Qwen Image 2.1 Turbovs.SDXL Turbo

Which one is better?

In our own test, Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo leads. 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.

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo90 out of 100

SDXL Turbo: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — SDXL Turbo3 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo 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

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.018400, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:31 PM. Source

SDXL Turbo: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; stabilityai/sdxl-turbo@71153311d3dbb46851df1931d3ca6e939de83304; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=1, guidance=0.0, seed=660064698563452219; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE; native tokenizer truncation: tokenizer 80 to 77 tokens, tokenizer_2 80 to 77 tokens; archived input unchanged, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:23 PM. Source

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

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo image SHA 256: 60c270da7b2ace74fcac4f55b962d4e01fae99265874d25857e2b461c00f3666

SDXL Turbo image SHA 256: 9ee6443f4690649e93bdca408e5e8d317b312244636a3af47a02fe14eaf6c20c

Infographic

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.018400, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:31 PM. Source

SDXL Turbo: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; stabilityai/sdxl-turbo@71153311d3dbb46851df1931d3ca6e939de83304; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=1, guidance=0.0, seed=6060807684445796734; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:23 PM. Source

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

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo image SHA 256: 0650a13329baa39bb1923594082473a8138ecbe1ea95bb63017e7e1d76a7fafe

SDXL Turbo image SHA 256: 20395d858252aa131f235baa1f514039503a52dfec958c8f5b299db708bf4090

Product photography

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.018400, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:30 PM. Source

SDXL Turbo: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; stabilityai/sdxl-turbo@71153311d3dbb46851df1931d3ca6e939de83304; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=1, guidance=0.0, seed=4654331835179858246; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE; native tokenizer truncation: tokenizer 80 to 77 tokens, tokenizer_2 80 to 77 tokens; archived input unchanged, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:22 PM. Source

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

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo image SHA 256: 012d9320a2759329277e1e730e51da03aa4a0d992017a218228f88f07771dc08

SDXL Turbo image SHA 256: 75e5b85283110815e51a0470c937c3e42407244b50d918a3c0c54e10998a4b4c

Typography and layout

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.018400, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:30 PM. Source

SDXL Turbo: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; stabilityai/sdxl-turbo@71153311d3dbb46851df1931d3ca6e939de83304; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=1, guidance=0.0, seed=1511362670078321145; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:21 PM. Source

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

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo image SHA 256: a052bc14d0b36849b7bd6b38e368bf2bd11d68217ab675dbea3c58d8a62f34dd

SDXL Turbo image SHA 256: 963088c72f75c98a95fd71be5f8d6e14fdf17061ae984f1109522a39be24ac76

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

n/a

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo

not in the arena

n/a

SDXL Turbo

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo

Rank 23 of 108

SDXL Turbo

Rank 105 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

n/a

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo

no API price

n/a

SDXL Turbo

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.

Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo

Subscription: n/a No plan in Germany names exactly this model.
Via API: No API price known. Access: API.
Weights: unknown.

SDXL Turbo

Subscription: n/a No plan in Germany names exactly this model.
Via API: No API price known. Access: 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 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	Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo	SDXL Turbo
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	4
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	51	3
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	90	3
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	48	3
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	89	8
API price
Per imagelower is better	n/a	n/a
100 images	n/a	n/a
Profile
Released	n/a	n/a
Weightsopen means: runs locally	unknown	open
Lifecycle	no notice	Older open fast checkpoint; no active hosted API ID claimed in the reviewed model list
Access	API	local
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	2K	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	n/a	n/a

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

Sources: Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo model source (verified Nov 1, 2026) · SDXL Turbo 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 Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo and SDXL Turbo from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

More comparisons

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