MAI-Image-2.5 Flashvs.Ideogram 4.0

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Neither is in the arena. MAI-Image-2.5 Flash costs only a third 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

Ideogram 4.0: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Ideogram 4.022 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

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

Ideogram 4.0: together, requested 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:28 PM. Source

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

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash image SHA 256: a2637943faf5ae5210c69f645f96c70ea0a1d267c38a64705810947d2ba78dc8

Ideogram 4.0 image SHA 256: d63d24515e4c3a8b7feafecaf995a511433307ae5faae1a1c26b2f0289578af9

Infographic

Ideogram 4.0: together, requested 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:28 PM. Source

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

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

Ideogram 4.0 image SHA 256: f57e6f5b7ae9038953087720387aa4a901832a1794dbb5e3f337f9d3ef213d62

Product photography

Ideogram 4.0: together, requested 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:27 PM. Source

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

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

Ideogram 4.0 image SHA 256: 59b59cf5294653460f06085eedcfeb676b8c50f88f58f038b32659841f0500dd

Typography and layout

Ideogram 4.0: together, requested 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 2:01 PM. Source

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

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

Ideogram 4.0 image SHA 256: 088eabf7b8c37bd377011dd2649a2deeee49ffb903e4798a6930bb94144f1eb4

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

Ideogram 4.0

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

Rank 24 of 108

Ideogram 4.0

Rank 57 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.02

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

cheap

$0.06

Ideogram 4.0

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.

Ideogram 4.0

Subscription: Free to use at Ideogram (Ideogram Free, with limited credits), more from ≈ €21.20 a month (Ideogram Plus, with limited credits). Through other providers from ≈ €9.54 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). 16 plans in Germany.
Via API: $0.06 per image, 100 images $6.
License: Open weights.

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 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	MAI-Image-2.5 Flash	Ideogram 4.0
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	69	55
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	70	67
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	58	22
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	68	59
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	81	73
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.02	$0.06
100 images	$2	$6
Profile
Released	June 2026	June 2026
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	open
Lifecycle	Preview in Microsoft Foundry	no notice
Access	API, Web app	API, Web app, local
Parameters	20 billion	9.3 billion
Largest output	1,048,576 pixels	2K
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	n/a	16

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) · Ideogram 4.0 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 betterMAI-Image-2.5 FlashIdeogram 4.0

Text to Image Arena1,0321,003ahead

Artificial Analysis from Nov 6, 2026

All individual values with sources

Rating	MAI-Image-2.5 Flash	Ideogram 4.0	Source
Text to Image Arena	1,032	1,003	Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Nov 6, 2026

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Test images

The numbers at a glance

MAI-Image-2.5 Flash

Ideogram 4.0

All data side by side

Arena ratings by category

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