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Grok Imagine Image Qualityvs.Muse Image

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Grok Imagine Image Quality has no arena rating yet. Muse Image costs only a fifth per image.

Test images

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run
Grok Imagine Image Quality37 out of 100
Muse Image: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run
Muse Image81 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:Muse Image ahead

Prompt given to both modelsCreate a square premium product photograph of a brushed titanium wristwatch standing upright on dark green marble. The watch has a cream dial, thin black hands set to 10:10, twelve distinct hour markers, a realistic crown, and a dark brown leather strap. Soft window light from the left, controlled reflections, shallow depth of field, no text, no logo, no extra objects.

What the rating looks at: Materials, reflections, and fine details.

“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

Grok Imagine Image Quality: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.050000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:34 PM. Source

Muse Image: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.010000, source 1600x1600, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:48 AM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: b6cccae7af9a70af45a46b9e3264fa6971101e04979f7a0539e889ba6521250a

Muse Image image SHA 256: 356427fe1ec15a444aae4eab2194344c7fe6b17ef205a8db16c1d64dbacb750e

Infographic

Grok Imagine Image Quality: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.050000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:34 PM. Source

Muse Image: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.010000, source 1600x1600, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:49 AM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 03fbeae7859be72584048dfc23fba0651220ab44c707da66c386b77d90cc86f7

Muse Image image SHA 256: c8b096001990f57cb5225f6387485b391a4a5e3c3031e7b0524a4c19e1e01bc8

Product photography

Grok Imagine Image Quality: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.050000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:34 PM. Source

Muse Image: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.010000, source 1600x1600, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:48 AM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 0ea1e48f20bf61ff10414398b5248b0496c9040b3868c915580efd11d0dbaf11

Muse Image image SHA 256: 0cb5d4c3dbe33c840ba87f0e8af255deec9e7e02eb6c7f172310af433e78fdb6

Typography and layout

Grok Imagine Image Quality: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.050000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 2:05 PM. Source

Muse Image: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.010000, source 1600x1600, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:48 AM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 84d88fb03bdbba672fc91268f4c120b17a19e4c9d637425aeca8ed44b2397d9f

Muse Image image SHA 256: b8232890082d6bdd72dd7be99d98a573566a2c62f94597ecdda2bd9110e2e143

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better
n/a

Grok Imagine Image Quality

not in the arena

1,269

Muse Image

Rank 7 of 21

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better
60

Grok Imagine Image Quality

Rank 54 of 108

78

Muse Image

Rank 4 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better
$0.05

Grok Imagine Image Quality

fairly cheap

$0.01

Muse Image

cheap

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.

Grok Imagine Image Quality

Subscription
n/a No plan in Germany names exactly this model.
Via API
$0.05 per image, 100 images $5.

Muse Image

Subscription
Free to use at Meta (Meta AI Free). Through other providers from ≈ €9.51 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). 6 plans in Germany.
Via API
$0.01 per image, 100 images $1.

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

Arena rating (LMArena) from Oct 28, 2026 · GraduallyBench from Nov 3, 2026 · API prices 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.

KennzahlGrok Imagine Image QualityMuse Image
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is bettern/a1,269
Arena rankn/aRank 7 of 21
Arena votesmore votes, a safer ratingn/a53,444
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 1006078
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition8886
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details3781
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency5661
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization6186
API price
Per imagelower is better$0.05$0.01
100 images$5$1
Profile
ReleasedApril 2026Jul 7, 2026
Weightsopen means: runs locallyproprietaryproprietary
LifecycleDeprecated: xAI retires the model slug on November 2, 2026; requests are then served by grok-imagine-image-2.0 (quality=low)no notice
AccessAPI, Web appAPI, Web app
Parametersnot publishednot published
Largest output2Knot consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this modeln/a6

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

Sources: Grok Imagine Image Quality model source, status source (verified Aug 15, 2026) · Muse Image model source (verified Sep 26, 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 betterGrok Imagine Image QualityMuse Image
Text to Image ArenaGrok Imagine Image Quality: 1,049Muse Image: 1,127Muse Image ahead
Image Editing ArenaGrok Imagine Image Quality: 1,096Muse Image: 1,129Muse Image ahead
Image Editing: OverallGrok Imagine Image Quality: 1,391Muse Image: 1,400level

Artificial Analysis from Nov 3, 2026 · LMArena from Oct 28, 2026

All individual values with sources
RatingGrok Imagine Image QualityMuse ImageSource
Text to Image Arena1,0491,127Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 3, 2026
Image Editing Arena1,0961,129Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 3, 2026
Image Editing: Overall1,3911,400LMArenaRetrieved Oct 28, 2026

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