{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "qwen-image-2-1", "name": "Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)", "vendor": "Alibaba Cloud", "vendorUrl": "https://www.alibabacloud.com", "kind": "model", "category": "image-generation", "summary": "Qwen-Image 2.1 is Alibaba's image model for text-to-image and image editing with up to 10 reference images and transparent output, callable as qwen-image-2.1-pro through Alibaba Cloud Model Studio's DashScope and OpenAI-compatible APIs.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen-image-2-1", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen-image-2-1.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen-image-2-1.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/qwen-image-2-1.json", "dns": "qwen-image-2-1.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://huggingface.co/Qwen/Qwen-Image-2.1", "license": "Closed API under Alibaba Cloud's product terms. Qwen-Image-2.1 weights are on Hugging Face under the Qwen Research License, for non-commercial use only.", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/api/v1", "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "dashscope" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Bearer Model Studio API key, created per region in the console by an account or RAM user with API-Key permission. Keys can be limited to chosen models and an IP allow-list of up to 20 entries, and reset. The model, endpoint and key must be in the same region. Async calls add `X-DashScope-Async: enable`.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "qwen-image-2.1-pro is $0.04 an image in Singapore (International) and $0.035333 in Beijing, Virginia, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Hong Kong; qwen-image-2.1-turbo is $0.016 and $0.014133. List prices without promotions (model pages, checked 2 November 2026). The 90-day free quota for new Singapore users doesn't list either qwen-image-2.1 model.", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the Model Studio llms.txt, the Qwen image API reference or the model pages, checked 2 November 2026.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-10" }, "docsUrl": "https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/model-studio/qwen-image-generation-and-editing-api-reference", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.modelstudio.console.alibabacloud.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "image.generate", "image.edit", "image.reference" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "usage-priced", "open-weights", "llms-txt", "openai-compatible", "async-jobs", "python", "sla", "soc2" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-02", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 65.9, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 341, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1266, "categoryRank": 5, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 73, "maintenance": 77, "payments": 20, "reliability": 72, "schema": 66, "security": 80, "transparency": 65 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-02" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "qwen-image-2.1-pro generates and edits images with up to 10 references and transparent output, at $0.04 an image in Singapore, through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint or DashScope, and qwen-image-2.1-turbo costs $0.016. Model Studio publishes a 99.9 per cent SLA and a no-training statement. The pro model allows 20 requests a minute, and the open weights are non-commercial.", "bestFor": "Low-cost image generation and multi-reference editing with transparent PNG output, for agents already on Model Studio or using the OpenAI Images protocol.", "strengths": [ "Text-to-image and editing in one model, with 1 to 10 reference images and transparent output decided from the prompt", "$0.04 an image for qwen-image-2.1-pro and $0.016 for qwen-image-2.1-turbo in Singapore, published without a login", "OpenAI-compatible /images/generations endpoint beside DashScope sync and async calls", "Keys can be limited to chosen models and an IP allow-list, and the audit log records each call", "The Model Studio privacy notice says customer data is never used for training" ], "weaknesses": [ "qwen-image-2.1-pro allows 20 requests a minute in every region (qwen-image-2.1-turbo 120)", "No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract for the image endpoints", "Result URLs expire after 24 hours, and the OpenAI-compatible mode ignores `b64_json`", "`negative_prompt` works only on the qwen-image-3.0 series, not on qwen-image-2.1-pro", "Qwen-Image-2.1 weights are under a non-commercial research licence, so self-hosting is not an option for commercial work" ], "agentNotes": [ "Use the same region for the key, the model and the endpoint. Cross-region calls fail", "Download each result within 24 hours. The URL expires and the image is purged", "With the OpenAI SDK, pass `image`, `seed`, `prompt_extend` and `watermark` through `extra_body`, and write size as `1024x1024`, not `1024*1024`", "Set a client timeout of up to 600 seconds for several outputs, or use the async DashScope call and poll the task id", "Do not send `prompt_extend_mode: agent` with input images. It returns 400", "On a 429, retry with exponential backoff and jitter as Model Studio's best-practices page shows. There's no Retry-After header or idempotency key" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 4, "avgRating": 3, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 65.9 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 73, "maintenance": 77, "payments": 20, "reliability": 72, "schema": 66, "security": 80, "transparency": 60 }, "provenanceScore": 70, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-02", "maintenance": "2026-11-02", "payments": "2026-11-02", "reliability": "2026-11-02", "schema": "2026-11-02", "security": "2026-11-02", "transparency": "2026-11-02" }, "last": "2026-11-02", "lastMoved": "2026-11-02", "oldest": "2026-11-02", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "pip install dashscope", "http": "curl --location 'https://{WorkspaceId}.ap-southeast-1.maas.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1/images/generations' \\\n --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \\\n --header \"Authorization: Bearer $DASHSCOPE_API_KEY\" \\\n --data '{\"model\":\"qwen-image-2.1-pro\",\"prompt\":\"A paper boat sticker on a transparent background\",\"n\":1}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/image.generate", "tool": "https://letme.dev/qwen-image-2-1" }, "sameCompany": [ "alibaba-wan" ], "area": "content", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "qwen-image-2.1-pro, Singapore", "unit": "image", "usd": 0.04, "note": "International scope, list price" }, { "item": "qwen-image-2.1-pro, Beijing, Virginia, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong", "unit": "image", "usd": 0.035333, "note": "list price" }, { "item": "qwen-image-2.1-turbo, Singapore", "unit": "image", "usd": 0.016, "note": "International scope, list price" }, { "item": "qwen-image-2.1-turbo, Beijing, Virginia, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong", "unit": "image", "usd": 0.014133, "note": "list price" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Alibaba Cloud (Singapore) Private Limited", "domain": "alibabacloud.com", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/legal/latest/alibaba-cloud-international-website-product-terms-of-service-v-3-8-0", "privacy": "https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/model-studio/privacy-notice", "statusPage": "https://status.alibabacloud.com", "changelog": "https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/model-studio/newly-released-models", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-11-02", "notes": [ "The endpoints are on aliyuncs.com, Alibaba Cloud's service domain (dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com