{"slug": "testing-grok-imagine-s-15-20x-faster-image-generation", "title": "Testing Grok Imagine's 15-20x Faster Image Generation", "summary": "XAI's Grok Imagine image generation model, now available on Puter.js, claims to be 15-20x faster than competitors. Puter.js tested both standard and quality tiers against GPT Image 2 and Nano Banana models, measuring end-to-end browser times. The standard Grok Imagine costs $0.02 per image, while the quality version is $0.05.", "body_md": "# Testing Grok Imagine's 15-20x Faster Image Generation\n\nWe recently added [ Grok Imagine Image](/ai/x-ai/grok-imagine-image/) to Puter.js. It's\n\n[xAI's](/ai/x-ai/)text-to-image model, and it replaces the\n\n[Grok-2-Image](/ai/x-ai/grok-2-image/)model we supported before.\n\nThere are two versions. The standard one is Grok Imagine Image at $0.02 per image. The other is [Grok Imagine Image (Quality)](/ai/x-ai/grok-imagine-image-quality/), which xAI positions as the higher-quality option, at $0.05 per image. That's 2.5x the price of the standard model.\n\nOne thing to watch when you add Grok Imagine: choosing the quality version over the standard one makes each image 2.5x more expensive for your users. On Puter's [User-Pays Model](https://docs.puter.com/user-pays-model/) that cost lands on each user rather than on you.\n\n[xAI claims Grok Imagine Image is the fastest AI image generator in the world](https://grok.com/supergrok/imagine), up to 15 to 20x faster than other models. We tested that claim.\n\n## Testing the Speed Claim\n\nWe compared both Grok tiers against a few other current image models: [GPT Image 2](/ai/openai/gpt-image-2/) in its low and high quality modes, [Nano Banana 2](/ai/google/gemini-3.1-flash-image/), and [Nano Banana Pro](/ai/google/gemini-3-pro-image/). We used the same prompt for all of them and timed each one end to end from the browser, averaging three runs each. These are the times a real user waits for, network and queueing included, not raw GPU time.\n\nHere's the code we used. You can run it yourself in the [Puter playground](https://docs.puter.com/playground/), or drop it into a page on your own site:\n\n##\n\n```\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n```\n\n## What We Found\n\nUsing the same prompt across all of them, here is what we measured (average seconds per image, lower is faster):\n\n| Model | Average time per image |\n|---|---|\n| Grok Imagine Image | 6.25 s |\n| Grok Imagine Image (Quality) | 6.25 s |\n| GPT Image 2 (low) | 28.06 s |\n| GPT Image 2 (high) | 185.48 s |\n| Nano Banana 2 | 10.32 s |\n| Nano Banana Pro | 18.75 s |\n\nBoth Grok tiers were the fastest in the set, at 6.25 seconds. The 15 to 20x figure only holds against the slowest model: Grok came in about 30x faster than GPT Image 2 in high quality mode, which took over three minutes per image. Against the rest it was faster but by smaller margins, roughly 4.5x faster than GPT Image 2 in low quality mode, 3x faster than Nano Banana Pro, and 1.7x faster than Nano Banana 2, the closest competitor. So Grok Imagine is the fastest here, but the 15 to 20x claim reflects the worst-case comparison rather than the typical one.\n\nThe quality tier was no slower than the standard tier in our runs, both landing at 6.25 seconds. You get the higher-fidelity output without paying for it in speed.\n\nImage quality is subjective, so generate a few and judge for yourself. In our runs, every model in this set produced high-quality results, and all of them rendered the poster text cleanly.\n\nHere are the two Grok tiers on the same prompt:\n\n*Grok Imagine Image*\n\n*Grok Imagine Image (Quality)*\n\n## On Price\n\nHere is the per-image price for each model:\n\n| Model | Price per image |\n|---|---|\n| Grok Imagine Image | $0.02 |\n| Grok Imagine Image (Quality) | $0.05 |\n| GPT Image 2 (low) | $0.006 |\n| GPT Image 2 (high) | $0.211 |\n| Nano Banana 2 | $0.067 |\n| Nano Banana Pro | $0.1351 |\n\nGPT Image 2's price depends on the quality setting, from $0.006 at low to $0.211 at high. At its low setting it's the cheapest option here, but at high it's both the slowest and the most expensive model in the set. The two Grok tiers sit in between: at $0.02 the standard tier is cheaper than both Nano Banana models, and at $0.05 the quality tier still comes in below Nano Banana 2.\n\n## Try It Out\n\nGrok Imagine Image and Grok Imagine Image (Quality) are xAI's image models, replacing Grok-2-Image, at $0.02 and $0.05 per image. You can try both through Puter.js and add them to your own app for free, since each user pays for their own usage.\n\nAdd the npm package:\n\n``` js\n// npm install @heyputer/puter.js\nimport { puter } from '@heyputer/puter.js';\n```\n\nOr drop in the script tag:\n\n```\n\n```\n\nNo API keys or backend needed.\n\n**Related:**\n\n## Free, Serverless AI and Cloud\n\nStart creating powerful web applications with Puter.js in seconds!\n\n[Get Started Now](https://docs.puter.com/getting-started/)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/testing-grok-imagine-s-15-20x-faster-image-generation", "canonical_source": "https://developer.puter.com/blog/grok-imagine-image-in-puter-js/", "published_at": "2026-06-26 16:40:53+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-26 17:05:11.807757+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-products", "ai-tools", "generative-ai", "computer-vision"], "entities": ["xAI", "Grok Imagine", "Puter.js", "GPT Image 2", "Nano Banana"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/testing-grok-imagine-s-15-20x-faster-image-generation", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/testing-grok-imagine-s-15-20x-faster-image-generation.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/testing-grok-imagine-s-15-20x-faster-image-generation.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/testing-grok-imagine-s-15-20x-faster-image-generation.jsonld"}}