Flux Dev is a state-of-the-art 12 billion parameter text-to-image model developed by Black Forest Labs. Released in August 2024, it has rapidly gained momentum in just a few short months as the go-to choice for AI artists and developers seeking high-quality image generation capabilities.
Here are some examples of Flux Dev generated images we ran on Modal via our ComfyUI example:
Flux Dev is part of a suite of text-to-image models released by Black Forest Labs. This table outlines their core differences:
| Model | Description | Open weights | License required for commercial application |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flux Pro | Flagship, most detailed model | No | Yes |
| Flux Dev | Balanced model between detail and speed | Yes | Yes |
| Flux Schnell | Fastest model with less detail | Yes | No |
Is Flux Dev free to use?
Yes, Flux Dev is free to use (inference and fine-tuning) for non-commercial use cases, which includes:
- Research and experimentation, including personal hobby projects
- Non-production use cases at for-profit companies
- Charitable organizations
If you intend to use Flux for revenue-generating, production use cases though, you need to either:
- Access the model through an approved partner
- Reach out to Black Forest Labs directly for a commercial license, which will be subject to some kind of fee or revenue sharing agreement
You can read the official license on their Github.
Is Flux Pro free to use?
No, Flux Pro is not free to use and completely closed-source. To access it, you need to create an account with Black Forest Labs directly or use one of their approved partners.
Is Flux Schnell free to use?
Yes, Flux Schnell is not only free to use but also free to use and fine-tune for commercial purposes under the Apache 2.0 license. You can read the official license on their Github.
How do you run Flux?
You can run Flux in the following ways:
- ComfyUI: great for prototyping and those who prefer a more visual interface (see our ComfyUI example)
- Diffusers: you can directly import
FluxPipelinefor convenient inference in your app (see our Flux Schnell example) - Fine-tuning: you can fine-tune Flux for your specific use case (see our Dreambooth pet art example)
Conclusion
Flux Dev has effectively succeeded Stable Diffusion as the best open-weight diffusion model today for AI image generation. It’s a great choice for your image generation needs, but if you plan on serving or fine-tuning Flux Dev for revenue-generating, production use cases, you need to make sure to do it via an approved partner or have a direct agreement in place with Black Forest Labs. Alternatively, you can use Flux Schnell which has a very broad and generous license for commercial applications.
