Qwen Image 2.1 Pro API

About Qwen Image 2.1 Pro

Qwen Image 2.1 Pro image editing changes a picture from a plain-language instruction on Alibaba's hosted Pro tier of Qwen Image 2.1.

Call it with the model name alibaba/qwen-image-2.1-pro/edit on POST /jobs/createTask, from 6 credits per image ($0.06). New accounts get 30 free credits to try it in the Playground first.

Introduction

Qwen Image 2.1 Pro Image Editing changes an existing image from a plain-language instruction. Pro is the hosted tier of Alibaba's Qwen Image 2.1, which unifies generation and editing in one model; Alibaba lists editing with up to ten references, local edits that keep people and products intact, and improved portrait lighting and fine detail.

Choose a mode by what you have

Key features

Speed

39 to 48 seconds per edit end to end across our runs, including two results from two references in one call.

Keeps the source shape

Without an aspect ratio, a 2:3 portrait came back as a 2:3 frame at about 2K (1664 × 2496). Set an aspect ratio when you need a fixed size.

Several references in one edit

A man and a woman photographed separately came back side by side at one candlelit table, both recognisable, with her outfit changed as asked.

Pro or Turbo editing

The request is the same, so you can run one instruction on both and keep the result you prefer.

Request parameters

Pricing

Prices are in credits, the same credits you use on the website (1 credit = $0.01). The hold is taken when the task is accepted and settled to the actual charge when it finishes; failed tasks are refunded.

Each task is rounded up to whole credits, so one run at the lowest tier costs 6 credits per image ($0.06).

For an exact number before you run, send the same body to POST /jobs/quote.

Use cases

Product retouching that keeps the product intact

Change the background, the surface or the light while the packshot stays as it is.

Portraits with better light

Relight a portrait or change the setting while keeping the face, hair and expression.

Combining references

Bring a person, a garment and a place from separate images into one frame by naming each reference in the instruction.

Prompt guide & pro tips

Change first, keep second

"Change his grey suit into a navy linen suit; keep his face, hair and expression" is an edit. "Make it better" is a reroll.

Name every reference

The model does not assign roles to references on its own. Say which image is the person, which is the garment and which is the place.

Leave expansion off

The rewrite can change your instruction before the model sees it. Off, the instruction reaches the model as written.

One change per pass

A single change is easy to judge. Five at once make it hard to tell which instruction moved the face or the hands.

Go back to the original after a few edits

Faces can drift over a long chain of edits. Return to your first approved frame when details start to move.

API quick start

Call the Qwen Image 2.1 Pro API in three steps

1. Create an API key. Sign in to PopNow and create a key in the API console. Keys start with sk-popnow- and use the same credits as the website.
2. Send the request. POST /jobs/createTask with model alibaba/qwen-image-2.1-pro/edit and an input object that follows the parameter table. The response returns a task ID straight away.
3. Get the result. Poll GET /jobs/recordInfo with the task ID, or pass a callBackUrl and we post the result to it. Download the output links when the task succeeds.

# 1. Create the task. Keep the Idempotency-Key if you retry after a network error.
export IDEMPOTENCY_KEY="$(uuidgen)"
curl -X POST https://api.popnow.ai/api/v1/jobs/createTask \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POPNOW_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "model": "alibaba/qwen-image-2.1-pro/edit",
  "input": {
    "prompt": "A ceramic teapot on a linen cloth, soft window light, muted palette",
    "image_urls": [
      "https://media.popnow.ai/influencer/examples/marco.webp"
    ],
    "resolution": "2k",
    "num_outputs": 1
  }
}'

# 2. Copy data.taskId from the response, then poll until state is succeeded, failed, canceled or expired.
TASK_ID="TASK_ID_FROM_RESPONSE"
curl "https://api.popnow.ai/api/v1/jobs/recordInfo?taskId=$TASK_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POPNOW_API_KEY"

Replace the prompt and any links with your own. The API tab has the response, polling and callback reference.

Qwen Image 2.1 Pro API questions

All Qwen Image models

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo takes exactly the same settings at less than half the price and suits drafts and volume. Pro is the one for the final portrait or cover.

• Qwen Image 2.1 Pro APIUp to six detailed 2K images from one promptFrom 6 credits per image
• Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo APIFast 8-step renders, up to six per promptFrom 3 credits per image
• Qwen Image 2.1 APIOpen model with 2K output and transparent backgroundsFrom 4 credits per image
• Qwen Image 2.1 LoRA APIQwen Image 2.1 images and edits with up to three of your LoRAsFrom 5 credits per image
• Qwen Image 3.0 Pro APIFine typography plus lifelike skin, fabric and glassFrom 6 credits per image
• Qwen Image 3.0 APIReadable signs and headlines rendered into the imageFrom 5 credits per image
• Qwen Image 2 APISimple prompt-to-image and one-photo editsFrom 6 credits per image
• Qwen Image 2512 LoRA APIQwen Image 2512 renders and edits with your own LoRAsFrom 5 credits per image
• Qwen Image Edit 2509 LoRA APIMulti-photo Qwen edits that load your own LoRAsFrom 5 credits per image
• Qwen Image 1.0 LoRA APIOriginal Qwen-Image with clean lettering and your own LoRAsFrom 5 credits per image

Other image APIs

• Nano Banana 2.1 APIGoogle's newest Nano Banana, sharp text and 4K outputFrom 8 credits per image
• Nano Banana Pro APIPlans the layout first: dense text, diagrams and 4K editsFrom 17 credits per image
• GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst APIOpenAI's quality-first model, up to 4K with clean textFrom 1 credit per image
• Seedream 5.0 Pro APIHigh-detail images and edits from up to ten referencesFrom 6 credits per image
• FLUX.2 Max APITop-tier FLUX: photoreal light and exact brand colorsFrom 11 credits per image
• Seedream 5.0 Flash APIQuick Seedream images, edits and layer splits up to 2KFrom 4 credits per image

More about Qwen Image 2.1 Pro

Try it

Qwen Image 2.1 Pro AI Image Generator onlineCreate images with Qwen Image 2.1 Pro in PopNow

Docs

Qwen Image 2.1 Pro model ID and input schema in the API docsPopNow API quickstart: your first request in five minutesImage generation guide for the PopNow APIWebhooks: get Qwen Image 2.1 Pro results without polling