Weaving cosmic threads...
Weaving cosmic threads...
Transparent comparison of every major image generation model. Pricing, speed, text rendering quality, and style control rated without bias for creators who need to choose the right tool.
Every model we track, with transparent pricing, speed, and quality ratings. No affiliate links, no bias.
Black Forest Labs
xAI
OpenAI
Stability AI
Midjourney
Ideogram
All models ranked by a composite of text rendering, style control, and speed. Scroll horizontally on mobile.
| # | Model | Provider | Resolution | Price | Speed | Text | Style | API | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ⬛FLUX.2 Max | Black Forest Labs | 2048x2048 | $0.04 | 8s | excellent | excellent | Yes | frontier |
| 2 | 🟣Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large | Stability AI | 1024x1024 | $0.035 | 5s | good | excellent | Yes | open source |
| 3 | 🅸Ideogram 2.0 | Ideogram | 1024x1024 | $0.03 | 5s | excellent | good | Yes | specialized |
| 4 | 🟢DALL-E 3 | OpenAI | 1024x1792 | $0.04 | 6s | excellent | good | Yes | frontier |
| 5 | 🔵Gemini Image | 1024x1024 | $0.02 | 3s | good | good | Yes | frontier | |
| 6 | 🤖Grok 2 Image | xAI | 1024x1024 | $0.02 | 4s | good | good | Yes | frontier |
| 7 | 🔵Imagen 3 | 1024x1024 | $0.02 | 4s | good | good | Yes | frontier | |
| 8 | 🎨Midjourney v7 | Midjourney | 2048x2048 | $0.05 | 10s | poor | excellent | No | specialized |
How Arcanea routes image generation requests. Priority chain from models.yaml: grok > openrouter > gemini.
Fast (4s), affordable ($0.02), good general quality. Handles 80% of image requests.
Highest quality output. Used for hero images, marketing assets, and text-in-image needs.
Cheapest option ($0.02), fastest (3s). Catches overflow when primary is rate-limited.
Generating readable text inside images is one of the hardest challenges in image AI. Here is how every model ranks for typography accuracy.
Purpose-built for typography. Near-perfect text accuracy.
Best text rendering among general-purpose models.
Reliable text, especially with clear prompt structure.
Decent text for short words and simple compositions.
Handles basic text but struggles with longer strings.
Improved over SD 2.x but still inconsistent.
Good for short labels, less reliable for sentences.
Avoid for text-heavy compositions. Artistic strength lies elsewhere.
Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large is fully open-source. With a decent GPU you can generate unlimited images at zero marginal cost.
Arcanea routes to the best model for each request. Fast generation with Grok, premium quality with FLUX, and fallback through Gemini.