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MAI-Image-2.5 Flashvs.FLUX.1 Kontext [pro]

Which one is better?

In our own test, MAI-Image-2.5 Flash leads. Neither is in the arena. FLUX.1 Kontext [pro] has no API price.

Same prompt, two images

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.1 Kontext [pro]: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run
FLUX.1 Kontext [pro]21 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.1 Kontext [pro]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=1661036738, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.040000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:02 PM. Source

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

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash image SHA 256: a2637943faf5ae5210c69f645f96c70ea0a1d267c38a64705810947d2ba78dc8

FLUX.1 Kontext [pro] image SHA 256: a2b5cfe16c918f33c56d04a35a8cea5433ea17db1f41ab3f3ccefdc20791a3d1

Infographic

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.1 Kontext [pro]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=261169301, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.040000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:02 PM. Source

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

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

FLUX.1 Kontext [pro] image SHA 256: 8ec7449c0fd1b68f984aaa28dda6cb4d74a053cd88af42c10d79fac31980ffbe

Product photography

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.1 Kontext [pro]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=3307245438, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.040000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:02 PM. Source

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

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

FLUX.1 Kontext [pro] image SHA 256: 367531e667dd9156abe9666dc571fc122174a66788d726b2b4ab06d9c8226d9d

Typography and layout

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, 4:22 PM. Source

FLUX.1 Kontext [pro]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=4284980986, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.040000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:02 PM. Source

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

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

FLUX.1 Kontext [pro] image SHA 256: d14a3243cc28d6996fd549722f34d49227f278151c441fa635f955e1c8140414

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.1 Kontext [pro]

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better
84

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

Rank 2 of 74

31

FLUX.1 Kontext [pro]

Rank 57 of 74

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better
$0.02

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

cheap

n/a

FLUX.1 Kontext [pro]

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.1 Kontext [pro]

Subscription
No Black Forest Labs subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €6.39 a month (ElevenLabs Starter, with limited credits). 23 plans in Germany.
Via API
No API price known. Access: API.
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.

KennzahlMAI-Image-2.5 FlashFLUX.1 Kontext [pro]
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is bettern/an/a
Arena rankn/an/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer ratingn/an/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 1008431
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition6614
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details9221
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency8655
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization9233
API price
Per imagelower is better$0.02n/a
100 images$2n/a
Profile
ReleasedJune 2026n/a
Weightsopen means: runs locallyproprietaryunknown
LifecyclePreview in Microsoft FoundryEdit-first model line; API also supports image creation from text, but the main GraduallyBench tasks are not edit-based
AccessAPI, Web appAPI
Parameters20 billionnot published
Largest output1,048,576 pixelsnot consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this modeln/a23

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.1 Kontext [pro] 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.1 Kontext [pro] from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

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