and per-workspace maas.aliyuncs.com hosts), as in the alibaba-wan listing.", "www.alibabacloud.com/.well-known/security.txt returns an HTML not-found page, per the 10 October check.", "status.alibabacloud.com is drawn by script (2,034 bytes of HTML on 2 November) and its incident history could not be read.", "The legal entity and terms URL follow the alibaba-wan listing and were not re-read on 2 November." ], "score": 70 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen-image-2-1.json", "live": { "slug": "qwen-image-2-1", "probe": { "target": "https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/api/v1", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-11-02T15:06:54.562699978Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 168, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 213, "p95ms24h": 286, "samples24h": 249, "samples30d": 5675, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 1, "ok": 1 }, { "date": "2026-10-11", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-12", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-13", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-14", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-15", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-16", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-17", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-18", "probes": 256, "ok": 256 }, { "date": "2026-10-19", "probes": 255, "ok": 255 }, { "date": "2026-10-20", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-22", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-23", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-24", "probes": 251, "ok": 251 }, { "date": "2026-10-25", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-26", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-27", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-28", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-29", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-30", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-31", "probes": 251, "ok": 251 }, { "date": "2026-11-01", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-11-02", "probes": 158, "ok": 158 } ] }, "versions": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "dashscope", "version": "2.0.3", "released": "2026-10-30", "seenAt": "2026-11-01T17:28:02.378164018Z" } ], "pypiWeekly": 490498, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://alibabacloud.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T15:42:48.210463237Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.modelstudio.console.alibabacloud.com/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T15:14:48.978329746Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "alibabacloud.com", "registered": "2009-09-08", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/alibabacloud.com", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T14:16:52.476275395Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/model-studio/privacy-notice", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-02T07:29:43.149759055Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "034608ed3843" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-11-02T15:06:54.562699978Z" } }, "answer": "Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) scores 65.9 (B) on agent readiness against SurgePix API's 36 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "b": { "slug": "surgepix", "name": "SurgePix API", "vendor": "SurgePix", "vendorUrl": "https://surgepix.ai", "kind": "http-api", "category": "image-generation", "summary": "SurgePix is a web design workspace that generates and edits images, posters and slide decks. A REST API with API keys, async tasks and file upload is called through MIT-licensed agent skills for coding agents.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/surgepix", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/surgepix.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/surgepix.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/surgepix.json", "dns": "surgepix.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/SurgePix/agent-skills", "license": "Proprietary hosted service under the Surgepix User Agreement, which names no company and restricts commercial use without SurgePix's permission. The agent skills repository is MIT", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.surgepix.ai/api", "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "An API key starting `sk-`, created and managed in the account's settings on surgepix.ai, sent as the raw value of the `authorization` header with no `Bearer` prefix. The docs say a leaked key can be revoked and reset. No scopes, read-only keys or spend caps were found. The skills read the key from `SURGEPIX_API_KEY` and also need `SURGEPIX_BASE_URL` set to https://api.surgepix.ai/api (https://surgepix.ai/blog/developer-guides/api-keys-reference, https://surgepix.ai/blog/developer-guides/install-skills).", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free plan with 25 credits a day that don't roll over. Basic is $9.90 a month (2,000 credits) or $95.04 a year, and Pro $24.90 a month (11,500 credits) or $239.04 a year, with introductory prices of $0.99 and $4.99 a month for three months. Credits are spent on input and output tokens, and a failed generation charges the input only. No per-call API price is published, and the changelog says skills calling SurgePix's own models don't use credits (9 July 2026) and that some models are billed per generation (9 September 2026) (https://surgepix.ai/blog/introduction/credit-subscription/plans-pricing, https://surgepix.ai/blog/introduction/credit-subscription/how-credits-work, https://surgepix.ai/blog/whats-new/updates).", "priceSummary": "$9.90 / mo", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the API reference, the skills, the pricing pages or the terms. Access is by an API key from a browser account, and the privacy policy names Alipay and WeChat Pay for payments (checked 2026-11-02).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-02" }, "docsUrl": "https://surgepix.ai/blog/developer-guides/api-keys-reference", "capabilities": [ "image.generate", "image.edit" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "closed-source", "agent-skills", "async-jobs", "freemium", "free-tier", "no-status-page", "new" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-23", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 36, "grade": "F", "agentReady": false, "rank": 1173, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1266, "categoryRank": 14, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 53, "maintenance": 66, "payments": 20, "reliability": 15, "schema": 40, "security": 41, "transparency": 28 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-02" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "A small, readable API with async tasks and MIT skill scripts that cover posters, decks, edits and translation. Only background removal is documented, the terms name no company and restrict commercial use and automated querying, and uploaded files become public URLs.", "bestFor": "An agent that needs finished marketing assets, such as posters, slide decks, Xiaohongshu carousels, logos and translated images, as one file from a short request.", "strengths": [ "The API reference gives request tables, JSON examples and an error table for upload, background removal and task polling", "Every task returns one download URL, or one ZIP for a set, so responses stay small", "The MIT skill scripts show the request bodies for 11 undocumented generation and edit endpoints", "Free plan with 25 credits a day, and a failed generation charges only the input tokens", "Dated public changelog with entries on 15, 22 and 23 October 2026" ], "weaknesses": [ "Only background removal and upload are in the public API reference, with no OpenAPI file or llms.txt", "No status page, rate limits, 429 guidance or SLA was