Krea 3 Is Out: Features, Pricing and Access

What is new with Krea 3?

Krea published the Krea 3 technical report on Nov 3, 2026, describing the data, architecture and training techniques behind the model, according to Krea's post. The same day, Hedra reported a large inference speedup on AMD hardware. The report is the main document to read for model details.

Hedra's post says it made Krea 3's diffusion transformer 6.9x faster on AMD Instinct MI355X, cutting a run from 22.9s to 3.3s. Krea repeated the claim as "Krea 3 in 3.3 seconds on AMD."

Hedra's stats:

• 2.8x faster on the core matrix math when using lower-precision 6-bit numbers (MXFP6) instead of BF16.
• Time spent waiting on data moving to the GPU down from 18% to 2%.
• 98.3% of BF16 quality, measured by SSIM.

These are Hedra's and Krea's own figures. SSIM scores how close the faster output is to the BF16 output. It is not a human quality rating. Neither post says when or whether this speedup reaches the hosted Krea app or API.

Separately, Krea announced on Nov 2 that Krea 3 is 50% off on OpenRouter until Nov 10.

What is Krea 3?

Krea 3 is an image editing and generation model built in-house by Krea. You give it an image and a plain instruction, and it changes what you asked for while keeping the rest. Wireflow and eesel both report a release date of Oct 15, 2026.

Per Wireflow, Krea made it the default image model in its app on Oct 16. Krea's comparison page says Krea 3 now handles both generation and editing, keeps products and characters consistent from one image to the next, and returns most edits in under 8 seconds at native 2K.

Krea's own FAQ, as quoted by eesel, says it is best at product scene changes, object removal and photo cleanup. eesel lists day-one distribution through Krea's app and API providers including Hedra, Together AI, Nous Research, OpenRouter and Replicate.

Krea 3 key features and specs

Krea 3 combines text-to-image and editing in one model, with up to 8 reference images per API request and native 2K output. Krea says most edits finish in under 8 seconds end to end. The API adds regional edits, two thinking modes and, since Oct 27, a 4K option.

A glowing accelerator board with light streaks suggesting faster image generation

Details worth knowing:

• Regional edits: per eesel, one flag (regional_edit: true) redraws only the boxed area. Krea's docs say the rest stays as it was, so repeated edits do not degrade the image.
• 4K on the API: Krea's Oct 27 changelog says setting resolution to 4K bills as a 2K image plus the 2x upscale. It is not available with ultra or Zero Data Retention.
• Stricter requests: every API request needs resolution or both width and height. Unsupported fields such as model, steps and fast return a 422 error.

One caution from eesel: regular edits re-render the whole image, so artifacts can build up if you keep editing the latest output. For chained edits on one product shot, regional mode is the safer path. eesel also says to hold off if you need open weights, LoRAs through the API, or perfect small text.

Krea 3 pricing and free access

Krea 3 API list pricing starts at $0.03 per 1K image and $0.06 per 2K image, with extra charges for references and high thinking mode. The Krea app has a free plan that includes the model. The API figures below are from Wireflow's Oct 19 reading of Krea's docs, before the OpenRouter discount.

A 2K product edit from one 1K reference costs $0.08. With one 2K reference it is $0.13. The $0.06 headline price excludes references, which nearly every real edit uses. Krea's docs say about 1 megapixel is enough for most edits, so send references at 1K unless small text or logos need detail.

Krea's FAQ says the launch price is the list price and that it expects prices "to go down, not up." Failed or cancelled jobs are not billed.

On OpenRouter, the 50% discount runs through Nov 10. OpenRouter says the model combines a product shot, a person and a location into one 2K image in as little as 9 seconds. Neither post gives the discounted per-image price, and Krea has not said what pricing returns to afterward.

In the app, Krea's comparison page lists a free plan with 100 compute units a day, including Krea 3. Paid plans are $9, $35 and $105 a month, or $5, $21 and $63 billed yearly. Commercial use starts at Basic.

Krea 3 availability and API access

Krea 3 is open to everyone in the Krea app, while direct API access was in early access as of Oct 19. Wireflow quotes Krea's docs saying only workspaces in Krea's beta could use it. OpenRouter and other API providers are a separate route.

Krea's Oct 27 changelog adds personal and service API tokens, plus an API usage page with cost estimates. Those matter for teams running volume, since service tokens keep working if their creator leaves.

Krea has not published a date for broader direct API access. It also has not said whether the Hedra AMD optimization will change speed or price on any hosted route.

Krea 3 vs Nano Banana Pro and GPT Image 2

By Krea's own launch table, as relayed by eesel, Krea 3 costs $0.06 per 2K image versus $0.135 for Nano Banana Pro and $0.22 for GPT Image 2. These are Krea's numbers, not independent benchmarks, and they exclude reference images.

Speed is the other claim: under 8 seconds per edit, with Krea's fastest setup at about 4 to 5 seconds, per eesel. Independent quality comparisons have not been published. Krea's pitch, as eesel describes it, is similar quality at higher speed and lower cost.

How to use Krea 3 for AI video and static ads

Krea 3 fits product-first static work: placing one product in many scenes, swapping objects, cleaning up photos and producing campaign variants. Fast edits make it practical to try several changes to an approved image instead of re-rolling the whole composition.

A grid of prints showing the same product in many different scenes

• Scene variants: keep the product and change the location or model for each audience.
• Small fixes: use regional edits to change one element without touching the rest.
• Volume testing: at $0.08 per 2K edit, 1,000 variants is about $80 at list price, before any OpenRouter discount.

Check logos and small text by eye, since eesel flags small text as a weak spot. To compare it against other models on your own product shots, use the AdGraam Playground. For a product URL to static ads workflow, see the Creative Generator and our guide to making static ads with AI.

What to watch next

The open items are the discounted OpenRouter price, what pricing does after Nov 10, and whether direct API access widens beyond Krea's beta. Per Wireflow's Oct 19 reading of Krea's docs, style references and LoRAs still returned "coming soon" errors on the API.

Read the technical report for architecture and training detail. Watch for independent side-by-side tests against Nano Banana Pro and GPT Image 2, and for any sign that Hedra's 3.3s AMD result reaches hosted endpoints. For other recent image releases, see Flux.3 Image Klein.