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MAI-Image-2.5 Flashvs.MAI-Image-2.6

Is the extra cost worth it?

Probably not. In our own test both are on par. MAI-Image-2.5 Flash has no arena rating yet. MAI-Image-2.6 costs 1.9 times as much per image.

Test 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 Flash58 out of 100
MAI-Image-2.6: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run
MAI-Image-2.688 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:MAI-Image-2.6 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

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

MAI-Image-2.6: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, received 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.039287, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:42 AM. Source

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

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash image SHA 256: a2637943faf5ae5210c69f645f96c70ea0a1d267c38a64705810947d2ba78dc8

MAI-Image-2.6 image SHA 256: d35364051eca0758b88795df477d282641f6ca6892e81b904352e3fd5489ae69

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

MAI-Image-2.6: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, received 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.039317, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:42 AM. Source

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

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

MAI-Image-2.6 image SHA 256: cdc9c16cd554a18da292c721b142e5d78dd042fdde2539f797612bfd9cd674ef

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

MAI-Image-2.6: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, received 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.039292, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:41 AM. Source

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

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

MAI-Image-2.6 image SHA 256: a66f522e0ff2012b95dc3bc123216de7807206c9e91dd7711cd78eb34a234beb

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

MAI-Image-2.6: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, received 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.039252, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:41 AM. Source

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

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

MAI-Image-2.6 image SHA 256: 48fa1551aee7dcd737179b5ae860d30562fbd234321b8d8ade334cb40291fb47

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better
n/a

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

not in the arena

1,329

MAI-Image-2.6

Rank 4 of 21

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better
69

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

Rank 24 of 108

68

MAI-Image-2.6

Rank 28 of 108

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

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

cheap

$0.039

MAI-Image-2.6

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.

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.

MAI-Image-2.6

Subscription
n/a No plan in Germany names exactly this model.
Via API
$0.039 per image, 100 images $3.89.

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

Arena rating (LMArena) from Oct 28, 2026 · 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.

KennzahlMAI-Image-2.5 FlashMAI-Image-2.6
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is bettern/a1,329
Arena rankn/aRank 4 of 21
Arena votesmore votes, a safer ratingn/a34,596
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 1006968
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition7062
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details5888
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency6863
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization8161
API price
Per imagelower is better$0.02$0.039
100 images$2$3.89
Profile
ReleasedJune 2026Jul 31, 2026
Weightsopen means: runs locallyproprietaryproprietary
LifecyclePreview in Microsoft FoundryPreview in Microsoft Foundry
AccessAPI, Web appAPI
Parameters20 billionnot published
Largest output1,048,576 pixels2,359,296 pixels
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this modeln/an/a

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) · MAI-Image-2.6 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 betterMAI-Image-2.5 FlashMAI-Image-2.6
Text to Image ArenaMAI-Image-2.5 Flash: 1,029MAI-Image-2.6: 1,167MAI-Image-2.6 ahead
Image Editing ArenaMAI-Image-2.5 Flash: 1,090MAI-Image-2.6: 1,151MAI-Image-2.6 ahead

Artificial Analysis from Nov 3, 2026

All individual values with sources
RatingMAI-Image-2.5 FlashMAI-Image-2.6Source
Text to Image Arena1,0291,167Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 3, 2026
Image Editing Arena1,0901,151Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 3, 2026

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Predecessor and successor

  • No predecessor recorded for MAI-Image-2.5 Flash
  • MAI-Image-2.5 Flash has no successor yet
  • No predecessor recorded for MAI-Image-2.6
  • MAI-Image-2.6 has no successor yet