Rokon vs The New Black
These two solve different problems. The New Black is a broad, inexpensive AI toolbox aimed at fashion designers — great for ideating new designs at pennies per image. Rokon is a production studio for merchants: your real garment on a realistic model, published to your Salla or Shopify store, in Arabic or English. Pick by the job, not the price tag.
| Criterion | Rokon | The New Black |
|---|---|---|
| Core focus | Production catalog imagery of your real garments | AI design ideation and experimentation toolbox |
| Merchant workflow | Store-connected: generate → review → publish to store | Generate and download; no store publishing pipeline |
| Arabic UI / RTL | Native Arabic (فصحى), full RTL | English-only |
| Store integrations | Native Salla + Shopify apps, MCP for AI assistants | None publicly listed |
| Garment fidelity | Multi-image reference preserves the exact garment | Generative designs — output is a new garment, not yours |
| Pricing | Free plan; Pro $20/mo (~40 images, ≈$0.50/image) | From $8/mo (100 credits, ~1 credit per design — pennies per image) |
Facts based on public pricing and product pages, checked July 2026. Spotted something outdated? Tell us via Support and we'll fix it.
Design ideation vs production catalog imagery
The New Black shines when you're inventing: sketch-to-design, moodboard exploration, dozens of cheap variations of a concept. Rokon's job starts after the garment exists — a customer must see the actual piece they'll receive, on a realistic model, at catalog quality. If the output image needs to match a physical product, generative design tools aren't built for that guarantee.
The workflow around the image
An image on your laptop still isn't a product page. Rokon connects to the store itself: native Salla and Shopify apps to pull products and publish results, Instant Catalog to demo from a store URL, bulk generation for whole catalogs, and an MCP server so AI assistants like Claude can drive the studio. The New Black ends at download — fine for a designer, a gap for a merchant.
Why the price difference is honest
The New Black is genuinely cheaper per image — from $8/month with roughly one credit per design, it's the lowest-cost way to experiment in this space. Rokon's ≈$0.50 standard image pays for garment fidelity, realistic models, store publishing, and Arabic support. If those four don't matter to your use case, the cheaper tool is the right call; if they do, cheap experiments become expensive rework.
Choose Rokon if…
- You're a merchant photographing real inventory, not designing new garments.
- You need results published into Salla or Shopify, not a downloads folder.
- You work in Arabic or sell to the Gulf market.
- Catalog accuracy matters — the model must wear your exact piece.
Choose The New Black if…
- You're a designer ideating new collections and want maximum variations per dollar.
- Your images are concepts and inspiration, not product listings.
- You want to experiment broadly across many AI fashion tools at minimal cost.
Frequently asked questions
Is The New Black cheaper than Rokon?+
Per image, yes — meaningfully. It starts at $8/month with ~1 credit per design. Rokon costs ≈$0.50 per standard image on Pro. The difference buys garment fidelity, store publishing, and Arabic support — decide whether those matter for your job.
Can The New Black put my exact product on a model?+
Its core strength is generating new designs and concepts. Rokon is built for the opposite guarantee: multi-image reference that preserves your actual garment's fabric, cut, and details for catalog use. Test both with a real product if fidelity is your requirement.
Which should a Salla or Shopify merchant pick?+
For store catalogs, Rokon — it's the only one of the two with native Salla and Shopify apps and a publish-back workflow. The New Black has no store integrations publicly listed.
See it on your own product
The fastest way to compare is with your actual garment — upload one photo and judge the result yourself.
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