Stable Diffusion 3 Mediumvs.AuraFlow v0.3

Which one is better?

In our own test, Stable Diffusion 3 Medium 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.

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — Stable Diffusion 3 Medium46 out of 100

AuraFlow v0.3: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — AuraFlow v0.316 out of 100

Result for “Character and detail”:Stable Diffusion 3 Medium slightly ahead

Prompt given to both modelsCreate a square cinematic full-body portrait of a fictional bicycle courier waiting under a transparent umbrella at a rainy tram stop in Hamburg at blue hour. She wears a mustard raincoat, navy trousers, red sneakers, a silver helmet, and carries a teal messenger bag. Keep both hands visible, render the bicycle correctly, use realistic wet-street reflections, and include no readable brand names.

What the rating looks at: Anatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency.

“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

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, prompt expansion disabled, estimated cost $0.035000, generated Nov 2, 2026, 3:25 PM. Source

AuraFlow v0.3: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; fal/AuraFlow-v0.3@2cd8588f04c886002be4571697d84654a50e3af3; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=50, guidance=3.5, seed=8761677709905735111; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:42 PM. Source

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

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium image SHA 256: 23f00c74639e751fd6130d5f0e06539379c3a631d3f3cfde39c43e31973f5ef4

AuraFlow v0.3 image SHA 256: 9d0f14ca671e82f18947b9a0d7d7587e372cb4f515ce028434fac4efbd937155

Infographic

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, prompt expansion disabled, estimated cost $0.035000, generated Nov 2, 2026, 3:26 PM. Source

AuraFlow v0.3: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; fal/AuraFlow-v0.3@2cd8588f04c886002be4571697d84654a50e3af3; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=50, guidance=3.5, seed=3793893866514060497; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:47 PM. Source

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

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium image SHA 256: d3247357eaa74b5b9157558cec7ffc4942c0a0fe09b5b7d661289d63c0359fbb

AuraFlow v0.3 image SHA 256: d2a4ecc1c165bc861ca60133d9ff95dc9d5b1d5320763be92c8168ff8c3b8166

Product photography

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, prompt expansion disabled, estimated cost $0.035000, generated Nov 2, 2026, 3:25 PM. Source

AuraFlow v0.3: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; fal/AuraFlow-v0.3@2cd8588f04c886002be4571697d84654a50e3af3; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=50, guidance=3.5, seed=4682738952817248216; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:37 PM. Source

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

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium image SHA 256: 7214318e9962af2466367b9ac75231f5b794a5db5a0b6d11d6e6f6a378cb28b6

AuraFlow v0.3 image SHA 256: 6889065a427cc29bc1c0a53b0ad0662eb24f4be885148b0ebb8f6d945bbd4749

Typography and layout

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, prompt expansion disabled, estimated cost $0.035000, generated Nov 2, 2026, 3:25 PM. Source

AuraFlow v0.3: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; fal/AuraFlow-v0.3@2cd8588f04c886002be4571697d84654a50e3af3; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=50, guidance=3.5, seed=7437917803059710684; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:31 PM. Source

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

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium image SHA 256: 9dd323604b3bfc1742a51a2ca225f9c0f8dfbe79f5fa68e6024015316c596a54

AuraFlow v0.3 image SHA 256: b6c221541210743564f6921b5e0bbc227c4d2246f6410cb0c1779c7c58d9460d

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

n/a

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium

not in the arena

n/a

AuraFlow v0.3

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium

Rank 78 of 108

AuraFlow v0.3

Rank 102 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

n/a

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium

no API price

n/a

AuraFlow v0.3

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.

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium

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

AuraFlow v0.3

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	Stable Diffusion 3 Medium	AuraFlow v0.3
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	34	12
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	31	11
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	26	15
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	46	16
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	34	7
API price
Per imagelower is better	n/a	n/a
100 images	n/a	n/a
Profile
Released	Jun 12, 2024	n/a
Weightsopen means: runs locally	open	open
Access	API, local	local
Parameters	2 billion	7 billion
Largest output	not consistently published	1,536 × 1,536 pixels
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: Stable Diffusion 3 Medium model source (verified Nov 1, 2026) · AuraFlow v0.3 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 Stable Diffusion 3 Medium and AuraFlow v0.3 from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

More comparisons

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