Grok Imagine Image Qualityvs.Qwen Image 3.0

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Neither is in the arena. Qwen Image 3.0 has no API price.

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 Quality21 out of 100

Qwen Image 3.0: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Qwen Image 3.086 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:Qwen Image 3.0 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

Both models receive the same archived prompt in exactly one request, and the first result counts. 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 3.0: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:34 PM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: b6cccae7af9a70af45a46b9e3264fa6971101e04979f7a0539e889ba6521250a

Qwen Image 3.0 image SHA 256: 8c9db12ce993a7d600aebd4cbe10d368117fe4495d6ee7155e111e76e47d525a

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 3.0: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:35 PM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 03fbeae7859be72584048dfc23fba0651220ab44c707da66c386b77d90cc86f7

Qwen Image 3.0 image SHA 256: 4853b8bffa4d6e219e2c3f6b5d070b1d1eb57016a05bd8a5befd81e214018439

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 3.0: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:33 PM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 0ea1e48f20bf61ff10414398b5248b0496c9040b3868c915580efd11d0dbaf11

Qwen Image 3.0 image SHA 256: 268ca5420bbc1efd428bdafd4da860106f9e2ccb17d3f96b8dbb208e360ed54f

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 3.0: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:32 PM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 84d88fb03bdbba672fc91268f4c120b17a19e4c9d637425aeca8ed44b2397d9f

Qwen Image 3.0 image SHA 256: 09644f0a6d31fa5f78ae43e45544c8013b78e1a22f42c1b54c0142ea6c9cfa83

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

n/a

Grok Imagine Image Quality

not in the arena

n/a

Qwen Image 3.0

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Grok Imagine Image Quality

Rank 48 of 74

Qwen Image 3.0

Rank 15 of 74

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.05

Grok Imagine Image Quality

fairly cheap

n/a

Qwen Image 3.0

no API price

Ranks among the 22 image models with an arena rating and the 74 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 3.0

Subscription: No Alibaba subscription includes this model. Through other providers from €19.04 a month (Magnific Premium, with limited credits). 6 plans in Germany.
Via API: No API price known. Access: API, Web app.
Weights: unknown.

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

GraduallyBench from Nov 1, 2026 · API prices from Oct 28, 2026 · Subscription database from Sep 29, 2026 (34 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 3.0
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	49	65
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	76	23
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	21	86
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	68	59
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	31	91
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.05	n/a
100 images	$5	n/a
Profile
Released	April 2026	n/a
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	unknown
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	API, Web app
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	2K	2K
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	n/a	6

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 3.0 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 Grok Imagine Image Quality and Qwen Image 3.0 from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

Compare another matchup

First image modelSecond image model

More matchups

Compare Grok Imagine Image Quality and Qwen Image 3.0 with other important image models.

View the complete image model comparison

Same prompt, two images

The numbers at a glance

Grok Imagine Image Quality

Qwen Image 3.0

All data side by side

Arena ratings by category

No shared arena score in the stored snapshot

Compare another matchup

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