a batch into one zip.
Krea goes further on tooling: real-time drawing-to-image, upscaling, LoRA training on your own subjects, 3D and Krea Nodes for custom pipelines.
Bottom line: Krea for an all-in-one creative toolbox.
Everything else
The same credits run chat with 200+ models, Video Studio, Audio Studio and Sandbox Escape, and the models are on the LLM Gateway API.
Krea's suite stays within visual media: image, video, real-time, 3D and lip sync.
Bottom line: Lounge if images are one of several AI jobs you do.
Choose Krea if
- You want real-time generation or LoRA training on your own subjects
- You build visual pipelines in Krea Nodes
- You want Krea's own models
- You're fine paying yearly for 40% off
Choose Lounge if
- You want plain per-image prices instead of compute units
- You compare models on one prompt
- You want monthly billing and top-ups that don't expire
- You also use chat, video and audio models
Looking for a Krea alternative?
You might be here because:
- You can't tell what an image actually costs in compute units
- Compute packs expired before you used them
- You only need generation, not the full suite
- You want one balance for chat and images
Switching is easy
GPT Image, Nano Banana and Grok Imagine are in Image Studio under the same names. Run your Krea prompt on them side by side; Starter at $9/mo includes every image model.
One subscription, up to 3× the credits
$18 in credits at provider rates
Most models
$47.50 in credits at provider rates
Every frontier model
$147 in credits at provider rates
Best value at volume
Credits reset each cycle. Pay-as-you-go top-ups never expire and act as a fallback. Every plan, Starter included, covers every image, video and audio model.
Lounge Image Studio vs Krea FAQ
Is Krea cheaper per image?
On an annual Pro plan used in full, usually yes: Nano Banana 2.1 works out to about $0.023 an image on Krea and $0.034 on Lounge pay as you go. On a Lounge Plus membership the same image costs about $0.013 of what you paid.
Does Lounge have Krea's own models?
No. Krea's models are only on Krea. Lounge runs the image models in the LLM Gateway catalogue.
Does Lounge do LoRA training or real-time generation?
No. Krea is the better fit for those.
Do Lounge credits expire?
Membership credits reset monthly. Pay-as-you-go top-ups never expire.
Every image model. One credit balance.
GPT Image, Nano Banana, Seedream, Grok Imagine, Qwen Image and more, compared side by side and billed per image.