Grok started as a chat model, but xAI added image generation in late 2024. Grok Imagine now covers both images and short videos, all inside the same interface where you chat with Grok.
The practical question: what can it actually do, and what does it cost? This article covers both.
What Grok Imagine Is
Grok Imagine is xAI’s built-in AI image and short-video generation feature inside Grok. Its earliest underlying model was Aurora, launched in December 2024. Imagine Image 2.0, released on August 7, 2026, is now the Quality Mode on grok.com/imagine and the iOS and Android apps. xAI says it improves layouts and small text and lets users edit specific areas precisely (official announcement).
Aurora takes a different technical path than Stable Diffusion or DALL-E. Instead of a diffusion architecture, it uses autoregressive MoE (Mixture of Experts). That design choice has one notable practical consequence: text rendering inside images. Diffusion models frequently mangle letters and characters in generated images. Aurora handles this significantly better. If you need to generate images with slogans, captions, brand names, or labels baked into the image itself, that difference matters.
Three ways to reach Grok Imagine:
- The Imagine tab on grok.com (browser, most complete)
- The Grok interface inside X app / x.com
- The Grok iOS / Android standalone app
All three require an X account or xAI account to log in.
How to Use Grok Imagine
The steps are straightforward:
- Go to grok.com or open the Grok app and log in
- Check your plan: the Free plan includes a limited daily image allowance; video needs Premium or higher
- Open the Imagine tab
- Type a prompt: subject, action, scene, style, technical details
- Choose an aspect ratio (landscape, portrait, square, etc.)
- Hit Generate. Images take about 3-5 seconds; Video 1.5 Fast takes about 25 seconds for a 6-second 720p video
- Not happy with the result? Hit Regenerate, or type a follow-up in the same conversation to refine it (“make the lighting darker,” “remove the person in the background”)
- Download the output or share directly to X
More specific prompts produce better results. Include the subject’s appearance, what it’s doing, the background, lighting conditions, camera angle, and visual style. Grok remembers previous images and instructions within the conversation, so you can iterate with short follow-up prompts rather than rewriting from scratch every time.
Chinese Prompt Examples You Can Copy
These five prompts follow the pattern “subject + action + scene + style + technical details.” Paste one into Imagine and adjust the details as needed.
1. Social post image with a slogan
A steaming pour-over coffee on a wooden table beside an open notebook, natural morning light by a window, warm colors, minimalist style, the large English words “Good Morning” at the top of the image, square composition2. Product photo
White wireless earbuds on a light gray marble countertop, soft studio lighting, clean uncluttered background, high-resolution product photography, shot from a 45-degree overhead angle3. Event poster
Vintage travel poster style, a morning seascape on Taiwan’s east coast, green mountains in the distance, blank space at the bottom with the words “Taitung Summer,” bold sans-serif lettering, warm orange and deep blue palette, portrait composition4. Illustrated character
A small penguin wearing round glasses and typing on a laptop at a desk, Japanese watercolor illustration, soft pastel colors, a bookshelf packed with books in the background, cozy and cute5. Short video
The camera slowly pushes in toward Taipei 101 from above, sunset falling as city lights turn on one by one, cinematic camera movement, with gentle city ambience, 16:9 landscapeThere are no published systematic benchmarks for Traditional Chinese text accuracy in images, so generate a few samples before using a Chinese slogan. If the result is off, add a follow-up in the same conversation, such as “change the background to a night scene” or “make the text larger.”
Can Free Accounts Generate Images?
Yes, with a limit. Since October 12, 2026, the Free plan of The X Subscription includes daily Imagine image generation; xAI does not publish the number of images. Video generation is only on Premium and higher (official announcement).
Before that there was a paywall period: from March 2026, users reported that free accounts got a subscription prompt in Imagine (xAI never announced an exact date). That change was directly tied to the deepfake controversy from early 2026 (covered below). Articles saying “Grok can’t generate images for free” mostly date from that period.
Pricing
You don’t need to pay to generate images; you pay for more usage or for video. New subscribers can only choose The X Subscription (official pricing page, checked October 14, 2026, US dollars before tax):
- Free (US$0): limited daily image generation, no video.
- Plus (US$8): more image usage, no video.
- Premium (US$30): adds AI video, with 4x the usage of Plus.
- Super (US$100) / Ultra (US$200): 15x / 50x the usage of Plus.
The old SuperGrok plans and X Premium plans are closed to new sign-ups; existing subscribers keep their price and features. Paid plans share one weekly usage pool across Chat, Imagine, and Voice. xAI does not publish exact image quotas; check grok.com for current limits and checkout for the price in your region.
