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The right model for each job

For every job, three picks: the best result, a strong middle, and the cheapest that still does it well.

Ranked by Kuro’s editors from hands-on useCredits are per reference request

Kuro’s agents choose from this same list: a picture starts on the best pick, and a clip on the tier you choose.

Images

Credits for one image at the model’s default setting.

  1. Style

    Photorealistic people and selfies

    GPT Image 2.5 keeps skin, hands, eyes and light believable and follows the brief literally; Seedream 5 Pro is close for a third of the price; Soul 2 is tuned for fashion photography but takes no reference picture.

    Best
    GPT Image 2.5 Flare11 credits
    Middle
    Seedream 5 Pro4 credits
    Cheapest
    Soul 20.5 creditsFrom a prompt alone: it cannot match a real face.

  2. Common problem

    The same person across many pictures

    Seat the person as a Subject or a reference photo. GPT Image 2.5 holds a face from seven references best; Nano Banana 2.1 holds identity well from up to fourteen; FLUX.2 Pro is the cheapest model that takes references at all.

    Best
    GPT Image 2.5 Flare11 credits
    Middle
    Nano Banana 2.13 credits
    Cheapest
    FLUX.2 Pro2.5 credits

  3. Job

    Product photos

    Seedream renders packaging, materials and studio light with the most detail from a product reference; Lite is the everyday default; FLUX.2 Pro is dependable for less.

    Best
    Seedream 5 Pro4 creditsWhen the label's words must read, use GPT Image 2.5 Flare.
    Middle
    Seedream 5 Lite3 credits
    Cheapest
    FLUX.2 Pro2.5 credits

  4. Style

    Anime and manga

    GPT Image 2.5 draws clean line art and consistent characters from a description; Nano Banana 2.1 is strong with a character reference; Grok Imagine is quick and inexpensive.

    Best
    GPT Image 2.5 Flare11 credits
    Middle
    Nano Banana 2.13 credits
    Cheapest
    Grok Imagine Image2 credits

  5. Style

    Illustration and painterly art

    FLUX.2 has the richest painterly and stylised texture, Max at full fidelity and Pro at a flat rate; FLUX Schnell sketches ideas for almost nothing.

    Best
    FLUX.2 Max6 credits
    Middle
    FLUX.2 Pro2.5 credits
    Cheapest
    FLUX Schnell0.5 credits

  6. Common problem

    Posters, text and lettering

    GPT Image 2.5 spells exact words where you place them, even dense small type; Qwen Image 3 Pro handles page layouts and long text; Nano Banana 2.1 writes short headlines sharply.

    Best
    GPT Image 2.5 Flare11 credits
    Middle
    Qwen Image 3 Pro3.5 credits
    Cheapest
    Nano Banana 2.13 credits

  7. Job

    Logos and icons (vector)

    Recraft is the only family that draws real, editable SVG; Pro gives cleaner paths for brand assets. A logo you already have goes through vectorize_image instead.

    Best
    Recraft V4.1 Pro SVG21 credits
    Middle
    Recraft V4.1 SVG3.5 credits
    Cheapest
    Recraft V4.1 SVG3.5 credits

  8. Job

    Editing a photo you already have

    Krea 3 follows a plain instruction and changes what you asked for while keeping the rest of the picture; Nano Banana 2.1 takes conversational edits well; Grok Imagine edits one picture cheaply.

    Best
    Krea 35 credits
    Middle
    Nano Banana 2.13 credits
    Cheapest
    Grok Imagine Image2 credits

  9. Common problem

    Combining several pictures into one

    Nano Banana 2.1 fuses up to fourteen references (a face, a product, a set) without losing any; Seedream 5 Lite and FLUX.2 Pro take seven.

    Best
    Nano Banana 2.13 credits
    Middle
    Seedream 5 Lite3 credits
    Cheapest
    FLUX.2 Pro2.5 credits

  10. Job

    Quick drafts and ideas in volume

    To find a composition before paying for polish: Seedream 5 Lite still takes references, P-Image and FLUX Schnell cost a fraction of a credit from a prompt alone.

    Best
    Seedream 5 Lite3 credits
    Middle
    P-Image0.5 credits
    Cheapest
    FLUX Schnell0.5 credits

Clips

Credits for a 5-second clip at 720p.

  1. Job

    A clip from a description

    Seedance 2.5 has the most convincing motion and physics with native sound; Wan 3.0 renders up to thirty seconds at 1080p for less than half; P-Video 2 is a capable draft with native speech.

    Best
    Seedance 2.596.5 credits
    Middle
    Wan 3.042 credits
    Cheapest
    P-Video 212.5 credits

  2. Job

    Bringing a picture to life

    Seedance 2.5 animates a first frame without drifting from it; HappyHorse is smooth and affordable from one frame; P-Video 2 also takes a last frame to land on.