found", "The terms and privacy policy name no company or address, and the terms restrict commercial use without permission", "Uploaded files become publicly accessible URLs on Tencent Cloud storage in Seoul, and no retention period is given", "No scopes, read-only keys, security.txt or disclosure policy was found" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send the key as the raw `authorization` header value, with no `Bearer` prefix", "Don't upload confidential files. The upload flow returns a public URL for every file", "Check `code` in the JSON body as well as the HTTP status, since failures come back as a non-zero `code` with a `msg`", "Poll `GET /tasks/{taskId}` within 24 hours, after which the task returns 404", "Get written permission before using outputs commercially, since the terms restrict commercial use" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "F", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 36 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 53, "maintenance": 66, "payments": 20, "reliability": 15, "schema": 40, "security": 41, "transparency": 14 }, "provenanceScore": 41, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-02", "maintenance": "2026-11-02", "payments": "2026-11-02", "reliability": "2026-11-02", "schema": "2026-11-02", "security": "2026-11-02", "transparency": "2026-11-02" }, "last": "2026-11-02", "oldest": "2026-11-02", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "npx skills add SurgePix/agent-skills", "http": "curl --request POST \\\n --url https://api.surgepix.ai/api/tasks/remove-background \\\n --header 'authorization: sk-YOUR_API_KEY' \\\n --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \\\n --data '{\"fileUrl\": \"\u003cURL from the upload flow\u003e\", \"noWait\": true}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/image.generate", "tool": "https://letme.dev/surgepix" }, "area": "content", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Basic plan, 2,000 credits", "unit": "month", "usd": 9.9, "note": "$0.99 a month for the first three months; about 130 image generations a month per the pricing page" }, { "item": "Pro plan, 11,500 credits", "unit": "month", "usd": 24.9, "note": "$4.99 a month for the first three months; about 750 image generations a month per the pricing page" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "", "domain": "surgepix.ai", "domainRegistered": "2025-11-06", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://surgepix.ai/blog/legal/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://surgepix.ai/blog/legal/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://surgepix.ai/blog/whats-new/updates", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-11-02", "notes": [ "The Surgepix User Agreement names no company or address. It applies the laws of the People's Republic of China, sends disputes to the court where \"Surgepix's limited company\" is located, and refers to users outside mainland China.", "The privacy policy, dated 10 June 2026 at the top and 1 July 2022 near the end, gives the service provider as \"Surgepix.ai\" and says information is stored on \"domestic servers\".", "The contact email on every surgepix.ai page is at tate-a-tate.com. Tate-A-Tate's terms name Torsi Information Technology Co., Ltd. as its provider, and surgepix.ai's footer links Tate-A-Tate and Surgeflow. SurgePix's own pages don't name Torsi.", "RDAP for surgepix.ai gives a registration date of 6 November 2025 through Aceville Pte. Ltd., Cloudflare name servers and a registrant in Beijing, China.", "surgepix.ai/.well-known/security.txt and /security.txt return 404. status.surgepix.ai doesn't resolve and no status page is linked.", "The API answers at api.surgepix.ai under the product's own domain. Uploads and outputs are served from Tencent Cloud Object Storage buckets in ap-seoul." ], "score": 41 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/surgepix.json", "live": { "slug": "surgepix", "probe": { "target": "https://api.surgepix.ai/api", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-11-02T15:07:00.16742116Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 1202, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 1204, "p95ms24h": 1340, "samples24h": 41, "samples30d": 41, "days": [ { "date": "2026-11-02", "probes": 41, "ok": 41 } ] }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-02T15:07:00.16742116Z" } }, "edges": [ { "by": 57, "category": "reliability", "leads": "qwen-image-2-1", "name": "Reliability", "reasons": { "a": "Alibaba Cloud runs its own status page at status.alibabacloud.com (20). The page is drawn by script (2,034 bytes of HTML on 2 November, robots.txt a plain 404) and shows no incident history to a reader, so 5 for no readable history. The model page lists 20 requests a minute in all six regions, re-read on 2 November (15). The rate-limit guide documents 429 for throttling and 403 for an exhausted free quota, and Model Studio's rate-limiting best-practices page gives exponential backoff with random jitter on 429 and 5xx errors and a server-side queuing header for bursts. No Retry-After header or idempotency key, so safe-retry guidance without keys (12). The Model Studio inference SLA, last updated 8 September 2026, promises 99.9 per cent monthly uptime with service credits on paid inference, per the 10 October check (10). The model carries no preview label (10). 20+5+15+12+10+10 = 72.", "b": "Read with the hosted lines. No status page was found on surgepix.ai or in the docs, and status.surgepix.ai doesn't resolve (0). With no history to read, the incident line takes the floor (5). No rate limits with numbers are documented. The terms say \"non-human continuous or frequent query operations\" lead to automatic account suspension, with no threshold given (0). No 429 or backoff guidance. The skill scripts poll every 2 seconds for up to 5 to 15 minutes, but that is client code, not a documented policy (0). No SLA, and the terms disclaim uninterrupted service (0). The API isn't labelled beta or preview, and API keys have been self-serve since 2 June 2026 per the changelog (10). 0+5+0+0+0+10 = 15." }, "scores": { "a": 72, "b": 15 } }, { "by": 39, "category": "security", "leads": "qwen-image-2-1", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "reasons": { "a": "Model reading of the checklist (credential, training, retention, operator visibility, programme). API keys belong to a workspace, can be limited to chosen models and an IP allow-list of up to 20 entries, can be reset, and temporary keys are documented, per the 10 October check (30). The Model Studio privacy notice, re-read on 2 November, says Alibaba Cloud will never use customer data for model training (20). Result URLs, task data and images are purged after 24 hours (5). No retention period for prompts or input images was found (0). The audit log records model calls and monitoring filters by API key, per the 10 October check (15). SOC 2 with an unqualified opinion is stated in the privacy notice (5), which links Alibaba Cloud's compliance repository (5), read the same way as the alibaba-wan listing. No security.txt on alibabacloud.com and no Model Studio bug bounty was found (0). 30+20+5+0+15+5+5+0 = 80.", "b": "Plain API keys created in the account settings, which the docs say can be revoked and reset. The key goes in the `authorization` header, never in a URL. No scopes found (20). No read-only key or spend cap. The plan's credit allowance bounds spend. Every uploaded file becomes a publicly accessible URL on Tencent Cloud storage, which counts against least privilege (3). The API returns image and file URLs, not untrusted text (10). The billing page's credit statement lists each request with its model and token counts, and sessions group calls in the web app, per the docs (8). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification was found (0). 