FLUX.2 Provs.Qwen-Image-2.1

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. In the arena, Qwen-Image-2.1 leads. Both are in the lower half there, though. Qwen-Image-2.1 has no API price.

Test images

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

FLUX.2 Pro: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — FLUX.2 Pro87 out of 100

Qwen-Image-2.1: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — Qwen-Image-2.134 out of 100

Result for “Character and detail”:FLUX.2 Pro 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.2 Pro: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:30 PM. Source

Qwen-Image-2.1: manual, 1:1, requested and received 1024x1024, one request, first output, Qwen/Qwen-Image-2.1 base, 40 steps, true CFG 1.0, prompt enhancement disabled, no negative prompt, no reference images, seed=1591420783, official Space commit 5694809f4c56a4e8c40787b5392cecac36493c5d, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:49 AM. Source

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

FLUX.2 Pro image SHA 256: 9eec1a6900b6031703d2e797b93c2aba6c5f45b4807b560a0bf1e37eac9e20f2

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: b29bb7e207ad464957ee060bbf0655104bcbece703360254e48daa3ec35a62d7

Infographic

FLUX.2 Pro: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:31 PM. Source

Qwen-Image-2.1: manual, 1:1, requested and received 1024x1024, one request, first output, Qwen/Qwen-Image-2.1 base, 40 steps, true CFG 1.0, prompt enhancement disabled, no negative prompt, no reference images, seed=1283422012, official Space commit 5694809f4c56a4e8c40787b5392cecac36493c5d, prior anonymous attempt refused before inference (ZeroGPU quota), completed through authenticated browser, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:49 AM. Source

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

FLUX.2 Pro image SHA 256: ea47f772cdfa26bf21528ae7e09d245eb7a3be7d3185af15cedd7d21acdfbb09

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: 316e38ed63ff401f86a7ceee9cc65c74413e0e9c7c899a6e6bf453acc2940dac

Product photography

FLUX.2 Pro: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:30 PM. Source

Qwen-Image-2.1: manual, 1:1, requested and received 1024x1024, one request, first output, Qwen/Qwen-Image-2.1 base, 40 steps, true CFG 1.0, prompt enhancement disabled, no negative prompt, no reference images, seed=196359631, official Space commit 5694809f4c56a4e8c40787b5392cecac36493c5d, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:49 AM. Source

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

FLUX.2 Pro image SHA 256: 4d9b922f59b329c5ac3532222c8e340e7fdcb1920ce6f03ad9299f25a6beec43

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: 041f559d4261865b327fcae4f8bb0bd3b176c55a3b1255a042ab3e0fc4f9bc4b

Typography and layout

FLUX.2 Pro: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 2:02 PM. Source

Qwen-Image-2.1: manual, 1:1, requested and received 1024x1024, one request, first output, Qwen/Qwen-Image-2.1 base, 40 steps, true CFG 1.0, prompt enhancement disabled, no negative prompt, no reference images, seed=158818011, official Space commit 5694809f4c56a4e8c40787b5392cecac36493c5d, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:49 AM. Source

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

FLUX.2 Pro image SHA 256: 5a5d8ccd657d7522bc39fdec4b0aecf198b42c282a5aefde9461239dfe5c0396

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: 4670269190f492154c05e3f18c4eb9e3938910ca1aca32503b6a1ceb16d39b38

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

1,153

FLUX.2 Pro

Rank 17 of 21

1,227

Qwen-Image-2.1

Rank 14 of 21

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

FLUX.2 Pro

Rank 41 of 108

Qwen-Image-2.1

Rank 40 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.03

FLUX.2 Pro

cheap

n/a

Qwen-Image-2.1

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.2 Pro

Subscription: No Black Forest Labs subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €6.36 a month (ElevenLabs Starter, with limited credits). 43 plans in Germany.
Via API: $0.03 per image, 100 images $3.

Qwen-Image-2.1

Subscription: No Alibaba subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €9.54 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). 5 plans in Germany.
Via API: No API price known. Access: local, Web app.
License: Open weights, Qwen Research License: non-commercial use only; commercial use requires a separate license.

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

Arena rating (LMArena) from Nov 6, 2026 · GraduallyBench from Nov 3, 2026 · API prices from Nov 6, 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.2 Pro	Qwen-Image-2.1
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	1,153	1,227
Arena rank	Rank 17 of 21	Rank 14 of 21
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	226,242	19,378
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	65	65
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	69	54
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	58	90
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	87	34
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	45	83
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.03	n/a
100 images	$3	n/a
Profile
Released	November 2025	Sep 20, 2026
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	openQwen Research License: non-commercial use only; commercial use requires a separate license
Access	API, Web app	local, Web app
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	4 Megapixel	2K
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	43	5

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

Sources: FLUX.2 Pro model source (verified Sep 24, 2026) · Qwen-Image-2.1 model source, status source (verified Sep 22, 2026)

Arena ratings by category

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

Arena rating per categoryfrom votes by users · higher is betterFLUX.2 ProQwen-Image-2.1

Text to Image Arena1,0031,045ahead

Image Editing Arena1,0111,080ahead

Text to Image: 3D modeling1,1451,214ahead

Text to Image: Agentic image generation1,1371,231ahead

Text to Image: Art1,1591,235ahead

Text to Image: Cartoon1,1591,234ahead

Text to Image: Commercial design1,1541,237ahead

Text to Image: Overall1,1531,227ahead

Text to Image: Photorealism1,1521,230ahead

Text to Image: Portraits1,1441,256ahead

Text to Image: Text rendering1,1541,250ahead

Image Editing: Agentic image generation1,2121,362ahead

Image Editing: Overall1,2481,364ahead

Artificial Analysis from Nov 6, 2026 · LMArena from Nov 6, 2026

All individual values with sources

Rating	FLUX.2 Pro	Qwen-Image-2.1	Source
Text to Image Arena	1,003	1,045	Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Image Editing Arena	1,011	1,080	Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: 3D modeling	1,145	1,214	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Agentic image generation	1,137	1,231	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Art	1,159	1,235	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Cartoon	1,159	1,234	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Commercial design	1,154	1,237	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Overall	1,153	1,227	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Photorealism	1,152	1,230	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Portraits	1,144	1,256	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Text rendering	1,154	1,250	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Image Editing: Agentic image generation	1,212	1,362	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Image Editing: Overall	1,248	1,364	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026

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