AI technology has drastically reduced illustration production costs, but "cheap" doesn't mean "low price is all that matters." Price differences across quality tiers of AI illustrations can exceed tenfold—choosing the wrong vendor doesn't save money but leads to rework and wasted budget.
I. Five Core Factors That Affect AI Illustration Pricing
First: Image Complexity (Highest Weight) -- Simple icons or background assets cost nothing like intricate commercial character designs. A minimalist e-commerce product image may take only minutes to generate, while a set of five game character concept arts requires repeated prompt tuning and multiple rounds of manual refinement.
Second: Style Customization Difficulty -- Generic styles (such as flat illustration or watercolor) are well-trained in current AI models, producing stable output quality. But if you need to match an existing brand VI system or a specific art style, the vendor will need extra time for LoRA fine-tuning or ControlNet guidance. This typically adds 30%–50% to the cost.
Third: Resolution and Delivery Format -- AI models natively output at 1024×1024 pixels. Print-grade high resolution (e.g., A3 at 300 DPI) requires post-processing upscaling and manual refinement. It's advisable to reserve an additional 20% in your budget for this.
Fourth: Number of Revisions and Turnaround Time -- Standard quotes usually include 2–3 rounds of free revisions. If you need rush delivery within 48 hours or unlimited revisions, vendors typically charge a 20%–50% premium.
Fifth: Copyright and Licensing Scope -- Concept images for internal reference only are the cheapest. Works intended for commercial publication with full IP buyout are typically priced 1.5–3 times higher.
II. Market Tier Pricing Reference Ranges
Entry-Level (50–300 CNY per image):
Suitable for personal blog illustrations, social media avatars, and simple concept sketches. Vendors use Midjourney, Banana 2, or GPT-IMAGE2 for direct output with minimal post-processing. Delivery time is 1–3 days.
Standard-Level (500–2,000 CNY per image):
Suitable for e-commerce product hero images, brand social media assets, and app interface illustrations. Includes character design or scene composition with Photoshop refinement to ensure accurate text rendering and flawless details. Delivery time is 3–7 days.
Commercial-Level (2,000–8,000 CNY per image):
Suitable for game concept art, publication covers, and brand advertising key visuals. Includes a full character design review process, multi-angle output, and color correction. Vendors use ControlNet to maintain character consistency, and client sign-off is required before delivery. Delivery time is 7–15 days.
High-End Custom-Level (8,000+ CNY per image):
Suitable for film concept design, full-scale brand visual systems, and IP character development. Requires a dedicated project team with style exploration and iterative proposals, typically including 3–5 different directional initial drafts for selection.
III. Bulk Purchase Pricing Advantages
If you need not just a single illustration but a series of content (such as a full set of e-commerce store hero images or a monthly social media asset pack), a bulk package model is recommended. Generally speaking:
10–30 illustrations in the same style qualify for a 20% discount; 50–100 standard-level assets can be negotiated down to 60–70% of list price, because vendors can reuse prompt templates and LoRA models to reduce marginal costs.
IV. Pitfall Avoidance Tips
First, require vendors to clearly state which AI tools and post-processing workflows are used in their quote. Second, confirm that delivery files include original layered PSD or TIFF formats for easy future adjustments. Third, include in the contract a cap on revision rounds and the billing rate for revisions beyond that limit.