20+3+10+8+0 = 41." }, "scores": { "a": 80, "b": 41 } }, { "by": 37, "category": "transparency", "leads": "qwen-image-2-1", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "reasons": { "a": "The API model is closed under Alibaba Cloud's product terms. Qwen-Image-2.1 and Qwen-Image-2.1-Turbo weights are on Hugging Face under the Qwen Research License, which allows non-commercial use only and is not an OSI licence (15). The privacy notice says customer data is never used for training, and the API reference states 24-hour result retention. Input retention is not stated and no DPA was read (15 of 30). A decommissioning policy with notice periods by model type and a list of dated retirements (20). Six regional hosts are documented with separate keys and prices. No subprocessor list was found (10). 15+15+20+10 = 60.", "b": "The editorial half. A closed service whose terms name no company or address. They restrict any commercial use of what the service produces without SurgePix's permission, and contain clauses from an unrelated product (a \"big data\" query platform and \"non-resume content\"). The skills are MIT. Unclear terms, with a little credit for the open skills (5). The privacy policy is dated both 10 June 2026 and 1 July 2022, describes WeChat and phone registration and \"domestic servers\", and gives no retention periods. The API reference says uploads go to Tencent Cloud storage in Seoul as public URLs. No DPA. The statements don't agree (5). No deprecation policy or notices, and the terms let changes take effect on publication without notice (0). Tencent Cloud Object Storage in ap-seoul is named in the API reference, and Alipay and WeChat Pay in the privacy policy. No subprocessor list or stated data location (4). 5+5+0+4 = 14." }, "scores": { "a": 65, "b": 28 } }, { "by": 26, "category": "schema", "leads": "qwen-image-2-1", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "reasons": { "a": "No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract for the Qwen image endpoints. The OpenAI-compatible mode follows part of the OpenAI Images protocol but publishes no schema of its own (0). llms.txt at docs.modelstudio.console.alibabacloud.com with Markdown copies of every page (10). The API reference says when to use each of the three access methods and which parameters each model accepts, though little on when not to use the model (15 of 20). Typed parameters with ranges for n, size, seed and input images, an enum for prompt_extend_mode, and stated defaults. Some limits differ by model in prose rather than in types, such as negative_prompt for the 3.0 series only (13 of 15). curl, Python and Java examples for each access method, an error format with type, param and code, and a linked error-code page (15). A dated model release page and v1 paths. No dated snapshot of qwen-image-2.1-pro exists yet (13 of 15). The API reference, re-read on 2 November, now lists qwen-image-2.1-turbo beside qwen-image-2.1-pro and the 3.0 models. 0+10+15+13+15+13 = 66.", "b": "No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract was found (0). surgepix.ai/llms.txt returns 404. The docs are HTML pages, but the 15 SKILL.md files in the MIT repository are Markdown written for agents, so half (5). The API reference states the purpose of each of its five operations and the async and session model. The SKILL.md files add trigger phrases and explicit do-not-use routing between skills, but 11 of the task endpoints the skills call appear only in their scripts, with no reference (10). Parameter tables give type and required for the documented operations, with no enums or limits, and the undocumented endpoints have no schema at all (7). JSON examples for every documented operation and an error table with 401, 404 and `error.file.sensitive_content` (10). A dated public changelog from 11 March 2026, but no version in the API path and no API-specific change notes (8). 0+5+10+7+10+8 = 40." }, "scores": { "a": 66, "b": 40 } }, { "by": 20, "category": "ergonomics", "leads": "qwen-image-2-1", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "reasons": { "a": "API reading of the checklist. A sync call returns one or more PNG URLs with a small usage object. Base64 output is not available on the OpenAI-compatible mode (20 of 25). `n` (1 to 6) and `size` control output, and the async mode returns a task id to poll. No task list was found (15 of 20). Errors carry a code, a message and the parameter at fault, and the error-code page gives a fix for each code (18 of 20). No idempotency key, and nothing found on whether failed calls are billed for this model (5 of 20). Only `model` and `prompt` are required, everything else has a default, and the DashScope SDK for Python and Java and the OpenAI SDKs all work (15). 20+15+18+5+15 = 73.", "b": "Every task returns one download URL, or one ZIP for an image set, and status responses are a few fields, so little enters context (18). Nothing to paginate. `noWait` chooses sync or async, and the skills pass size, aspect ratio, count and language, but none of these are in the public reference (10). Errors come back as a JSON `code` and `msg`, with 401 and 404 documented and an NSFW error on upload, but a failure can arrive as HTTP 200 with a non-zero `code` and failed task states carry no documented reason (12). Upload deduplicates by MD5 and returns the existing URL. Tasks have no idempotency key, and a retried task is a new task that spends credits again (5). Few required parameters (`fileUrl` for background removal). No official SDK, only the Node scripts inside the skills (8). 18+10+12+5+8 = 53." }, "scores": { "a": 73, "b": 53 } }, { "by": 11, "category": "maintenance", "leads": "qwen-image-2-1", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "reasons": { "a": "Model reading. qwen-image-2.1-turbo joined the release page for the International scope on 9 October 2026, after qwen-image-2.1-pro on 2 October, and the `dashscope` SDK shipped 2.0.3 on 30 October per the alibaba-wan listing's PyPI reading of 2 November (30). The decommissioning policy now gives stable models (series names, dated versions and -latest aliases) at least 3 months' notice before end of service and preview models 14 days, by announcement, email and internal message. No qwen-image model is in its retirement batches. The preview window is short, so 15 of 20, as for alibaba-wan. A dated model release page with qwen-image entries on 20 July, 4 August, 2 October and 9 October, and Alibaba Cloud ticket support (12 of 15). Current official SDK on PyPI (15). PyPI links no source repository or CI (5). 30+15+12+15+5 = 77. The 10 October note's SDK dates came from PyPI's JSON path, which pypi.org's robots.txt disallows, so that reading is struck.", "b": "The last dated change is GPT-Image-2.5 on 23 October 2026, 10 days before the check (30). Changelog entries on 15, 22 and 23 October, 16, 9 and 2 September 2026, more than three in 90 days (20). For a closed service, a dated changelog, a Discord server and a contact email. We didn't open Discord or the GitHub issues, so answering isn't confirmed (8). No official SDK. The skills are maintained client scripts with tags from v1.0.0 (4 June 2026) to v1.5.0 (2 September 2026), a judgement call (5). The repository's CI checks SKILL.md front matter only, with no tests, and the skills aren't published as a package (3). 30+20+8+5+3 = 66." }, "scores": { "a": 77, "b": 66 } } ], "facts": [ { "a": "Model API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Alibaba Cloud", "b": "SurgePix", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/api/v1", "b": "https://api.surgepix.ai/api", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Closed API under Alibaba Cloud's product terms. Qwen-Image-2.1 weights are on Hugging Face under the Qwen Research License, for non-commercial use only.", "b": "Proprietary hosted service under the Surgepix User Agreement, which names no company and restricts commercial use without SurgePix's permission. The agent skills repository is MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-02", "b": "2026-10-23", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "2026-06-10", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "3/5 (4)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) scores 65.9 (B) on agent readiness against SurgePix API's 36 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) or SurgePix API?