Krea vs Layer AI (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Krea grades higher than Layer AI: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Krea grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Krea
Image, video and 3D generation with real-time canvas and plugins
Which one is for you
Pick Krea if
- Fits if you want many image and video models for $5.25 a month on yearly billing
- Works for people in Photoshop, Premiere, Resolve or Blender who want it inside those apps
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you want Veo, Sora or Kling, which need Pro at $21 a month yearly ($35 monthly)
- Not for you if you want unused units to roll over, which only Business and Enterprise do
- Skip it if you want to make video free, as the free plan runs no video jobs, and 100 units a day is about one Nano Banana 2 image
- Watch out: once units run out, the slower unlimited queue covers in-house image models only
- Not for you if you're on Android or want a desktop app, and SSO, an SLA and IP indemnification are Enterprise only
Pick Layer AI if
- Fits if you run a game or ad studio and want one workspace for many models
- Works for teams that keep one art style with custom style training
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free allowance, as the pricing page lists none
- Watch out: units are spent at different rates per model, so the monthly cost moves
- Tight if you do not use everything, since only 10% of units carry over
- Watch out: SOC 2, SAML SSO and an SLA are Enterprise, through sales
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAKreaGood | 2.0GPALayer AIFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ABasic is $5.25 a month on yearly billing ($9 monthly) for 5,000 units, under 60% of this category's cheaper quarter. That's about 64 Nano Banana 2 images or 20 Seedance 2.0 videos a month, plus upscaling to 22K. Veo and Kling need Pro at $21. | C$10 a month for 300 Creative Units, then $60 per extra 1,000. That is near the category's middle, and the real cost depends on the models you use. |
| Free plan and trial | C100 units a day, refilled daily, with the live canvas, image and 3D models, LoRA training on 50 images and 2K upscaling. Video is off, though, and Basic's own figures put a Nano Banana 2 image at about 78 units. | FThe pricing page gives no free allowance and lists no trial, although the site has a Start for free button. |
| Features | BIts own models plus Nano Banana, Seedance, Veo and Kling, a canvas that renders as you draw, editing, upscaling to 22K, LoRA training, a node editor, an agent, and plugins for Photoshop, Premiere, Resolve and Blender. Nothing core is missing. | BImages, video, 3D and audio, style training, an API and plugins for game tools. The listing names no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | C4.49 from 689 App Store ratings, just under the 4.5 line. And with nodes, LoRAs, an agent and dozens of models, there's a fair bit to learn. | CNo store rating is on record. It is aimed at studios, with workflows, style training and plugins to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and iPhone, plus plugins for Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Blender, an API and an MCP server. No Android or desktop app of its own. | BWeb and a browser extension, plus an API, an MCP server and plugins for Photoshop, Figma, Unity, Unreal and Blender. |
| Best for | many image and video models from $5.25 a month | game studios using many AI models |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Krea and Layer AI. How we grade
Price against what you get
Krea starts at $5.25 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Layer AI starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Krea starts $4.75 a month lower. Of the other AI image and video generators on the chart, 4 score higher than Krea for less, and 7 score higher than Layer AI for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Layer AI also covers AI agents, text to speech and voice cloning.
At a glance
| Krea | Layer AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $5.25 per month for 5,000 units, billed annually ($9 billed monthly) | $10 per month for 300 Creative Units |
| Free plan | 100 compute units a day, refilled daily, with real-time generation, the image and 3D models, LoRA training on up to 50 images and upscaling to 2K. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Krea | Layer AI, Inc. |
| Price read from | krea.ai | layer.ai |
| Checked | Nov 2, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Krea
- Units on Basic, Pro and Max reset monthly and do not roll over; only Business and Enterprise carry unused units forward.
- Basic covers selected video models only; Veo, Sora, Kling and the other video models need Pro or above.
- After units run out, unlimited slower generation covers only supported in-house image models.
- SAML SSO, an SLA and IP indemnification are limited to Enterprise.
Layer AI
- Creative Units are spent at different rates per model, so the monthly cost depends on which models are used.
- Unused units expire each billing period, with only 10% carrying over.
- The pricing page gives no free allowance, although the site has a Start for free button.
- Enterprise adds SOC 2 Type II, SAML SSO and an SLA through sales, not self-serve.
Key features
Krea
- Many models in one place
- Krea's own image models sit beside partner image and video models such as Nano Banana, GPT, Seedance, Veo, Sora and Kling.
- Real-time canvas
- Generates images as you type or draw on a live canvas, for fast iteration before a final render.
- Editing and upscaling
- Change an image by describing the edit with the Krea 3 model, remove backgrounds, and upscale images up to 22K on paid plans, plus video upscaling.
- LoRA training
- Train custom image or video LoRAs on your own characters, styles or products: up to 50 images per LoRA, or 2,000 on Max and Business.
- Nodes and Krea Agent
- Chain models and steps in a visual node editor, save workflows as shareable apps, or brief Krea Agent to plan and iterate across models.
- Plugins, API and MCP
- Plugins run Krea inside Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Blender, and a developer API and MCP server are offered.
Layer AI
- Many models in one place
- The site lists 136 image models, 175 video models and 48 3D models, from providers such as Google, OpenAI, Black Forest Labs and ByteDance.
- Image and video editing tools
- Includes upscaling, background removal, inpainting, relighting, vectorizing, camera-angle changes, video extension and lip sync.
- Custom style training
- The subscription includes advanced custom style training across providers, so a studio can keep one art direction across assets.
- 3D and audio
- Also generates textured 3D meshes with rigging and retexturing, plus music, sound effects, speech and voice cloning.
- API, MCP and plugins
- A REST API, an MCP server for Claude and plugins for Photoshop, Figma, Blender, Unity and Unreal let teams work from their own tools.
- Creative agent and playable ads
- An optional agent builds trailers, ads and playable ads from a brief. Most agent actions are free, but intensive ones spend units.
Plans
Krea
Free$0
100 compute units a day and one image job at a time; the page lists video concurrency as 0.
Basic$5.25
per month for 5,000 units, billed annually ($9 billed monthly)
About 64 Nano Banana 2 images or 20 Seedance 2.0 videos a month; selected video models; upscaling to 22K. The page rounds the price to $5.
Pro$21
per month for 20,000 units, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
About 257 Nano Banana 2 images or 83 Seedance 2.0 videos a month, all video models including Veo and Kling.
Max$42
per month for 40,000 units, billed annually ($70 billed monthly)
Price rises with units: $63 a month yearly ($105 monthly) at 60,000. LoRA training on up to 2,000 images.
Business$40
per month for 20,000 units, billed annually ($50 billed monthly)
One price for up to 50 members sharing the units; $160 a month yearly ($200 monthly) at 80,000. Unused units roll over.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom seat counts and compute packages, SAML SSO, an SLA and IP indemnification.
Layer AI
Studio subscription$10
per month for 300 Creative Units, then $60 per extra 1,000
No seat fees or feature gates. Pick a monthly Creative Unit amount; 10% of units carry over. Enterprise is sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Krea
- Annual discount
Save 40% on yearly individual plans
Yearly billing takes 40% off Basic, Pro and Max (Pro falls from $35 to $21 a month) and 20% off Business.
Layer AI
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Krea or Layer AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Krea is cheaper to start with: $5.25 a month, against $10 a month for Layer AI. Krea starts at $5.25 per month for 5,000 units, billed annually ($9 billed monthly), and Layer AI starts at $10 per month for 300 Creative Units.
Which has a free plan, Krea or Layer AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Krea has a free plan. Layer AI does not.
Which platforms do Krea and Layer AI run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Krea lists an iOS app and only Layer AI lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.