GPT Image 2.5 Flarevs.Qwen-Image-2.1

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. In the arena, GPT Image 2.5 Flare leads. 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.

GPT Image 2.5 Flare: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — GPT Image 2.5 Flare63 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”:GPT Image 2.5 Flare slightly 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

GPT Image 2.5 Flare: openai, 1024x1024, quality high, n=1, generated Sep 28, 2026, 8:53 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

GPT Image 2.5 Flare image SHA 256: 85b17c41b19389cae3ea073ef582e6065a321d741978e772987d22e3ea3e3b08

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: b29bb7e207ad464957ee060bbf0655104bcbece703360254e48daa3ec35a62d7

Infographic

GPT Image 2.5 Flare: openai, 1024x1024, quality high, n=1, generated Sep 28, 2026, 8:53 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

GPT Image 2.5 Flare image SHA 256: bc752abfce1c0d27b73e4084c3e7d82c4c0f71e0e5af97a80f4b24326cc4686e

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: 316e38ed63ff401f86a7ceee9cc65c74413e0e9c7c899a6e6bf453acc2940dac

Product photography

GPT Image 2.5 Flare: openai, 1024x1024, quality high, n=1, generated Sep 28, 2026, 8:53 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

GPT Image 2.5 Flare image SHA 256: 69fedb7d635d1329c461ff1ee9e5cf8384119e218e3b3bdb93b9e11f728335d8

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: 041f559d4261865b327fcae4f8bb0bd3b176c55a3b1255a042ab3e0fc4f9bc4b

Typography and layout

GPT Image 2.5 Flare: openai, 1024x1024, quality high, n=1, generated Sep 28, 2026, 8:52 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

GPT Image 2.5 Flare image SHA 256: cc90d54a99e1bad9e0cc8e4196746fb1d56a2fdd2a9ee101dbbf270ef5e4b6a8

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: 4670269190f492154c05e3f18c4eb9e3938910ca1aca32503b6a1ceb16d39b38

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

1,399

GPT Image 2.5 Flare

Rank 2 of 21

1,227

Qwen-Image-2.1

Rank 14 of 21

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

GPT Image 2.5 Flare

Rank 18 of 108

Qwen-Image-2.1

Rank 40 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.21

GPT Image 2.5 Flare

expensive

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.

GPT Image 2.5 Flare

Subscription: No OpenAI subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €6.36 a month (ElevenLabs Starter, with limited credits). 61 plans in Germany.
Via API: $0.21 per image, 100 images $21.07.

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	GPT Image 2.5 Flare	Qwen-Image-2.1
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	1,399	1,227
Arena rank	Rank 2 of 21	Rank 14 of 21
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	53,925	19,378
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	72	65
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	64	54
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	69	90
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	63	34
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	91	83
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.21	n/a
100 images	$21.07	n/a
Profile
Released	Sep 8, 2026	Sep 20, 2026
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	openQwen Research License: non-commercial use only; commercial use requires a separate license
Access	API	local, Web app
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	not consistently published	2K
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	61	5

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

Sources: GPT Image 2.5 Flare model source (verified Sep 22, 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 betterGPT Image 2.5 FlareQwen-Image-2.1

Text to Image Arena1,2081,045ahead

Image Editing Arena1,1821,080ahead

Text to Image: 3D modeling1,3821,214ahead

Text to Image: Agentic image generation1,3631,231ahead

Text to Image: Art1,3871,235ahead

Text to Image: Cartoon1,4271,234ahead

Text to Image: Commercial design1,3851,237ahead

Text to Image: Overall1,3991,227ahead

Text to Image: Photorealism1,4161,230ahead

Text to Image: Portraits1,4391,256ahead

Text to Image: Text rendering1,4321,250ahead

Image Editing: Agentic image generation1,4921,362ahead

Image Editing: Overall1,4821,364ahead

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

All individual values with sources

Rating	GPT Image 2.5 Flare	Qwen-Image-2.1	Source
Text to Image Arena	1,208	1,045	Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Image Editing Arena	1,182	1,080	Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: 3D modeling	1,382	1,214	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Agentic image generation	1,363	1,231	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Art	1,387	1,235	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Cartoon	1,427	1,234	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Commercial design	1,385	1,237	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Overall	1,399	1,227	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Photorealism	1,416	1,230	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Portraits	1,439	1,256	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Text to Image: Text rendering	1,432	1,250	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Image Editing: Agentic image generation	1,492	1,362	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026
Image Editing: Overall	1,482	1,364	LMArenaRetrieved Nov 6, 2026

More comparisons

Compare GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Qwen-Image-2.1 with the models people compare them with most often.

Compare another matchup

First image modelSecond image model

The most popular comparisons

Show all 22 comparisons