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) and SurgePix API need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) has a hosted endpoint at https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/api/v1 and SurgePix API at https://api.surgepix.ai/api.", "question": "Can an agent call Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) and SurgePix API without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 72 against 15", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 66 against 40", "Agent ergonomics, 73 against 53", "Security \u0026 auth, 80 against 41", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 77 against 66", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 65 against 28" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Low-cost image generation and multi-reference editing with transparent PNG output, for agents already on Model Studio or using the OpenAI Images protocol.", "slug": "qwen-image-2-1", "watchFor": "qwen-image-2.1-pro allows 20 requests a minute in every region (qwen-image-2.1-turbo 120)" }, { "aheadOn": null, "also": null, "goodFor": "An agent that needs finished marketing assets, such as posters, slide decks, Xiaohongshu carousels, logos and translated images, as one file from a short request.", "slug": "surgepix", "watchFor": "Only background removal and upload are in the public API reference, with no OpenAPI file or llms.txt" } ], "history": { "qwen-image-2-1": [ { "causes": [ "evidence", "correction" ], "date": "2026-11-02", "delta": 1.3, "from": 64.6, "fromGrade": "B", "to": 65.9, "toGrade": "B" }, { "causes": [ "evidence" ], "date": "2026-10-12", "delta": -0.1, "from": 64.7, "fromGrade": "B", "to": 64.6, "toGrade": "B" } ], "surgepix": null }, "job": { "capability": "image.generate", "name": "Image generation" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-firefly-vs-qwen-image-2-1.json", "title": "Adobe Firefly API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-firefly-vs-qwen-image-2-1" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-firefly-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "Adobe Firefly API vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-firefly-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/artcraft-vs-qwen-image-2-1.json", "title": "ArtCraft vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/artcraft-vs-qwen-image-2-1" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/artcraft-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "ArtCraft vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/artcraft-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/black-forest-labs-vs-qwen-image-2-1.json", "title": "Black Forest Labs FLUX API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/black-forest-labs-vs-qwen-image-2-1" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/black-forest-labs-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "Black Forest Labs FLUX API vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/black-forest-labs-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bria-vs-qwen-image-2-1.json", "title": "Bria API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bria-vs-qwen-image-2-1" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bria-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "Bria API vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bria-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fal-image-vs-qwen-image-2-1.json", "title": "fal image models vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fal-image-vs-qwen-image-2-1" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fal-image-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "fal image models vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fal-image-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-imagen-vs-qwen-image-2-1.json", "title": "Google Imagen vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-imagen-vs-qwen-image-2-1" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-imagen-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "Google Imagen vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-imagen-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ideogram-vs-qwen-image-2-1.json", "title": "Ideogram API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ideogram-vs-qwen-image-2-1" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ideogram-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "Ideogram API vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ideogram-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iris-3b-vs-qwen-image-2-1.json", "title": "Iris-3B vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iris-3b-vs-qwen-image-2-1" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iris-3b-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "Iris-3B vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iris-3b-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leonardo-ai-vs-qwen-image-2-1.json", "title": "Leonardo.Ai API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leonardo-ai-vs-qwen-image-2-1" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leonardo-ai-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "Leonardo.Ai API vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leonardo-ai-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-image-api-vs-qwen-image-2-1.json", "title": "OpenAI Image API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-image-api-vs-qwen-image-2-1" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-image-api-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "OpenAI Image API vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-image-api-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-recraft.json", "title": "Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) vs Recraft API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-recraft" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-replicate-image.json", "title": "Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) vs Replicate image models", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-replicate-image" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-seedream-on-byteplus-modelark.json", "title": "Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) vs Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-seedream-on-byteplus-modelark" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-stability-ai-image.json", "title": "Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) vs Stability AI Image API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-stability-ai-image" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "Recraft API vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/replicate-image-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "Replicate image models vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/replicate-image-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/seedream-on-byteplus-modelark-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/seedream-on-byteplus-modelark-vs-surgepix" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stability-ai-image-vs-surgepix.json", "title": "Stability AI Image API vs SurgePix API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stability-ai-image-vs-surgepix" } ], "panel": null, "scores": [ { "by": 57, "edge": "qwen-image-2-1", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "qwen-image-2-1": 72, "surgepix": 15, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 26, "edge": "qwen-image-2-1", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "qwen-image-2-1": 66, "surgepix": 40, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "qwen-image-2-1", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "qwen-image-2-1": 73, "surgepix": 53, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 39, "edge": "qwen-image-2-1", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "qwen-image-2-1": 80, "surgepix": 41, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "qwen-image-2-1": 20, "surgepix": 20, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 11, "edge": "qwen-image-2-1", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "qwen-image-2-1": 77, "surgepix": 66, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 37, "edge": "qwen-image-2-1", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "qwen-image-2-1": 65, "surgepix": 28, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) scores 65.9 (B) on agent readiness against SurgePix API's 36 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do image generation.", "tasks": null, "tutorials": [ { "title": "Create a square product illustration with Qwen-Image", "tool": "qwen-image-2-1", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tutorials/qwen-image-2-1/" } ], "verdicts": { "qwen-image-2-1": "qwen-image-2.1-pro generates and edits images with up to 10 references and transparent output, at $0.04 an image in Singapore, through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint or DashScope, and qwen-image-2.1-turbo costs $0.016. Model Studio publishes a 99.9 per cent SLA and a no-training statement. The pro model allows 20 requests a minute, and the open weights are non-commercial.", "surgepix": "A small, readable API with async tasks and MIT skill scripts that cover posters, decks, edits and translation. Only background removal is documented, the terms name no company and restrict commercial use and automated querying, and uploaded files become public URLs." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-surgepix", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-surgepix.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-surgepix.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-surgepix.min.md" }, "markdown": "Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) scores 65.9 (B) on agent readiness against SurgePix API's 36 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do image generation.\n\n- Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio): grade B, 65.9/100, rank #341 of 1266. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen-image-2-1.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/qwen-image-2-1.json\n- SurgePix API: grade F, 36/100, rank #1173 of 1266. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/surgepix.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/surgepix.json\n- Best image generation for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/image-generation/index.md\n- All 120 image comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/image-generation/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) (B)\n\nGood for: Low-cost image generation and multi-reference editing with transparent PNG output, for agents already on Model Studio or using the OpenAI Images protocol.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 72 against 15\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 66 against 40\n- Agent ergonomics, 73 against 53\n- Security \u0026 auth, 80 against 41\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 77 against 66\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 65 against 28\n\nWatch for: qwen-image-2.1-pro allows 20 requests a minute in every region (qwen-image-2.1-turbo 120)\n\n### SurgePix API (F)\n\nGood for: An agent that needs finished marketing assets, such as posters, slide decks, Xiaohongshu carousels, logos and translated images, as one file from a short request.\n\nWatch for: Only background removal and upload are in the public API reference, with no OpenAPI file or llms.txt\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Reliability: Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +57\n\n- Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) (72): Alibaba Cloud runs its own status page at status.alibabacloud.com (20). The page is drawn by script (2,034 bytes of HTML on 2 November, robots.txt a plain 404) and shows no incident history to a reader, so 5 for no readable history. The model page lists 20 requests a minute in all six regions, re-read on 2 November (15). The rate-limit guide documents 429 for throttling and 403 for an exhausted free quota, and Model Studio's rate-limiting best-practices page gives exponential backoff with random jitter on 429 and 5xx errors and a server-side queuing header for bursts. No Retry-After header or idempotency key, so safe-retry guidance without keys (12). The Model Studio inference SLA, last updated 8 September 2026, promises 99.9 per cent monthly uptime with service credits on paid inference, per the 10 October check (10). The model carries no preview label (10). 20+5+15+12+10+10 = 72.\n- SurgePix API (15): Read with the hosted lines. No status page was found on surgepix.ai or in the docs, and status.surgepix.ai doesn't resolve (0). With no history to read, the incident line takes the floor (5). No rate limits with numbers are documented. The terms say \"non-human continuous or frequent query operations\" lead to automatic account suspension, with no threshold given (0). No 429 or backoff guidance. The skill scripts poll every 2 seconds for up to 5 to 15 minutes, but that is client code, not a documented policy (0). No SLA, and the terms disclaim uninterrupted service (0). The API isn't labelled beta or preview, and API keys have been self-serve since 2 June 2026 per the changelog (10). 0+5+0+0+0+10 = 15.\n\n### Security \u0026 auth: Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +39\n\n- Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) (80): Model reading of the checklist (credential, training, retention, operator visibility, programme). API keys belong to a workspace, can be limited to chosen models and an IP allow-list of up to 20 entries, can be reset, and temporary keys are documented, per the 10 October check (30). The Model Studio privacy notice, re-read on 2 November, says Alibaba Cloud will never use customer data for model training (20). Result URLs, task data and images are purged after 24 hours (5). No retention period for prompts or input images was found (0). The audit log records model calls and monitoring filters by API key, per the 10 October check (15). SOC 2 with an unqualified opinion is stated in the privacy notice (5), which links Alibaba Cloud's compliance repository (5), read the same way as the alibaba-wan listing. No security.txt on alibabacloud.com and no Model Studio bug bounty was found (0). 30+20+5+0+15+5+5+0 = 80.\n- SurgePix API (41): Plain API keys created in the account settings, which the docs say can be revoked and reset. The key goes in the `authorization` header, never in a URL. No scopes found (20). No read-only key or spend cap. The plan's credit allowance bounds spend. Every uploaded file becomes a publicly accessible URL on Tencent Cloud storage, which counts against least privilege (3). The API returns image and file URLs, not untrusted text (10). The billing page's credit statement lists each request with its model and token counts, and sessions group calls in the web app, per the docs (8). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification was found (0). 20+3+10+8+0 = 41.\n\n### Transparency \u0026 trust: Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +37\n\n- Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) (65): The API model is closed under Alibaba Cloud's product terms. Qwen-Image-2.1 and Qwen-Image-2.1-Turbo weights are on Hugging Face under the Qwen Research License, which allows non-commercial use only and is not an OSI licence (15). The privacy notice says customer data is never used for training, and the API reference states 24-hour result retention. Input retention is not stated and no DPA was read (15 of 30). A decommissioning policy with notice periods by model type and a list of dated retirements (20). Six regional hosts are documented with separate keys and prices. No subprocessor list was found (10). 