API pricing: standard model is around US$0.02 per image; Pro model is around US$0.07 per image (check official docs for current rates).
What Grok Imagine Can Do
Text-to-Image
Type a prompt, pick an aspect ratio, and get an image in about 3-5 seconds. That speed is competitive among mainstream AI image generators. The official page says resolution goes up to 2K; actual options depend on the interface. Image 2.0 also adds smart resize, which fills the frame to fit a selected aspect ratio.
Text-in-image rendering is Aurora’s standout capability. Generating a poster with a tagline, a product mockup with a brand name, or an infographic with labels: Aurora handles the text with noticeably higher accuracy than diffusion-based tools. You skip the step of going to Canva afterward to add text manually.
Image Editing and Style Transfer
You can upload up to 5 reference images with Image 2.0 and ask Grok to apply a style or swap specific elements. Image 2.0 also adds a magic-wand tool for local edits, automatic background removal, and ready-made templates for product and profile photos. Upload a product photo and turn it into an ink wash painting, or replace the background with a different setting. The editing depth is shallower than dedicated tools like Photoshop AI, but the conversational workflow makes iteration fast.
Short Video Generation
Enter a prompt in Imagine and it produces a short video:
- Plan: new subscribers need Premium or higher for video; xAI does not list length or resolution per plan, so check the app
- Old plan specs: the old SuperGrok plan page (checked September 29, 2026) listed up to 30 seconds at 720p, and 1080p on SuperGrok Plus or higher; 24fps
- Generation time: Video 1.5 Fast takes about 25 seconds for a 6-second 720p clip
- You can generate from text alone or provide reference images or audio to keep a character’s appearance and voice consistent across clips (official announcement)
Compared to dedicated video tools like Kling, motion coherence is weaker. That gap is real and noticeable right now. The main thing Grok’s video feature has going for it is integration with the chat interface: you type a few words in the same window and get a video. The barrier to entry is low.
Since Video 1.5 launched in June 2026, sound effects, ambient audio, and dialogue are generated with the video (official announcement).
The Deepfake Controversy and Current Content Policy
In late 2025 and early 2026, Grok Imagine drew widespread criticism for being used to generate non-consensual deepfakes, primarily targeting women and public figures. After significant backlash, xAI restricted image generation to paid accounts and tightened content filters on January 9, 2026. Users then reported that free image generation was gradually removed starting in March; xAI has not announced an exact date. After the switch to The X Subscription on October 12, the Free plan regained limited daily image generation.
This sequence shaped what Grok Imagine looks like in 2026: stricter NSFW filtering, a narrower range of content that’s allowed, and video limited to paid plans.
Grok built an early reputation for permissive generation limits. Third-party guides for bypassing those limits still circulate online. Most of those approaches now violate xAI’s ToS and carry account suspension risk.
The content policy continues to evolve. Check docs.x.ai and x.ai/news for official announcements.
How It Compares
| Grok Imagine | Midjourney | Kling | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text in images | Strong | Weaker | n/a |
| Artistic style | Average | Strong | n/a |
| Photorealism | Strong | Strong | n/a |
| Image editing depth | Shallow | Medium | n/a |
| Video length | Up to 30 sec per clip (old SuperGrok plan) | n/a | Up to 15 sec per clip (Kling 3.0), extendable to 3 minutes |
| Video quality | Average | n/a | Strong |
| X integration | Native | None | None |
| Entry cost | Limited free images; video needs a paid plan | Paid required | Paid required |
When each one makes sense:
Pick Grok Imagine if you already use Grok, need accurate text inside your images, or want a single workflow for image generation and posting to X.
Pick a dedicated video tool like Kling if you need to combine multiple clips into a longer video or if motion coherence matters. Grok’s video feature is still early.
Pick Midjourney if artistic direction control, style consistency, or advanced image editing is the priority.
Conclusion
Aurora’s text rendering inside images is a genuine differentiator. It is not a marketing claim. The architecture makes it better than diffusion-based generators in specific situations: brand graphics, information overlays, social images with text built in. If that is your use case, you get cleaner output without a post-processing step.
Video is “usable but not impressive” at this point. Dedicated video tools like Kling lead by a clear margin. Grok’s short video is useful for quickly testing a visual concept, not for producing finished video content.
The Free plan now includes a limited daily image allowance, so try it before paying. The main reasons to pay are text-in-image accuracy, X integration, and video. If none of those is a need for you, Midjourney or other options may be more cost-effective. If you decide to pay, move to Plus when you run out of image usage, or Premium for video; check checkout for current prices.
Further Reading
— Penchan