    Best
    Seedance 2.596.5 credits
    Middle
    HappyHorse 1.058.5 credits
    Cheapest
    P-Video 212.5 credits

  3. Common problem

    The same character across clips

    Seedance 2.5 holds a character from up to thirty reference pictures; Kling v3 Omni takes reference pictures and a reference clip; Seedance 2.0 Mini keeps the reference channels at the lowest price.

    Best
    Seedance 2.596.5 credits
    Middle
    Kling v3 Omni70 credits
    Cheapest
    Seedance 2.0 Mini37.5 credits

  4. Job

    A person speaking to camera

    From a portrait and a voice-over. OmniHuman 1.5 moves face, hands and camera with the meaning of the words; Kling Avatar v2 also animates cartoons and animals; P-Video Avatar is the volume option.

    Best
    OmniHuman 1.567 credits
    Middle
    Kling Avatar v222 credits
    Cheapest
    P-Video Avatar10.5 credits

  5. Common problem

    Dialogue and sound inside the clip

    Veo 3.1 generates speech, effects and ambience in sync with the picture; Fast and Lite keep the sound at lower fidelity and price.

    Best
    Veo 3.183.5 credits
    Middle
    Veo 3.1 Fast42 credits
    Cheapest
    Veo 3.1 Lite21 credits

  6. Style

    Cinematic camera moves

    Seedance 2.5 executes complex moves and cuts on request; Runway Gen-4.5 is built for consistent cinematic motion; Veo 3.1 Lite is a cheap way to rehearse a move.

    Best
    Seedance 2.596.5 credits
    Middle
    Runway Gen-4.550 credits
    Cheapest
    Veo 3.1 Lite21 credits

  7. Common problem

    Long takes (15 to 30 seconds)

    Seedance 2.5 and Wan 3.0 both reach thirty seconds in one pass, Seedance with stronger motion; P-Video 2 reaches twenty.

    Best
    Seedance 2.596.5 credits
    Middle
    Wan 3.042 credits
    Cheapest
    P-Video 212.5 credits

  8. Job

    Copying a dance or movement from a video

    Genjutsu Motion Transfer takes up to eight views of your character, so it holds through turns, and is billed per second of source; Kling Motion Control holds identity and scene for a tenth of the price; P-Video Animate is built for many cheap UGC variations.

    Best
    Genjutsu Motion Transfer284 credits
    Middle
    Kling Motion Control29.5 credits
    Cheapest
    P-Video Animate12.5 credits

  9. Job

    New words on footage you already have

    Sync Lipsync 2 re-syncs the mouth over long takes; Kling Lip Sync does two to ten seconds for a fraction.

    Best
    Sync Lipsync 221 credits
    Middle
    Kling Lip Sync6 credits
    Cheapest
    Kling Lip Sync6 credits

Voice

Credits for 1,000 characters of speech.

  1. Job

    Voice-over and narration

    Eleven v4 sounds the most human and takes direction; MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD is clear with an emotion and speed control; Kokoro reads English cleanly for almost nothing.

    Best
    Eleven v47 credits
    Middle
    MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD4.5 credits
    Cheapest
    Kokoro 82M0.5 creditsEnglish only.

  2. Style

    Acted, emotional delivery

    Eleven v4 turns a performance mid-line from inline tags; MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD has a set emotion per line; Inworld TTS 2.0 is expressive for less.

    Best
    Eleven v47 credits
    Middle
    MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD4.5 credits
    Cheapest
    Inworld TTS 2.02.5 credits

  3. Common problem

    Languages other than English

    Gemini 3.1 Flash TTS has the widest language list with natural accents; Eleven v4 and MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD cover the major languages well.

    Best
    Gemini 3.1 Flash TTS11 credits
    Middle
    Eleven v47 credits
    Cheapest
    MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD4.5 credits

Music

Credits for one track.

  1. Job

    Songs with lyrics

    MiniMax Music 2.6 is the model here that sings your lyrics, at any length.

    Best
    MiniMax Music 2.612.5 credits
    Middle
    MiniMax Music 2.612.5 credits
    Cheapest
    MiniMax Music 2.612.5 credits

  2. Job

    Instrumental background music

    Eleven Music makes the cleanest instrumental bed; MiniMax Music 2.6 is the alternative when the length must differ from one minute.

    Best
    Eleven Music12.5 credits
    Middle
    Eleven Music12.5 credits
    Cheapest
    MiniMax Music 2.612.5 credits

How this is ranked

An editorial call, not an automated score: Kuro’s editors rank each job from using the models, the model guides and the arena’s published matchups.

Every credit figure is read from the catalog the app charges against and recomputed on every release. A model’s own page lists every setting’s price.

A model in two tiers means nothing else is worth naming there.

Side-by-side resultsEvery model’s priceEvery model’s specs