Krea 3 Ultra Ranks #5 in Image Editing, With Per-Mode Pricing

The two Krea 3 entries on Artificial Analysis's image-editing leaderboard are the same model run in two modes. Krea launched Krea 3 on October 15 with a default mode called Fast, and later added Ultra, which Artificial Analysis describes as its highest thinking mode. In Artificial Analysis's test, run through Krea's API at 2K resolution, Ultra ranks #5 on AA-Image-Editing v2.1, with quality similar to Google's Nano Banana 2.1 and Microsoft's MAI-Image-2.6. Fast ranks #11. Artificial Analysis also says Ultra is the highest-ranked editing model from any company other than OpenAI, Google and Microsoft.

The leaderboard splits editing into task categories, a change Artificial Analysis made when it expanded its Image Editing Arena to judge which model is best for specific editing needs as well as overall. On that breakdown, Ultra places in the top seven in 15 of the 17 categories and reaches #2 in Animation & Gaming and in Frontier.

The cost of the higher rank shows up in price and output options. According to Artificial Analysis, on Krea's API Fast costs $0.03 per 1K image plus $0.02 per 1K reference image, meaning an input image supplied with the edit. Ultra produces 2K output only and costs $0.27 for a 2K edit with one 1K reference. In its launch post, Krea built its case for Krea 3 around speed, saying most edits come back in under 8 seconds at native 2K, and listed the model at $0.06 per 2K image. That launch post predates Ultra and does not describe the new mode, so Artificial Analysis's test is the evidence here for what Ultra adds.