Midjourney V8.1vs.FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

Which one is better?

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

Test 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 V8.150 out of 100

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra28 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:Midjourney V8.1 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

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

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra: fal, aspect ratio 1:1; provider-native resolution, n=1, seed=3831910390, Fal exposes no resolution input; endpoint supports output up to 2K, Prompt enhancement disabled with enhance_prompt=false; default safety tolerance 2, estimated cost $0.060000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:50 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: cf522740817fefe58b263fa9a0d07d249c42211eca7d7c9b013f7145a7d2a8ea

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra image SHA 256: 0b97e1e3f33be2844c06cc18618fea633273ada7e9d6404f9769cdb8403ffbfc

Infographic

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra: fal, aspect ratio 1:1; provider-native resolution, n=1, seed=1664027293, Fal exposes no resolution input; endpoint supports output up to 2K, Prompt enhancement disabled with enhance_prompt=false; default safety tolerance 2, estimated cost $0.060000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:50 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: ac36188f88f37f23c2c405355d8dd12594085e1450d732fa419d8cec9a6c598f

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra image SHA 256: 2c7d24fcda220cf5eff966e1b857f11ad0e561f81ac9e4106ef1b4bd71686637

Product photography

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra: fal, aspect ratio 1:1; provider-native resolution, n=1, seed=291934417, Fal exposes no resolution input; endpoint supports output up to 2K, Prompt enhancement disabled with enhance_prompt=false; default safety tolerance 2, estimated cost $0.060000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:49 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: 992f2486be40bc361a638b4b266909d334883c05fe4763cf5e243358c688bfdd

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra image SHA 256: 7d497c35126a92de69af61e5721158a10f4e2acf88a8526dcdd0f8a9a571e028

Typography and layout

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra: fal, aspect ratio 1:1; provider-native resolution, n=1, seed=1909595532, Fal exposes no resolution input; endpoint supports output up to 2K, Prompt enhancement disabled with enhance_prompt=false; default safety tolerance 2, estimated cost $0.060000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:49 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: af3d2c5042b108a7fe2eb49bae072d30030e6b6cf814875ef9ce7074ceafc4ce

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra image SHA 256: 0dfeffb6c3489b9ac2e1ae9100793320fa4f5eab779269de7aff3a4b768595f3

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

n/a

Midjourney V8.1

not in the arena

n/a

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Midjourney V8.1

Rank 73 of 108

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

Rank 83 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

n/a

Midjourney V8.1

no API price

n/a

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

no API price

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.

Midjourney V8.1

Subscription: At Midjourney from ≈ €10.60 a month (Midjourney Basic). 4 plans in Germany.
Via API: No API price known. Access: Web app.

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

Subscription: No Black Forest Labs subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €9.54 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). 12 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 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.

Kennzahl	Midjourney V8.1	FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra
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	38	31
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	14	22
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	50	28
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	51	45
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	35	28
API price
Per imagelower is better	n/a	n/a
100 images	n/a	n/a
Profile
Released	Apr 14, 2026	n/a
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	unknown
Lifecycle	no notice	Separate Ultra API route / Ultra mode; no independent checkpoint established
Access	Web app	API
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	2K	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	4	12

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) · FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra 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 Midjourney V8.1 and FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

More comparisons

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Midjourney V8.1vs.FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

Test images

The numbers at a glance

Midjourney V8.1

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

All data side by side

Arena ratings by category

No shared arena score in the stored snapshot

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