Flux Kontext Pro vs FLUX Outpainting: Editing Inside the Frame vs Growing the Frame

Flux Kontext Pro costs 7 credits and changes what is already inside a photo from a written instruction; FLUX Outpainting costs 12 credits and adds brand-new canvas around the photo without using a prompt at all — so the choice is not about quality, it is about whether your problem sits inside the frame or outside it. Both are Black Forest Labs models available in VdoBloom’s image edit tab, and they are easy to confuse because both are listed as editors. They do fundamentally different jobs.

What each model actually does

Flux Kontext Pro is an instruction editor. You upload one image, write a plain-language instruction — change the shirt to navy, replace the sign text, swap the background for a marble surface — and it applies that change while preserving everything you did not mention. It also works as a straight text-to-image generator across six aspect ratios: 21:9, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 3:4 and 9:16, with JPEG or PNG output and prompts up to 3,000 characters.

FLUX Outpainting is a canvas expander, and the important detail almost nobody states plainly: it does not read your prompt. The service is purely image-driven — the prompt field is ignored and the model invents the new edge area from the picture itself. Instead of a prompt, you get four sliders for pixels added on the top, right, bottom and left edges. Each runs from 0 to 512 pixels in steps of 16, and each defaults to 64. At least one side must be greater than zero, and the final canvas must stay within 2,048 pixels total, so large source photos need smaller expansion values.

Head to head

Spec	Flux Kontext Pro	FLUX Outpainting
Credits per image	7	12
Cost at $0.05 per credit	$0.35	$0.60
Runs from a $15 Lite month (300 credits)	42	25
Does it use your prompt?	Yes — the instruction is the edit	No — purely image-driven
What it changes	Content inside the existing frame	Adds new area outside the frame
Input images	1	1
Main controls	Instruction, aspect ratio, JPEG/PNG	Four per-side pixel sliders, 0–512 px, step 16, default 64
Size limit	Six fixed aspect ratios	Final canvas must stay within 2,048 px total
Also generates from text?	Yes	No — edit only
User rating on VdoBloom	4.3	4.2
Provider route	KIE	Runware (bfl:flux@outpainting)

Why outpainting costs more for a simpler-sounding job

Adding 12 credits of cost to a model with no prompt box looks odd until you consider what it is doing: synthesising entirely new pixels that must match the source photo’s lighting, grain, perspective and texture seamlessly at the seam. Kontext Pro, by contrast, has the whole original frame to anchor against and only has to alter part of it. The price difference here is provider economics, not a quality ranking — the two models are rated 4.3 and 4.2 by VdoBloom users, effectively level. Both bill from the same credit balance, and pack credits never expire; see the pricing page for current tiers.

Pick by the problem, not by the price

Use Flux Kontext Pro when the fix is inside the picture. Changing a colour, rewording a sign, replacing a background, keeping a character consistent across a series of images, tidying a product shot for a listing. Any job you can phrase as a sentence starting with change, replace or remove belongs to Kontext.

Use FLUX Outpainting when the picture is the wrong shape. A portrait crop that has to become a landscape banner. A headshot cropped too tight at the chin for a thumbnail. A product photo that needs breathing room for overlay text. A vertical phone photo that has to fill a wide hero slot. Outpainting keeps every original pixel and builds outward — which is the one thing an instruction editor cannot reliably do, because reframing asks it to invent area it was never given.

If your actual job is removing an object and filling the hole behind it, neither of these is the right pick: that is FLUX Erase at 10 credits, which takes a source image plus a mask.

A worked example: one photo, both models

You have a vertical 9:16 phone photo of a model in a jacket, and you need a 16:9 web banner with the jacket in a different colour.

1. Open the edit tab and upload the photo.
2. Select FLUX Outpainting first. Set left to 512 and right to 512, leave top and bottom at 0. Check the source width — the finished canvas must stay within 2,048 px total, so a large original needs smaller numbers, perhaps 256 per side. Run it: 12 credits.
3. Download the widened frame and re-upload it.
4. Switch to Flux Kontext Pro and prompt: Change the jacket to deep burgundy, keep the face, pose, lighting and background exactly as they are. Run it: 7 credits.

Total 19 credits, about 95 cents. Do it in this order — expand first, then edit — because outpainting ignores prompts and has no idea a colour change is coming, while Kontext edits will happily apply to the widened frame.

If the photo is of a real person, you must have that person’s consent before editing and publishing their image.

Three practical notes

First, do not type a detailed prompt into the outpainting flow and expect it to be honoured — it is discarded. If you need a specific thing to appear in the new area, outpaint first, then instruct Kontext to add it.

Second, expand in modest steps. Two runs of 256 pixels per side usually beat one run of 512 on a busy photo, because each pass has more real context to extend from.

Third, both models accept a single input image, so neither is the tool for fusing several references into one composite. VdoBloom carries multi-reference editors that take up to eight or more inputs; the photo editing tool page covers that path.

Frequently asked questions

Does FLUX Outpainting use my prompt?

No. The model is purely image-driven and the prompt is ignored. Direction is set entirely with the four per-side pixel sliders, which run from 0 to 512 in steps of 16 and default to 64 each.

Why does outpainting cost 12 credits when Kontext Pro costs 7?

Outpainting synthesises entirely new canvas that must match the original’s lighting, grain and perspective at the seam, and it runs through a different provider route. It is a pricing difference, not a quality ranking — user ratings are 4.2 and 4.3 respectively.

Can Flux Kontext Pro change a photo’s aspect ratio?

Not reliably in the way outpainting does. Kontext edits what exists in the frame; asking it to reframe means asking it to invent area it was never shown. For a real crop change, outpaint first.

How much can I expand an image in one run?

Up to 512 pixels per side, with at least one side above zero, and the finished canvas must stay within 2,048 pixels total. Large source photos need smaller values per side.

Which one should I use to remove an object?

Neither. FLUX Erase at 10 credits is the mask-based removal model and it is the correct pick for taking something out and filling the space behind it.