FLUX.1 [dev]vs.SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px

Which one is better?

In our own test, FLUX.1 [dev] leads. Neither is in the arena. Neither has an API price.

Test images

Same task, the first image of each. The task with the biggest difference is preselected.

FLUX.1 [dev]: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — FLUX.1 [dev]53 out of 100

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px4 out of 100

Result for “Character and detail”:FLUX.1 [dev] ahead

Prompt given to both modelsCreate a square cinematic full-body portrait of a fictional bicycle courier waiting under a transparent umbrella at a rainy tram stop in Hamburg at blue hour. She wears a mustard raincoat, navy trousers, red sneakers, a silver helmet, and carries a teal messenger bag. Keep both hands visible, render the bicycle correctly, use realistic wet-street reflections, and include no readable brand names.

What the rating looks at: Anatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency.

“Ahead”: better in all three rating rounds. “Slightly ahead”: a higher value, but not in every round.

Test protocol of the images

Each test attempt uses the same archived prompt and one request. The first output of that attempt counts. Repeats after technical test failures are disclosed for the affected images. Files are normalized to 1,024 × 1,024 pixels without cropping. Provider resolution, randomness, quality tier and prompt processing can still differ. The images are a practical visual test, not a reconstruction of the arena configuration.

Character and detail

FLUX.1 [dev]: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=1386633789, estimated cost $0.025000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:00 PM. Source

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; Efficient-Large-Model/SANA1.5_1.6B_1024px_diffusers@b77948f2b4eed5c728e9b828ccff07f7427b43cc; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=20, guidance=4.5, seed=4913908686846438154; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; bfloat16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE; native prompt preprocessing lowercases input; optional instruction disabled, generated Nov 2, 2026, 5:32 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: 985a75b38642a9f0e5e0c0e0c67f1b7f67780d42bd2168fa24e9a7a7a94b0da6

FLUX.1 [dev] image SHA 256: 8cc425497844ab30bdb5f4b32b613219d01f1f21289d68fc198bb5980a3c6465

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px image SHA 256: abc8d1fcb514ea7754211b79030abbf92ef83a61e546f19b217ccb06df0aaf45

Infographic

FLUX.1 [dev]: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=1094286267, estimated cost $0.025000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:00 PM. Source

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; Efficient-Large-Model/SANA1.5_1.6B_1024px_diffusers@b77948f2b4eed5c728e9b828ccff07f7427b43cc; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=20, guidance=4.5, seed=1936313402304398258; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; bfloat16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE; native prompt preprocessing lowercases input; optional instruction disabled, generated Nov 2, 2026, 5:33 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: ed65cb4e6a51e2336f8b149ad4cbb16e020f07d527ad94362e719d2dcf91d94f

FLUX.1 [dev] image SHA 256: 3d5c50031e545a82fe0617e724937b960d6e77c8371795f99fdf8037a2de8e9c

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px image SHA 256: 828815adaab125d67312b64061f9b5a448558e9ac56ec9aa5ce8cf00cb63c481

Product photography

FLUX.1 [dev]: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=1029917942, estimated cost $0.025000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:59 PM. Source

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; Efficient-Large-Model/SANA1.5_1.6B_1024px_diffusers@b77948f2b4eed5c728e9b828ccff07f7427b43cc; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=20, guidance=4.5, seed=1353667313865032696; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; bfloat16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE; native prompt preprocessing lowercases input; optional instruction disabled, generated Nov 2, 2026, 5:32 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: c67fd71e91304458a2feef5c91efa8677260fab0c0099a29a2c52cb579f5b2f3

FLUX.1 [dev] image SHA 256: 2932ee8c5af8a92655a9a9c4ad9ff782d366a51b9dad5553d84fe241d084d5c0

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px image SHA 256: a43c512ad071c0d7526e16f69874b653f073c532403114299c8fde43770a72c8

Typography and layout

FLUX.1 [dev]: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=1184329997, estimated cost $0.025000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:59 PM. Source

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; Efficient-Large-Model/SANA1.5_1.6B_1024px_diffusers@b77948f2b4eed5c728e9b828ccff07f7427b43cc; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=20, guidance=4.5, seed=2028788407160516328; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; bfloat16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE; native prompt preprocessing lowercases input; optional instruction disabled; two submissions: first attempt produced no image after a documented MPS VAE decoding crash; technical repeat kept the same prompt and seed, generated Nov 2, 2026, 5:31 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: 2e012c3d14ee5dd02203a94f394ca80a5038cdebd6032b25a8b8a221f2255419

FLUX.1 [dev] image SHA 256: 5a33abcfb19aa0d6d544ad7beb0ce59f51382a9418b5420edcc7aa553d578382

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px image SHA 256: 7c58a1c863d5b8d22d06ed159b89aa64d13cf9a44f7b3d4871683f491f0bb75c

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

n/a

FLUX.1 [dev]

not in the arena

n/a

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

FLUX.1 [dev]

Rank 72 of 108

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px

Rank 107 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

n/a

FLUX.1 [dev]

no API price

n/a

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px

no API price

Ranks among the 21 image models with an arena rating and the 108 with a GraduallyBench run; prices compared with 28 models with an API price.

FLUX.1 [dev]

Subscription: No Black Forest Labs subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €9.54 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). 6 plans in Germany.
Via API: No API price known. Access: API, local.
License: Open weights, Older T2I checkpoint under a non-commercial license; hosted BFL API remains documented.

SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px

Subscription: n/a No plan in Germany names exactly this model.
Via API: No API price known. Access: local.
License: Open weights.

Subscriptions only count plans that name exactly this model. Subscription prices include VAT, API prices are in dollars.

GraduallyBench from Nov 3, 2026 · Subscription database from Sep 29, 2026 (38 days old)

All data side by side

The better value is bold. For ratings only when the gap is clear.

Kennzahl	FLUX.1 [dev]	SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	n/a	n/a
Arena rank	n/a	n/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	n/a	n/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	39	4
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	16	3
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	46	0
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	53	4
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	40	7
API price
Per imagelower is better	n/a	n/a
100 images	n/a	n/a
Profile
Released	n/a	Mar 16, 2025
Weightsopen means: runs locally	openOlder T2I checkpoint under a non-commercial license; hosted BFL API remains documented	open
Access	API, local	local
Parameters	12 billion	1.6 billion
Largest output	not consistently published	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	6	n/a

API prices for one image at 1,024 × 1,024 pixels according to Artificial Analysis.

Sources: FLUX.1 [dev] model source, status source (verified Nov 1, 2026) · SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px model source (verified Nov 1, 2026)

Arena ratings by category

From blind votes on LMArena. “Ahead” means the lead is clear.

No shared arena score in the stored snapshot

The stored benchmark database contains no measurement for FLUX.1 [dev] and SANA-1.5 1.6B 1024px from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

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