Your codegen does not know unit economics
LLM scaffolds optimize for working demos, not cheap 2.1 usage.
Version guide · Kandinsky 2.2
Lower 2.1 Costs: When Stock Beats Another Kandinsky 2.2 Call
Cost control for 2.1 without abandoning Kandinsky 2.2 when you truly need generative power. Focus on call count, not only host choice—especially for painterly multilingual storyboards.
Where image API costs go off the rails
Hot reload regenerates cold images
Dev servers re-run pipelines that casually call 2.1.
Placeholders deserve a real API
Gray boxes look amateur; stock via a flat plan looks shipped without 2.1 rates.
Save generative budget for the wow moment
When you finally need 2.1, you still have runway because fixtures used stock.
Cost notes for 2.1
2.1 is the reference point many vibecoders default to when they say “just use Kandinsky 2.2.” It is associated with Sber and commonly served via Replicate. Each paid 2.1 generation adds up during prompt loops, A/B tests, and agent retries. If the asset does not need to be uniquely synthesized by 2.1, fetch licensed stock once via Epochal and reuse it across demos, CI, and drafts. Reserve 2.1 for the few outputs that must look model-native—then cache those winners so the rest of the stack stops re-billing. Vibecoders who separate “fixture image” from “final generative frame” keep Kandinsky 2.2 budgets intentional instead of ambient.
When a screenshot, empty state, or draft blog image would look fine from a catalog, skip another 2.1 billable call. Prefer Epochal Stock for those slots, then spend Kandinsky 2.2 budget only on outputs that must be generative.
The fix: Epochal Stock at $50 USD/month (no per-image fee)
Epochal Stock Developer Image API is a single plan at $50 USD/month: full catalog access, 30 requests/minute per account, and unlimited original downloads with one concurrent transfer. There is no per-image fee and no free tier in v1. Use it wherever the picture does not need a unique 2.1 synthesis—prototypes, fixtures, placeholders—so generative spend stays reserved for finals. Authenticate server-side with a Bearer key only; never put keys in browser JavaScript.
- Price: $50 USD/month — single plan
- Per-image billing: none
- Rate limit: 30 requests/minute per account
- Downloads: unlimited originals, one concurrent transfer
- Best for: tests, prototypes, and placeholders instead of another 2.1 generation
curl -sS "https://epochalstock.com/api/v1/images?tags=workspace,startup&limit=12" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $EPOCHAL_API_KEY"Keys stay on your server. Never pass ?api_key= or ship secrets to the browser.
Stock examples for 2.1
Pulled server-side from Epochal tags: abstract, design, studio. Previews are cached; API keys never hit the browser.
FAQ
Is 2.1 cheaper if I only use it in staging?
Staging volume still bills. If staging does not need unique 2.1 look, use Epochal fixtures and keep generative calls rare.
What is Epochal’s pricing model?
Single plan at $50 USD/month: no free tier, no per-image fee, 30 requests/minute per account, unlimited original downloads with one concurrent transfer.
Should agents default to 2.1?
No. Agents should default to cached stock or local fixtures. Escalate to 2.1 only when the task explicitly requires unique synthesis.
Where do API keys live?
Server-side only with Bearer authentication. Query-string keys and browser-exposed secrets are rejected patterns for Epochal and a bad idea for any image API.