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Midjourney V8.1vs.Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Midjourney V8.1 has no arena rating yet. 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
Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run
Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large17 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

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=7087247023770270000, estimated cost $0.068157, generated Aug 14, 2026, 2:37 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: cf522740817fefe58b263fa9a0d07d249c42211eca7d7c9b013f7145a7d2a8ea

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large image SHA 256: e748006fe56e442ad347e3f994f18b86ee1739f20dcee063aa7a03ee710c5d54

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 Large: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=12166653711354006000, estimated cost $0.068157, generated Aug 14, 2026, 2:37 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: ac36188f88f37f23c2c405355d8dd12594085e1450d732fa419d8cec9a6c598f

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large image SHA 256: 4eb0fd741ef42e6d3fee4b1280cdfb098a0a04009b139051963895892e349f1e

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 Large: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=13346308312015933000, estimated cost $0.068157, generated Aug 14, 2026, 2:37 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: 992f2486be40bc361a638b4b266909d334883c05fe4763cf5e243358c688bfdd

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large image SHA 256: ea9a7401dee8859ec2cb96af9f7ca29a177ef2202f52f629d8ce9f5839bd4061

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 Large: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=16632333557910893000, estimated cost $0.068157, generated Aug 14, 2026, 2:37 PM. Source

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

Midjourney V8.1 image SHA 256: af3d2c5042b108a7fe2eb49bae072d30030e6b6cf814875ef9ce7074ceafc4ce

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large image SHA 256: e2994b1883a245b1c8c447957d121ea89d93aafff149029aa4e8507dbb769f9a

The numbers at a glance

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

Midjourney V8.1

not in the arena

938

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large

Rank 21 of 21

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better
38

Midjourney V8.1

Rank 73 of 108

27

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large

Rank 87 of 108

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

Midjourney V8.1

no API price

n/a

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large

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.

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large

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.

Arena rating (LMArena) from Nov 6, 2026 · 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.

KennzahlMidjourney V8.1Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is bettern/a938
Arena rankn/aRank 21 of 21
Arena votesmore votes, a safer ratingn/a23,396
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 1003827
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition1431
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details5017
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency5123
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization3539
API price
Per imagelower is bettern/an/a
100 imagesn/an/a
Profile
ReleasedApr 14, 2026Oct 22, 2024
Weightsopen means: runs locallyproprietaryopen
AccessWeb appAPI, local
Parametersnot published8.1 billion
Largest output2K1 Megapixel
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 Large model source (verified Aug 15, 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 Large from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

More comparisons

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