Google Imagen 4 guide: capabilities, current access, and alternatives

Quick answer

Imagen 4 is Google's Fast, standard and Ultra family for generating still images from text. For new API projects, use a currently available replacement: Google lists its Vertex AI Imagen 4 endpoints as discontinued June 30, 2026, and its Gemini Developer API versions as shut down August 17, 2026. Older guides remain useful for interpreting existing images and budgets; they do not confirm live access.

A quiet glass observatory above a cloud layer at blue hour, warm interior lights, one telescope, cinematic realistic lighting, balanced composition, fine architectural detail, no people, text, or logos.

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What can you use Imagen 4 for?

The Imagen 4 family was designed to explore illustrations, product scenes, backgrounds, and other still-image concepts from text. These uses remain a useful way to understand an existing Imagen 4 image or plan its replacement. Describe the subject, action, composition, lighting, and output shape, then inspect any lettering or product detail. A model's ability to generate text does not guarantee correct spelling or faithful logos.

Google's Imagen 4 documentation still records its features, but now lists the Fast, standard and Ultra API endpoints as discontinued on June 30, 2026, with gemini-2.5-flash-image as the recommended migration. Its Gemini API deprecation schedule separately records the August 17, 2026 Developer API shutdown and recommends gemini-nano-banana-2.1. These are different provider-specific replacement routes. Documentation or a price row remaining online does not establish live Imagen 4 access. Sources checked October 10, 2026.

How to get started

For a new project, choose an active image model in your selected provider; do not start a new integration with the discontinued Google Imagen 4 endpoint IDs.
Use that replacement model's own supported aspect ratios, output counts and input controls. Do not assume Imagen 4 request fields transfer unchanged.
Write one clear prompt that describes the important visual requirements.
Generate a small set and inspect every candidate at the intended display size.
Revise one requirement at a time, then export the accepted image.

For example: A matte blue ceramic mug on a pale wood desk, soft window light from the left, three-quarter view, empty space on the right for a headline, square composition. Add final advertising text in a design editor when exact typography is essential.

Which variant should you choose?

For historical Imagen 4 budgets, Google's published Cloud rate card lists Fast at $0.02, standard at $0.04 and Ultra at $0.06 per generated image. Those figures help interpret older cost examples; the listed rates do not override the model documentation's discontinued endpoints. A replacement model has its own current price and controls. See the pricing and API guide for the provider distinction and a worked budget. Compare accepted results on your actual task when choosing a replacement, rather than assuming its most expensive option wins.

Can Imagen 4 make video?

Imagen 4 is an image-generation model. To add motion to an accepted image, use a separate image-to-video workflow. For example, upload it to Magic Hour image-to-video and describe a restrained camera move or subject action. Check the resulting clip for unwanted changes to the source.

What should you check before publishing?

Inspect text, hands, product shapes, faces, and any factual or branded details. Confirm that your use of source assets and the generated output meets the provider's terms. Keep the prompt and model name with your project so you can understand what produced the result.