Grok Imagine Image Qualityvs.Recraft V4.1 Flash

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Neither is in the arena. Recraft V4.1 Flash has no API price.

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — Grok Imagine Image Quality68 out of 100

Recraft V4.1 Flash: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — Recraft V4.1 Flash21 out of 100

Result for “Character and detail”:Grok Imagine Image Quality 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

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

Recraft V4.1 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.007000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:28 PM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: b6cccae7af9a70af45a46b9e3264fa6971101e04979f7a0539e889ba6521250a

Recraft V4.1 Flash image SHA 256: dbce96e506ae3556509e45211cdd885bb4f5b79875e4c0adcc9398286183a910

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

Recraft V4.1 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.007000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:29 PM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 03fbeae7859be72584048dfc23fba0651220ab44c707da66c386b77d90cc86f7

Recraft V4.1 Flash image SHA 256: 0f09d34ba3ae484d03dac33e6d64901b6558dcdf51a46051c146b23ed3173756

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

Recraft V4.1 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.007000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:28 PM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 0ea1e48f20bf61ff10414398b5248b0496c9040b3868c915580efd11d0dbaf11

Recraft V4.1 Flash image SHA 256: 4b7b55957807e99edb69d2ef7ad407b87840eb7d6c6d268c0635834bb4add700

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

Recraft V4.1 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.007000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:28 PM. Source

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

Grok Imagine Image Quality image SHA 256: 84d88fb03bdbba672fc91268f4c120b17a19e4c9d637425aeca8ed44b2397d9f

Recraft V4.1 Flash image SHA 256: 8c0ce1a0ca50d0eb9cb6707a1e2fa250b4e1ab66c724498b4a72395fd97461d5

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

Recraft V4.1 Flash

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Grok Imagine Image Quality

Rank 48 of 74

Recraft V4.1 Flash

Rank 42 of 74

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.05

Grok Imagine Image Quality

fairly cheap

n/a

Recraft V4.1 Flash

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.

Recraft V4.1 Flash

Subscription: Free to use at Recraft (Recraft Free, with limited credits), more from ≈ €12.78 a month (Recraft Basic, with limited credits). Through other providers from ≈ €9.59 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). 14 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	Recraft V4.1 Flash
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	55
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	76	96
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	21	47
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	68	21
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	31	55
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.05	n/a
100 images	$5	n/a
Profile
Released	April 2026	September 2026
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	1K
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	n/a	14

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) · Recraft V4.1 Flash 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 Recraft V4.1 Flash from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

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More matchups

Compare Grok Imagine Image Quality and Recraft V4.1 Flash with other important image models.

View the complete image model comparison

Same prompt, two images

The numbers at a glance

Grok Imagine Image Quality

Recraft V4.1 Flash

All data side by side

Arena ratings by category

No shared arena score in the stored snapshot

Compare another matchup

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