Krea 2 Largevs.Recraft V4.1 Utility

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Recraft V4.1 Utility has no arena rating yet. Krea 2 Large costs 1.7 times as much per image.

Test images

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

Krea 2 Large: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Krea 2 Large90 out of 100

Recraft V4.1 Utility: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Recraft V4.1 Utility32 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:Krea 2 Large 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

Krea 2 Large: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, one request, first returned image, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.060000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:36 PM. Source

Recraft V4.1 Utility: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default 1K resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.035000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:37 PM. Source

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

Krea 2 Large image SHA 256: 0ff58bb2381d2d753ef76973ac739c5aa556d182192ebb8d6f44ccba0898f991

Recraft V4.1 Utility image SHA 256: d2ba0b86ed4214659720cdcf68ff09ca748700a32afc3d25808b6a3af74223f2

Infographic

Krea 2 Large: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, one request, first returned image, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.060000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:37 PM. Source

Recraft V4.1 Utility: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default 1K resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.035000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:38 PM. Source

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

Krea 2 Large image SHA 256: 5b489d9f70c7253124a51d313bfaea1606f1b6c53ef19d238b5aa9601d2ea6ef

Recraft V4.1 Utility image SHA 256: 7d383a257e5152b2781a6e5a78edd54fe55900dfb2580f85078f8142b63194c5

Product photography

Krea 2 Large: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, one request, first returned image, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.060000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:36 PM. Source

Recraft V4.1 Utility: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default 1K resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.035000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:37 PM. Source

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

Krea 2 Large image SHA 256: d4d912904708c24aae1059d5096a11fcb0b78f5be48be2b045ea07ca046914c8

Recraft V4.1 Utility image SHA 256: 7fd9cfe67371d0fecc6d605105ca777bec170d4d4e8dcad5b4f15f813e21c1ab

Typography and layout

Krea 2 Large: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, one request, first returned image, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.060000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 2:05 PM. Source

Recraft V4.1 Utility: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default 1K resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.035000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 2:05 PM. Source

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

Krea 2 Large image SHA 256: f34eb736928ed7555e35c096f9da4ab2df41ba8880e54fdf7cd8b3dce6f3480d

Recraft V4.1 Utility image SHA 256: 3aa0bc86cccfd2140ba4f5606f1f814a5a6ded23cb06b7aebe26f8dcf946a752

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

1,115

Krea 2 Large

Rank 18 of 21

n/a

Recraft V4.1 Utility

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Krea 2 Large

Rank 5 of 108

Recraft V4.1 Utility

Rank 41 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.06

Krea 2 Large

fairly cheap

$0.035

Recraft V4.1 Utility

fairly 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.

Krea 2 Large

Subscription: Free to use at Krea (Krea Free, with limited credits), more from ≈ €9.54 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). Through other providers from ≈ €6.36 a month (ElevenLabs Starter, with limited credits). 16 plans in Germany.
Via API: $0.06 per image, 100 images $6.

Recraft V4.1 Utility

Subscription: Free to use at Recraft (Recraft Free, with limited credits), more from ≈ €12.72 a month (Recraft Basic, with limited credits). 4 plans in Germany.
Via API: $0.035 per image, 100 images $3.50.

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	Krea 2 Large	Recraft V4.1 Utility
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	1,115	n/a
Arena rank	Rank 18 of 21	n/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	71,664	n/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	77	65
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	86	96
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	90	32
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	54	66
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	76	64
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.06	$0.035
100 images	$6	$3.50
Profile
Released	May 2026	May 2026
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	proprietary
Access	API, Web app	API, Web app
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	1K	1 Megapixel
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	16	4

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

Sources: Krea 2 Large model source (verified Aug 15, 2026) · Recraft V4.1 Utility model source (verified Aug 15, 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 betterKrea 2 LargeRecraft V4.1 Utility

Text to Image Arena1,0351,028level

Artificial Analysis from Nov 6, 2026

All individual values with sources

Rating	Krea 2 Large	Recraft V4.1 Utility	Source
Text to Image Arena	1,035	1,028	Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 6, 2026

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