Comparison
AI image generators compared
The main AI image models compared on aesthetics, editing, text rendering and cost — and when to use each.
Image models have specialised more sharply than video models, so picking by task is more reliable here than picking a favourite.
Midjourney has the strongest aesthetic default and returns four images per job. Flux is the deepest on editing, with Kontext, Redux, Pulid and LoRA support. Imagen 4 leads on photorealism. Seedream 5.0 is ByteDance's strong general model with its own edit endpoint. Nano Banana is conservative and precise on instruction edits. Ideogram is the one that renders legible text.
The text point is worth isolating: if the image contains words that must be readable, Ideogram is not merely better, it is often the only one that works. Every other model here will produce something that looks like text from a distance and falls apart on inspection.
Cost is simple here — all of these are standard-tier at 2 credits per generation except Midjourney, which is premium at 1.5x. That is a small enough spread that model choice should follow the task rather than the budget.
FAQ
AI image generators compared — questions
Which is best for text in an image?
Ideogram v3, with Imagen 4 as a reasonable second. Most other models garble anything beyond a word or two.
Which is best for editing an existing image?
Flux Kontext or Nano Banana Pro Edit — both instruction-driven, both conservative about changing what you did not mention.
Which looks best out of the box?
Midjourney, generally, with the least prompt effort.
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