StudioLM is a free AI image generator and editor that runs in the browser. The studio is called Imagen. It does not ask for a credit card, and generations in the browser are not metered. The same first-party models are available from code at $0.01 per image.
The product site is studiolm.dev. Imagen is the browser app. The API base URL is https://api.studiolm.dev. Docs are at docs.studiolm.dev.
What you do in the browser
Imagen is built for still images, not as a catalog of every model on the internet.
You describe a picture with tags, not a paragraph. A prompt is a comma-separated list of what belongs in the frame: subject, place, look. The site's own example is fox, mage, glowing runes, mossy forest.
You pick a look (anime, photoreal, anthro, or illustration) and a frame (square, portrait, or landscape). If part of the picture is wrong, you paint a mask and tag what should be there. Only that area is redrawn. The editor has layers, a brush, and zoom.
Finished images go into a library, sorted into boards. The community feed lets someone reuse another person's prompt and model in one tap.
A few other things the site states plainly:
- A reference photo can steer a generation. Precise Reference is free for the first 10 photos each day.
- A still can become a short clip, on desktop.
- Style presets are one tap.
- There is a phone layout and a desktop layout. It is not the desktop site squeezed onto a phone.
- A Learn tab has short video guides inside the app.
- Sign-up is email or Google. No card is required.
The API
Developers use a prepaid REST API. An image costs $0.01. Chat has a free daily token allowance. Credits are added in the dashboard with a card (Stripe) or crypto.
Routes follow the OpenAI layout:
-
POST /v1/images/generationsgenerates an image -
GET /v1/modelslists models -
POST /v1/chat/completionsis chat -
POST /v1/completionsis text completions
There is a Python SDK: pip install studiolm. An API key is created from the dashboard after you log in at studiolm.dev. Image calls need prepaid credits. Imagen stays free.
A minimal image call, from the docs:
curl https://api.studiolm.dev/v1/images/generations \
-H "Authorization: Bearer sk-..." \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"prompt":"a red fox in a forest","aspect_ratio":"square"}'
The quickstart also shows chat on gemma-3-12b-it-qat.
Models
The public image API lists four models: AnythingV2, RealisticV1, AnthroV2, and AnthroV3.
AnthroNAI is a first-party model in Imagen only. It is not on the public API, and the API rejects it.
Text models are Gemma-class and show up on GET /v1/models.
The catalog is short on purpose. StudioLM runs those models itself. It does not rent you a GPU by the second, and it does not sell a Pro image plan.
StudioLM, Replicate, and Fal.ai
Replicate and Fal.ai are marketplaces and serverless GPU platforms. They host thousands of community and vendor models, including video and audio. StudioLM is a still-image product: a free browser studio plus a one-cent API on a few models it operates.
Use StudioLM when you want stills and you do not want to pick a checkpoint or pay per second. Use Replicate or Fal.ai when you need a specific catalog model, or a video or audio pipeline.
Pricing
- Imagen in the browser is free. No credit card to start. Generations do not cost credits. The site says donations from people who use it cover the GPU bill.
- The public image API is $0.01 USD per image, prepaid.
- There is no StudioLM Pro image plan and no per-second GPU bill.
Questions the site already answers
Is it actually free? Yes, in the browser. Only the developer API costs money.
Can I edit one part of an image? Yes. Mask it, describe the replacement, and only that region is regenerated.
Does it work on a phone? Yes. Imagen runs in the browser with its own phone layout.
Do I need an account? Yes, a free one. Email or Google.
Where to start
Open Imagen from studiolm.dev if you want to make pictures. Read the API quickstart if you want the same models from code.
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