How to Generate Images with the MiniMax H3 Image API

November 10, 2026

Table of contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Pricing
  3. Example: one person and one motorcycle from two reference images
  4. Getting the image
  5. More examples
  6. Parameters
  7. Questions
    1. Is there a MiniMax H3 Image API?
    2. How much does MiniMax H3 Image cost?
    3. Can MiniMax H3 Image combine reference images?
    4. What is the difference between H3 Image and H3 Image Highspeed?
  8. Conclusion

Introduction

The useapi.net MiniMax API runs MiniMax H3 Image, MiniMax’s newest image model, on your Hailuo AI subscription: one REST call, POST images/create, makes 1 to 4 images at 1K, 2K or 4K from a prompt and up to 16 reference images. H3 Image Highspeed, the faster variant, takes the same parameters.

Every image on this page was made through the API by the call shown above it. You need a useapi.net API token and a Hailuo AI account added once, see Setup MiniMax. useapi.net is a third-party API, not affiliated with MiniMax.

Pricing

Model 1K or 2K 4K 4K on Master ($89 a month) 4K on MiniMax’s own API
H3 Image 3 credits 6 credits $0.051 $0.069
H3 Image Highspeed 5 credits 12 credits $0.102 $0.130

A 4K image on each Hailuo AI plan, against MiniMax’s own developer platform, which bills the model by tokens (as of November 2026):

Model Official API Max $216/m
27,000 cr/mo		 Master $89/m
10,500 cr/mo		 Pro $38/m
4,500 cr/mo		 Standard $10.50/m
1,000 cr/mo
H3 Image
4K		 $0.069
an image		 $0.048 / 6 cr
4,500 images/mo		 $0.051 / 6 cr
1,750 images/mo		 $0.051 / 6 cr
750 images/mo		 $0.063 / 6 cr
166 images/mo
H3 Image Highspeed
4K		 $0.130
an image		 $0.096 / 12 cr
2,250 images/mo		 $0.102 / 12 cr
875 images/mo		 $0.101 / 12 cr
375 images/mo		 $0.126 / 12 cr
83 images/mo
  • The same Hailuo credits also run Midjourney V7, Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image 2, Seedream and Veo 3.1, none of which MiniMax’s platform sells, and they need no prepaid developer balance.
  • The credits calculator on the overview has every resolution, and GET features shows the credits left on each account.

Start using the API

A single $15/month subscription covers every API on useapi.net — one token, all services. You connect up to 3 accounts per service, each with its own website subscription, and useapi.net handles the REST API, load balancing, and polling. Need more accounts? Each extra subscription is $10/month and adds 3 more accounts per service.

Subscribe — $15/month Pay with crypto

Pricing and volume options — full refund within the first 14 days if you have fewer than 50 successful generations. Already subscribed? Change the quantity in the Stripe Customer Portal instead of buying again.

Example: one person and one motorcycle from two reference images

H3 Image takes up to 16 reference images, and the prompt can say which is which: @Image1 means referenceFileId1, @Image2 means referenceFileId2, and so on. We gave it an old studio portrait of a woman, a photo of a 1920s motorcycle on white, and a seven-word prompt, @Image1 riding the @Image2 at sunset, cinematic.

The two references that went in:

The two reference images for MiniMax H3 Image: @Image1, an old studio portrait of a woman, and @Image2, a 1920s motorcycle on a white background

Upload each image once with POST files, which returns its fileID:

curl — POST files 
curl --location 'https://api.useapi.net/v1/minimax/files/?account=987654321' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer user:12345-…' \
--header 'Content-Type: image/jpeg' \
--data-binary '@portrait.jpg'

Then pass the files as referenceFileId1 and referenceFileId2, with the mentions in the prompt. Add account if you have more than one Hailuo account:

curl — POST images/create 
curl --location 'https://api.useapi.net/v1/minimax/images/create' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer user:12345-…' \
--form 'model="h3-image"' \
--form 'resolution="2K"' \
--form 'aspectRatio="3:2"' \
--form 'referenceFileId1="user:12345-minimax:987654321-file:111111111111111111"' \
--form 'referenceFileId2="user:12345-minimax:987654321-file:222222222222222222"' \
--form 'prompt="@Image1 riding the @Image2 at sunset, cinematic"'
Expand Response 
{
  "imageIds": ["user:12345-minimax:987654321-image:333333333333333333"],
  "code": 200
}

The image that came out, 2K at 3:2, 2496×1664:

MiniMax H3 Image through the useapi.net MiniMax API: a woman from a vintage portrait riding a 1920s motorcycle at sunset, made from two reference images

