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Midjourney V8.1vs.Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Neither is in the arena. Neither has an API price.

Same prompt, two images

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

Midjourney V8.1: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run
Midjourney V8.137 out of 100
Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run
Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium13 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:Midjourney V8.1 slightly 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

Midjourney V8.1: manual, one request, first output, Midjourney V8.1 Standard, 1:1, 1024x1024, four candidates, stylize 100, weird 0, variety 0, Raw off, personalization off, Relax mode, no reference image, no negative prompt, generated Aug 16, 2026, 12:19 PM. Source

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.020000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:17 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: cf522740817fefe58b263fa9a0d07d249c42211eca7d7c9b013f7145a7d2a8ea

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium image SHA 256: 6b8aa732e94479ad302904096c5031908141e4083ee099f080185aa04c2ea800

Infographic

Midjourney V8.1: manual, one request, first output, Midjourney V8.1 Standard, 1:1, 1024x1024, four candidates, stylize 100, weird 0, variety 0, Raw off, personalization off, Relax mode, no reference image, no negative prompt, generated Aug 16, 2026, 12:19 PM. Source

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.020000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:17 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: ac36188f88f37f23c2c405355d8dd12594085e1450d732fa419d8cec9a6c598f

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium image SHA 256: 61b12e227431387098e51c6ce6d059be9d8df9c85263b994bee62602e2ddfd16

Product photography

Midjourney V8.1: manual, one request, first output, Midjourney V8.1 Standard, 1:1, 1024x1024, four candidates, stylize 100, weird 0, variety 0, Raw off, personalization off, Relax mode, no reference image, no negative prompt, generated Aug 16, 2026, 12:19 PM. Source

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.020000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:16 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: 992f2486be40bc361a638b4b266909d334883c05fe4763cf5e243358c688bfdd

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium image SHA 256: 2412a20e61c118ce7ab7ff83e285b96eb32d5c0f1171cc769e153db6655b8f67

Typography and layout

Midjourney V8.1: manual, one request, first output, Midjourney V8.1 Standard, 1:1, 1024x1024, four candidates, stylize 100, weird 0, variety 0, Raw off, personalization off, Relax mode, no reference image, no negative prompt, generated Aug 16, 2026, 12:19 PM. Source

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.020000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:16 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: af3d2c5042b108a7fe2eb49bae072d30030e6b6cf814875ef9ce7074ceafc4ce

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium image SHA 256: bc854c3269ea8bada6f764545f4a09abedc110219018c09f2fa5708a14d9af7e

The numbers at a glance

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

Midjourney V8.1

not in the arena

n/a

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better
23

Midjourney V8.1

Rank 64 of 74

16

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium

Rank 69 of 74

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better
n/a

Midjourney V8.1

no API price

n/a

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium

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.

Midjourney V8.1

Subscription
At Midjourney from ≈ €10.65 a month (Midjourney Basic). 4 plans in Germany.
Via API
No API price known. Access: Web app.

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium

Subscription
n/a No plan in Germany names exactly this model.
Via API
No API price known. Access: API, local.
License
Open weights.

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

GraduallyBench from Nov 1, 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.

KennzahlMidjourney V8.1Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium
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 1002316
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition817
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details3713
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency2216
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization2420
API price
Per imagelower is bettern/an/a
100 imagesn/an/a
Profile
ReleasedApr 14, 2026Oct 29, 2024
Weightsopen means: runs locallyproprietaryopen
AccessWeb appAPI, local
Parametersnot published2.5 billion
Largest output2Knot consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model4n/a

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

Sources: Midjourney V8.1 model source (verified Aug 15, 2026) · Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium model 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 Midjourney V8.1 and Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

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