Qwen Image 2.1 API

Introduction

Qwen Image 2.1 Image Editing revises one to ten source images against a written instruction and returns a single new frame. Alibaba's Qwen team open-weighted the model on 21 September 2026; this endpoint went live here the same day.

Choose a Qwen Image 2.1 mode by starting material

Key features

Ten references in a single request

Most editing endpoints take one source, or three. This one reads up to ten, which is what makes a consistent series practical: hold the frame that established the character, add the reference carrying the outfit, add the one carrying the location, and change a single variable per run.

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

Character consistency across a set

Keep one approved frame as the identity reference and re-run it with a new instruction per image. Far steadier than hoping a seed reproduces a face.

Scene composition from an existing figure

Start from a figure you already have and add the second subject, the props or the setting. Instructions are carried out as written.

Wardrobe and setting swaps

Two references — one for the person, one for the garment or the room — and a prompt that says which is which.

Upscaling a keeper in context

Re-run a 1k frame as a 2k edit with an instruction that preserves the composition, when you want the detail without re-rolling the whole scene.

Prompt guide & pro tips

Name what every reference contributes

The model does not infer roles. "The first image is the woman, the second is the room she is standing in" is the difference between an edit and a blend.

Say what must not change

There is no negative prompt here, so protections go in the main instruction. "Keep her exactly as in the source, add nothing to her wardrobe" is the sentence that stops an editing model from covering a subject it thinks should be covered.

Send fewer, better references

Identity holds well from one clean source and drifts as sources stack.

Check the quote, not just the tier

The pre-submit estimate is authoritative — read it before you send a ten-source request.

API quick start

Call the Qwen Image 2.1 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/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/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"
    ],
    "aspect_ratio": "1:1",
    "resolution": "1k",
    "background": "opaque",
    "output_format": "jpeg"
  }
}'

# 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 API questions

All Qwen Image models

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo is faster and cheaper for drafts, and Pro adds finer portrait detail. The standard model sits between them, with masked edits and transparent cut-outs.

• 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

Try it

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

Docs

Qwen Image 2.1 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 results without polling