15+15+20+10 = 60.\n- SurgePix API (28): The editorial half. A closed service whose terms name no company or address. They restrict any commercial use of what the service produces without SurgePix's permission, and contain clauses from an unrelated product (a \"big data\" query platform and \"non-resume content\"). The skills are MIT. Unclear terms, with a little credit for the open skills (5). The privacy policy is dated both 10 June 2026 and 1 July 2022, describes WeChat and phone registration and \"domestic servers\", and gives no retention periods. The API reference says uploads go to Tencent Cloud storage in Seoul as public URLs. No DPA. The statements don't agree (5). No deprecation policy or notices, and the terms let changes take effect on publication without notice (0). Tencent Cloud Object Storage in ap-seoul is named in the API reference, and Alipay and WeChat Pay in the privacy policy. No subprocessor list or stated data location (4). 5+5+0+4 = 14.\n\n### Schema \u0026 documentation: Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +26\n\n- Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) (66): No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract for the Qwen image endpoints. The OpenAI-compatible mode follows part of the OpenAI Images protocol but publishes no schema of its own (0). llms.txt at docs.modelstudio.console.alibabacloud.com with Markdown copies of every page (10). The API reference says when to use each of the three access methods and which parameters each model accepts, though little on when not to use the model (15 of 20). Typed parameters with ranges for n, size, seed and input images, an enum for prompt_extend_mode, and stated defaults. Some limits differ by model in prose rather than in types, such as negative_prompt for the 3.0 series only (13 of 15). curl, Python and Java examples for each access method, an error format with type, param and code, and a linked error-code page (15). A dated model release page and v1 paths. No dated snapshot of qwen-image-2.1-pro exists yet (13 of 15). The API reference, re-read on 2 November, now lists qwen-image-2.1-turbo beside qwen-image-2.1-pro and the 3.0 models. 0+10+15+13+15+13 = 66.\n- SurgePix API (40): No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract was found (0). surgepix.ai/llms.txt returns 404. The docs are HTML pages, but the 15 SKILL.md files in the MIT repository are Markdown written for agents, so half (5). The API reference states the purpose of each of its five operations and the async and session model. The SKILL.md files add trigger phrases and explicit do-not-use routing between skills, but 11 of the task endpoints the skills call appear only in their scripts, with no reference (10). Parameter tables give type and required for the documented operations, with no enums or limits, and the undocumented endpoints have no schema at all (7). JSON examples for every documented operation and an error table with 401, 404 and `error.file.sensitive_content` (10). A dated public changelog from 11 March 2026, but no version in the API path and no API-specific change notes (8). 0+5+10+7+10+8 = 40.\n\n### Agent ergonomics: Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +20\n\n- Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) (73): API reading of the checklist. A sync call returns one or more PNG URLs with a small usage object. Base64 output is not available on the OpenAI-compatible mode (20 of 25). `n` (1 to 6) and `size` control output, and the async mode returns a task id to poll. No task list was found (15 of 20). Errors carry a code, a message and the parameter at fault, and the error-code page gives a fix for each code (18 of 20). No idempotency key, and nothing found on whether failed calls are billed for this model (5 of 20). Only `model` and `prompt` are required, everything else has a default, and the DashScope SDK for Python and Java and the OpenAI SDKs all work (15). 20+15+18+5+15 = 73.\n- SurgePix API (53): Every task returns one download URL, or one ZIP for an image set, and status responses are a few fields, so little enters context (18). Nothing to paginate. `noWait` chooses sync or async, and the skills pass size, aspect ratio, count and language, but none of these are in the public reference (10). Errors come back as a JSON `code` and `msg`, with 401 and 404 documented and an NSFW error on upload, but a failure can arrive as HTTP 200 with a non-zero `code` and failed task states carry no documented reason (12). Upload deduplicates by MD5 and returns the existing URL. Tasks have no idempotency key, and a retried task is a new task that spends credits again (5). Few required parameters (`fileUrl` for background removal). No official SDK, only the Node scripts inside the skills (8). 18+10+12+5+8 = 53.\n\n### Maintenance \u0026 community: Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +11\n\n- Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) (77): Model reading. qwen-image-2.1-turbo joined the release page for the International scope on 9 October 2026, after qwen-image-2.1-pro on 2 October, and the `dashscope` SDK shipped 2.0.3 on 30 October per the alibaba-wan listing's PyPI reading of 2 November (30). The decommissioning policy now gives stable models (series names, dated versions and -latest aliases) at least 3 months' notice before end of service and preview models 14 days, by announcement, email and internal message. No qwen-image model is in its retirement batches. The preview window is short, so 15 of 20, as for alibaba-wan. A dated model release page with qwen-image entries on 20 July, 4 August, 2 October and 9 October, and Alibaba Cloud ticket support (12 of 15). Current official SDK on PyPI (15). PyPI links no source repository or CI (5). 30+15+12+15+5 = 77. The 10 October note's SDK dates came from PyPI's JSON path, which pypi.org's robots.txt disallows, so that reading is struck.\n- SurgePix API (66): The last dated change is GPT-Image-2.5 on 23 October 2026, 10 days before the check (30). Changelog entries on 15, 22 and 23 October, 16, 9 and 2 September 2026, more than three in 90 days (20). For a closed service, a dated changelog, a Discord server and a contact email. We didn't open Discord or the GitHub issues, so answering isn't confirmed (8). No official SDK. The skills are maintained client scripts with tags from v1.0.0 (4 June 2026) to v1.5.0 (2 September 2026), a judgement call (5). The repository's CI checks SKILL.md front matter only, with no tests, and the skills aren't published as a package (3). 30+20+8+5+3 = 66.\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) | SurgePix API | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 72 | 15 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +57 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 40 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +26 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 53 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +20 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 80 | 41 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +39 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 20 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 66 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +11 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 28 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +37 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **65.9 · B** | **36 · F** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) | SurgePix API |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Alibaba Cloud | SurgePix |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/api/v1` | `https://api.surgepix.ai/api` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Closed API under Alibaba Cloud's product terms. Qwen-Image-2.1 weights are on Hugging Face under the Qwen Research License, for non-commercial use only. | Proprietary hosted service under the Surgepix User Agreement, which names no company and restricts commercial use without SurgePix's permission. The agent skills repository is MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | no |\n| Last release | 2026-10-02 | 2026-10-23 |\n| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-06-10 |\n| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | yes |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |\n| Agent reviews | 3/5 (4) | none |\n\n## How the scores have moved\n\n### Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)\n\n- +1.3 on 2 November 2026: new evidence, correction\n- -0.1 on 12 October 2026: new evidence\n\n### SurgePix API\n\nNo score change since it was listed.