AI Tools · head to head
Black Forest Labs vs Together AI
Black Forest Labs
AI Tools
Frontier AI lab behind the FLUX family of image, video, and audio generation models
- From
- $0.17/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Together AI has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Black Forest Labs open weights licensing tiers (Builder, Platform, Professional) do not list public prices, requiring sales contact for most volumes.; Together AI fine tuning carries a minimum charge of $4.00 per job regardless of dataset size
- They diverge on capability: Black Forest Labs covers FLUX 3 image generation, Together AI covers Open-source models.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Black Forest Labs and Together AI actually diverge.
| Attribute | Black Forest Labs | Together AI |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $0.17/month | Free |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | web, api | Api, Cloud |
| Founded | Unknown | 2022 |
Identical on both: pricing model (usage-based), user rating (Not yet rated), category (AI Tools).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Black Forest Labs
- FLUX 3 image generation
- Video generation
- Synchronized audio generation
- Open weights
- Action-prediction
- Fine-tuning and LoRA rights
- Pricing calculator
Only in Together AI
- Open-source models
- Fine-tuning
- Fast inference
- Embeddings
- REST API
- Python SDK
- OpenAI compatible
- Api support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Black Forest Labs
- Generating high-fidelity images via API for production appsnot Together AI
- Self-hosting open-weight FLUX models on private infrastructurenot Together AI
- Producing short branded video clips with synchronized audionot Together AI
- Robotics research using action-prediction modelsnot Together AI
Together AI
- Serverless inference against open source chat, vision, embedding, image and video modelsnot Black Forest Labs
- Renting dedicated single tenant H100, H200 or B200 GPU clusters by the hournot Black Forest Labs
- Fine tuning open weight models on a per token basisnot Black Forest Labs
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Black Forest Labs
- Open weights licensing tiers (Builder, Platform, Professional) do not list public prices, requiring sales contact for most volumes.
- Video generation pricing per second can become costly for longer or higher-resolution outputs compared to subscription-based competitors.
- No consumer subscription plan; pricing is oriented toward developers and enterprises rather than casual creators.
Together AI
- Fine tuning carries a minimum charge of $4.00 per job regardless of dataset size
- Reserved GPU commitments beyond 180 days are priced by contacting sales with no published rate
- Volume and enterprise discounts are quote only with no published threshold
- Reserved dedicated inference pricing is contact sales while only on demand rates of $5.49 to $8.99 per GPU hour are published
Pricing, plan by plan
Black Forest Labs
$0.17/month- API (video)$0.17/month
- $0.17 per second of generated video
- Builder$undefined/mo
- FLUX.2 [klein] models
- 10K images/month
- 1 domain, 10 licensed users
- Platform$undefined/mo
- FLUX.2 [klein] 9B + FLUX.2 [dev]
- 100K images/month
- 1 domain, 10 licensed users
- Professional$undefined/mo
- FLUX.2 [dev] open weights license
- 100K images/month
- Up to 3 domains, 10 licensed users
Together AI
Free- FreeFree
- $5 credits
- API access
- Pay-per-use$0.2/per-million-tokens
- All models
- Fine-tuning
Which should you pick?
Choose Black Forest Labs if
- You need flux 3 image generation.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want video generation.
Choose Together AI if
- You need open-source models.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Api, Cloud.
- You also want fine-tuning.
Questions people ask
- Is Black Forest Labs or Together AI better?
- Neither clearly leads. Black Forest Labs starts at $0.17/month and Together AI at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Black Forest Labs or Together AI?
- Together AI has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.17/month for Black Forest Labs and Free for Together AI.
- Does Black Forest Labs or Together AI run on more platforms?
- Black Forest Labs runs on web, api. Together AI runs on Api, Cloud.
- Can I use Together AI for free?
- Yes. Together AI has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Black Forest Labs starts at $0.17/month.
- What is Black Forest Labs best used for?
- Black Forest Labs is most often used for generating high-fidelity images via api for production apps, self-hosting open-weight flux models on private infrastructure, producing short branded video clips with synchronized audio, robotics research using action-prediction models. Of those, generating high-fidelity images via api for production apps and self-hosting open-weight flux models on private infrastructure are not what Together AI is typically brought in for.
- What can Black Forest Labs do that Together AI cannot?
- Black Forest Labs covers FLUX 3 image generation, Video generation, Synchronized audio generation, Open weights. Together AI covers Open-source models, Fine-tuning, Fast inference, Embeddings.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Black Forest Labs: How much does Black Forest Labs' API cost?
The API is pay-as-you-go with no subscription required; video generation costs $0.17 per second, so a 5-second HD clip costs about $0.85.
SourceBlack Forest Labs: Is there a free plan?
No free tier is offered; the pricing page lists only pay-as-you-go API usage and paid open-weights licensing tiers starting with Builder.
SourceBlack Forest Labs: What do the open-weights licensing tiers include?
Builder includes FLUX.2 [klein] models with 10K images/month for one domain; Platform and Professional raise the cap to 100K images/month and add FLUX.2 [dev] access and fine-tuning rights.
SourceBlack Forest Labs: Can I self-host FLUX models?
Yes, open weights licenses let teams download and self-host FLUX.2 [klein] and FLUX.2 [dev] models on their own infrastructure under the Builder, Platform, and Professional tiers.
SourceBlack Forest Labs: How do I get enterprise or high-volume pricing?
Enterprise plans covering custom volume, all model releases, and SLA guarantees are not published and require contacting Black Forest Labs' sales team directly.
SourceRelated pages
More on Black Forest Labs
More on Together AI
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