H3 Image kept her face, hairstyle, dress and rose, kept the motorcycle’s black frame and tank, and built a new scene around both. A few rules make references predictable:

  • @Image1 always means referenceFileId1, whatever order the mentions take in the prompt. Case doesn’t matter, so @IMAGE1 and @image1 work too
  • Slots start at 1 and have no gaps: referenceFileId3 without 1 and 2 is refused
  • All reference files come from the same Hailuo account, the one the image is made on
  • Mentions are optional. They make each reference’s role explicit, which is what turned two separate photos into one rider on one motorcycle

Getting the image

Poll GET images/imageId with each id from imageIds until statusFinal is true, or pass a replyUrl to get the same JSON by callback. The finished image is at downloadURL:

curl — GET images/imageId 
curl --location 'https://api.useapi.net/v1/minimax/images/user:12345-minimax:987654321-image:333333333333333333' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer user:12345-…'
Expand Response 
{
  "imageId": "user:12345-minimax:987654321-image:333333333333333333",
  "modelID": "MiniMax-H3-Image",
  "statusLabel": "completed",
  "statusFinal": true,
  "width": 2496,
  "height": 1664,
  "aspectRatio": "3:2",
  "downloadURL": "https://cdn.hailuoai.video/…/image.jpg"
}

statusFinal is also true when statusLabel is failed or moderated, and then there is no image. A request the API can’t accept answers 400 with an error message.

More examples

Text to image with the defaults

Only the model and a prompt. Without aspectRatio and resolution, H3 Image picks the frame (auto) and renders at 1K.

curl — POST images/create 
curl --location 'https://api.useapi.net/v1/minimax/images/create' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer user:12345-…' \
--form 'model="h3-image"' \
--form 'prompt="A lone lighthouse on a rocky cliff at dusk, waves crashing, cinematic light"'

The image that came out. H3 Image chose a portrait frame, 880×1184:

MiniMax H3 Image at 1K with the default auto aspect ratio: a lighthouse on a rocky cliff at dusk

H3 Image Highspeed at 1K, 1:1

h3-image-highspeed takes exactly the same parameters. Hailuo describes it as the same image quality with faster generation, for exploring ideas and iterating quickly. We haven’t measured the speed difference, so time a few requests on your account before you pick Highspeed for speed alone.

curl — POST images/create 
curl --location 'https://api.useapi.net/v1/minimax/images/create' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer user:12345-…' \
--form 'model="h3-image-highspeed"' \
--form 'resolution="1K"' \
--form 'aspectRatio="1:1"' \
--form 'prompt="Peaceful forest path with sunlight filtering through tall ancient trees"'

The image that came out, 1024×1024:

MiniMax H3 Image Highspeed at 1K, 1:1: a forest path with sunlight filtering through tall old trees

Parameters

Parameter Values Default
model h3-image, h3-image-highspeed image-01
resolution 1K, 2K, 4K 1K
aspectRatio auto, 21:9, 16:9, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2, 1:1, 2:3, 3:4, 4:5, 9:16 auto
quantity 1 to 4 images per request 1
referenceFileId1 … 16 fileID from POST files none
prompt up to 7,500 characters required

A 4K image at 16:9 came out at 5472×3072 in our tests. quality belongs to GPT Image 2 and is refused here. POST images/create has the full list.

Questions

Is there a MiniMax H3 Image API?

Yes. The useapi.net MiniMax API runs H3 Image and H3 Image Highspeed on your Hailuo AI subscription, and the same credits also run Midjourney V7, Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image 2 and Seedream, none of which MiniMax’s own developer platform sells. One call to POST images/create takes up to 16 reference images with @Image mentions.

How much does MiniMax H3 Image cost?

Through useapi.net, a 4K H3 Image uses 6 Hailuo credits, $0.051 on Master ($89 a month, 1,750 images), against $0.069 on MiniMax’s own API, and a 4K Highspeed image $0.102 against $0.130 (as of November 2026). 1K and 2K images use 3 credits, or 5 on Highspeed. GET features shows the credits left.

Can MiniMax H3 Image combine reference images?

Yes. Through the useapi.net MiniMax API you can pass up to 16 reference images as referenceFileId1 to referenceFileId16 and refer to each one in the prompt as @Image1 to @Image16, so one prompt can place a person from one photo into the scene or onto the object of another. The example above shows the full call.

What is the difference between H3 Image and H3 Image Highspeed?

Both run on the useapi.net MiniMax API with the same parameters, resolutions and 16 references. Hailuo describes Highspeed as the same image quality with faster generation. On Hailuo it costs 5 credits an image at 1K or 2K and 12 at 4K, against 3 and 6 for H3 Image.

Conclusion