\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio).** qwen-image-2.1-pro generates and edits images with up to 10 references and transparent output, at $0.04 an image in Singapore, through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint or DashScope, and qwen-image-2.1-turbo costs $0.016. Model Studio publishes a 99.9 per cent SLA and a no-training statement. The pro model allows 20 requests a minute, and the open weights are non-commercial.\n\n**SurgePix API.** A small, readable API with async tasks and MIT skill scripts that cover posters, decks, edits and translation. Only background removal is documented, the terms name no company and restrict commercial use and automated querying, and uploaded files become public URLs.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)\n\n1. Use the same region for the key, the model and the endpoint. Cross-region calls fail\n2. Download each result within 24 hours. The URL expires and the image is purged\n3. With the OpenAI SDK, pass `image`, `seed`, `prompt_extend` and `watermark` through `extra_body`, and write size as `1024x1024`, not `1024*1024`\n4. Set a client timeout of up to 600 seconds for several outputs, or use the async DashScope call and poll the task id\n5. Do not send `prompt_extend_mode: agent` with input images. It returns 400\n6. On a 429, retry with exponential backoff and jitter as Model Studio's best-practices page shows. There's no Retry-After header or idempotency key\n\n### SurgePix API\n\n1. Send the key as the raw `authorization` header value, with no `Bearer` prefix\n2. Don't upload confidential files. The upload flow returns a public URL for every file\n3. Check `code` in the JSON body as well as the HTTP status, since failures come back as a non-zero `code` with a `msg`\n4. Poll `GET /tasks/{taskId}` within 24 hours, after which the task returns 404\n5. Get written permission before using outputs commercially, since the terms restrict commercial use\n\n## Tutorials\n\n- [Create a square product illustration with Qwen-Image](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tutorials/qwen-image-2-1/), for Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) or SurgePix API?\n\nQwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) scores 65.9 (B) on agent readiness against SurgePix API's 36 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Do Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) and SurgePix API need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) and SurgePix API without installing anything?\n\nYes. Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) has a hosted endpoint at https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/api/v1 and SurgePix API at https://api.surgepix.ai/api.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-surgepix.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-surgepix.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"qwen-image-2-1\", \"b\": \"surgepix\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare qwen-image-2-1 surgepix`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/qwen-image-2-1.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/surgepix.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) or SurgePix API\n\n- [Adobe Firefly API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-firefly-vs-qwen-image-2-1.md)\n- [Adobe Firefly API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-firefly-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [ArtCraft vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/artcraft-vs-qwen-image-2-1.md)\n- [ArtCraft vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/artcraft-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [Black Forest Labs FLUX API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/black-forest-labs-vs-qwen-image-2-1.md)\n- [Black Forest Labs FLUX API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/black-forest-labs-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [Bria API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bria-vs-qwen-image-2-1.md)\n- [Bria API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bria-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [fal image models vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fal-image-vs-qwen-image-2-1.md)\n- [fal image models vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fal-image-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [Google Imagen vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-imagen-vs-qwen-image-2-1.md)\n- [Google Imagen vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-imagen-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [Ideogram API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ideogram-vs-qwen-image-2-1.md)\n- [Ideogram API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ideogram-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [Iris-3B vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iris-3b-vs-qwen-image-2-1.md)\n- [Iris-3B vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iris-3b-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [Leonardo.Ai API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leonardo-ai-vs-qwen-image-2-1.md)\n- [Leonardo.Ai API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leonardo-ai-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [OpenAI Image API vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-image-api-vs-qwen-image-2-1.md)\n- [OpenAI Image API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-image-api-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-recraft.md)\n- [Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) vs Replicate image models](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-replicate-image.md)\n- [Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) vs Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-seedream-on-byteplus-modelark.md)\n- [Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) vs Stability AI Image API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-stability-ai-image.md)\n- [Recraft API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [Replicate image models vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/replicate-image-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/seedream-on-byteplus-modelark-vs-surgepix.md)\n- [Stability AI Image API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stability-ai-image-vs-surgepix.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "attributionRequired": true, "credit": "CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link the page or API address you took it from (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-11-02", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.7", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "terms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) vs SurgePix API", "url": "" } ], "description": "Qwen-Image 2.1 scores 65.9 (B) to SurgePix's 36 (F) for image generation. 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