Krea 2 Medium Turbovs.MAI-Image-2.6 Flash

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Neither is in the arena. MAI-Image-2.6 Flash costs 1.3 times as much per image.

Test images

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

Krea 2 Medium Turbo: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — Krea 2 Medium Turbo30 out of 100

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — MAI-Image-2.6 Flash52 out of 100

Result for “Character and detail”:MAI-Image-2.6 Flash 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

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 Medium Turbo: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, one request, first returned image, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.015000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:35 PM. Source

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, received 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.019587, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:43 AM. Source

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

Krea 2 Medium Turbo image SHA 256: a51c5eeb5ba6b3ab8be3cb1d9c36fc196d71f4034ff7e57c695af1fe2f4ab078

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash image SHA 256: d6f2280312404df55179b7cf7d03468df04541eae774cc8d2b35e40e0820f06f

Infographic

Krea 2 Medium Turbo: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, one request, first returned image, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.015000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:35 PM. Source

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, received 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.019598, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:43 AM. Source

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

Krea 2 Medium Turbo image SHA 256: 10398e0fce4a5b07b8a38a010eec70ac5457d0209ef67979feebb111d315fe16

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash image SHA 256: 5c40f304b9dad1876a8d2223d22ca0e431ba9fe8a16e878a81743ac8296b6649

Product photography

Krea 2 Medium Turbo: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, one request, first returned image, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.015000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:35 PM. Source

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, received 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.019589, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:43 AM. Source

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

Krea 2 Medium Turbo image SHA 256: e1511de7ba316289e69ae79e51b4f75c80ee1468611f4cebcfc9d21658b19cb8

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash image SHA 256: 64376f13e8626feb37db3c138dde381843866e7d58fb87e8076c2fa9003365e4

Typography and layout

Krea 2 Medium Turbo: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, one request, first returned image, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.015000, generated Aug 14, 2026, 2:05 PM. Source

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, received 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.019575, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:43 AM. Source

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

Krea 2 Medium Turbo image SHA 256: 50b1b1bb7196a612240ab6088330985474c9f60ccaf640e4aa8debb0aa20e1c8

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash image SHA 256: be8d86a467f73abfce15cdcce3073acc257baf1c87112c2b53a64b36efde0804

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

n/a

Krea 2 Medium Turbo

not in the arena

n/a

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Krea 2 Medium Turbo

Rank 39 of 108

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash

Rank 31 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.015

Krea 2 Medium Turbo

cheap

$0.019

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash

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 Medium Turbo

Subscription: Free to use at Krea (Krea Free, with limited credits), more from ≈ €9.51 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). Through other providers from ≈ €12.67 a month (Leonardo.Ai Essential). 15 plans in Germany.
Via API: $0.015 per image, 100 images $1.50.

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash

Subscription: n/a No plan in Germany names exactly this model.
Via API: $0.019 per image, 100 images $1.95.

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

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	Krea 2 Medium Turbo	MAI-Image-2.6 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	65	67
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	71	54
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	81	90
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	30	52
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	79	74
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.015	$0.019
100 images	$1.50	$1.95
Profile
Released	June 2026	Jul 31, 2026
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	proprietary
Lifecycle	no notice	Preview in Microsoft Foundry
Access	API, Web app	API
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	1K	2,359,296 pixels
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	15	n/a

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

Sources: Krea 2 Medium Turbo model source (verified Aug 15, 2026) · MAI-Image-2.6 Flash model source, status source (verified Sep 24, 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 Medium TurboMAI-Image-2.6 Flash

Text to Image Arena1,0211,120ahead

Artificial Analysis from Nov 3, 2026

All individual values with sources

Rating	Krea 2 Medium Turbo	MAI-Image-2.6 Flash	Source
Text to Image Arena	1,021	1,120	Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 3, 2026

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Krea 2 Medium Turbovs.MAI-Image-2.6 Flash

Test images

The numbers at a glance

Krea 2 Medium Turbo

MAI-Image-2.6 Flash

All data side by side

Arena ratings by category

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