MAI-Image-2.5 Flashvs.FLUX.2 Dev

Which one is better?

In our own test, MAI-Image-2.5 Flash leads. Neither is in the arena. FLUX.2 Dev has no API price.

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

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — MAI-Image-2.5 Flash92 out of 100

FLUX.2 Dev: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — FLUX.2 Dev40 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:MAI-Image-2.5 Flash 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

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash: manual, Official Bing Image Creator web app; MAI-Image-2.5-Flash; one request; 1:1; first result; free guest generation; 2026-08-14; https://www.bing.com/images/create/ai-image-generator, generated Aug 14, 2026, 4:23 PM. Source

FLUX.2 Dev: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=1345966812, prompt expansion disabled, estimated cost $0.012000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:01 PM. Source

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

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash image SHA 256: a2637943faf5ae5210c69f645f96c70ea0a1d267c38a64705810947d2ba78dc8

FLUX.2 Dev image SHA 256: 8054c286745c39b416a62b1f80d96a4a17557caf60412fab1d459dd8d767fe99

Infographic

FLUX.2 Dev: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=1192078982, prompt expansion disabled, estimated cost $0.012000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:01 PM. Source

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

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash image SHA 256: 6af00e502934a24a9e535b3f72d9b1ca545a984fc463e785ffe796a700e015b3

FLUX.2 Dev image SHA 256: 1d45a1bb65d40e7e3eba00ea6b5d40a20d7a97e98607c7ebc02880761d9a1d77

Product photography

FLUX.2 Dev: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=885069928, prompt expansion disabled, estimated cost $0.012000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:01 PM. Source

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

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash image SHA 256: 9cb652604f7c64d8ebaa4303e924155a1f45581a940045be12775419e635bd8f

FLUX.2 Dev image SHA 256: 68aa5ddbce5f0f6f7171551485609e39c3978b949d8b08687d9c582eb127cfa2

Typography and layout

FLUX.2 Dev: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=880936191, prompt expansion disabled, estimated cost $0.012000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:01 PM. Source

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

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash image SHA 256: 185a852b71d68ea37a41091b57f3ec02829b2d1e87fd1045939ffa0f8e4c3cf8

FLUX.2 Dev image SHA 256: e8d9ea0262b0292e90422235ccb6d762c89d5f81d1c58184069dc5d7c04fb85c

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

n/a

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

not in the arena

n/a

FLUX.2 Dev

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

Rank 2 of 74

FLUX.2 Dev

Rank 30 of 74

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.02

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

cheap

n/a

FLUX.2 Dev

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.

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

Subscription: n/a No plan in Germany names exactly this model.
Via API: $0.02 per image, 100 images $2.

FLUX.2 Dev

Subscription: No Black Forest Labs subscription includes this model. Through other providers from €6.83 a month (Poe Basic, with limited points). 8 plans in Germany.
Via API: No API price known. Access: local.
License: Open weights, Open weights under a non-commercial license; no hosted BFL T2I API endpoint established.

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	MAI-Image-2.5 Flash	FLUX.2 Dev
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	84	59
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	66	61
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	92	40
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	86	60
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	92	75
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.02	n/a
100 images	$2	n/a
Profile
Released	June 2026	Nov 25, 2025
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	openOpen weights under a non-commercial license; no hosted BFL T2I API endpoint established
Lifecycle	Preview in Microsoft Foundry	no notice
Access	API, Web app	local
Parameters	20 billion	32 billion
Largest output	1,048,576 pixels	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	n/a	8

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

Sources: MAI-Image-2.5 Flash model source, status source (verified Sep 22, 2026) · FLUX.2 Dev model source, status 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 MAI-Image-2.5 Flash and FLUX.2 Dev 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 MAI-Image-2.5 Flash and FLUX.2 Dev with other important image models.

View the complete image model comparison

Same prompt, two images

The numbers at a glance

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

FLUX.2 Dev

All data side by side

Arena ratings by category

No shared arena score in the stored snapshot

Compare another matchup

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