Grok Imagine Image Qualityvs.Qwen-Image-2.1

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Grok Imagine Image Quality has no arena rating yet. 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.

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

Qwen-Image-2.1: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Qwen-Image-2.190 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:Qwen-Image-2.1 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

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: b6cccae7af9a70af45a46b9e3264fa6971101e04979f7a0539e889ba6521250a

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: b29bb7e207ad464957ee060bbf0655104bcbece703360254e48daa3ec35a62d7

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

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 03fbeae7859be72584048dfc23fba0651220ab44c707da66c386b77d90cc86f7

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: 316e38ed63ff401f86a7ceee9cc65c74413e0e9c7c899a6e6bf453acc2940dac

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

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 0ea1e48f20bf61ff10414398b5248b0496c9040b3868c915580efd11d0dbaf11

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: 041f559d4261865b327fcae4f8bb0bd3b176c55a3b1255a042ab3e0fc4f9bc4b

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

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 84d88fb03bdbba672fc91268f4c120b17a19e4c9d637425aeca8ed44b2397d9f

Qwen-Image-2.1 image SHA 256: 4670269190f492154c05e3f18c4eb9e3938910ca1aca32503b6a1ceb16d39b38

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

n/a

Grok Imagine Image Quality

not in the arena

1,225

Qwen-Image-2.1

Rank 14 of 21

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Grok Imagine Image Quality

Rank 54 of 108

Qwen-Image-2.1

Rank 40 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.05

Grok Imagine Image Quality

fairly 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.

Grok Imagine Image Quality

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

Qwen-Image-2.1

Subscription: No Alibaba subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €9.51 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 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.

Kennzahl	Grok Imagine Image Quality	Qwen-Image-2.1
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	n/a	1,225
Arena rank	n/a	Rank 14 of 21
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	n/a	19,604
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	60	65
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	88	54
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	37	90
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	56	34
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	61	83
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.05	n/a
100 images	$5	n/a
Profile
Released	April 2026	Sep 20, 2026
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	openQwen Research License: non-commercial use only; commercial use requires a separate license
Lifecycle	Deprecated: xAI retires the model slug on November 2, 2026; requests are then served by grok-imagine-image-2.0 (quality=low)	no notice
Access	API, Web app	local, Web app
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	2K	2K
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	n/a	5

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) · 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 betterGrok Imagine Image QualityQwen-Image-2.1

Text to Image Arena1,0491,043level

Image Editing Arena1,0961,081level

Image Editing: Overall1,3911,362ahead

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

All individual values with sources

Rating	Grok Imagine Image Quality	Qwen-Image-2.1	Source
Text to Image Arena	1,049	1,043	Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 3, 2026
Image Editing Arena	1,096	1,081	Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 3, 2026
Image Editing: Overall	1,391	1,362	LMArenaRetrieved Oct 28, 2026

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Predecessor and successor

SuccessorGrok Imagine Image Quality vs. Grok Imagine Image 2.0Successor of Grok Imagine Image Quality
No predecessor recorded for Grok Imagine Image Quality
No predecessor recorded for Qwen-Image-2.1
Qwen-Image-2.1 has no successor yet

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