Best LLMs for Art (Text to Image) - ranked by Elo & price

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LMArena rankings joined with live provider pricing. Pick a subset and category, or click any model for the full deep-dive.

Last refresh: 6/3/2026, 4:07:20 AM (11,177 rows)

Available only

All models (32) · Text to Image · Art

Rank = arena overall rank. Muted rows aren't hosted on OpenRouter or a partner. Gaps in the rank sequence are closed-source or unreleased models we don't track.

Rank	Model	Elo	Value	In / 1M	Output	Votes	Open in
#1	gpt-image-2 (medium) (medium) gpt-image-2 (medium) #1·Elo 1360·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1360	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	4,582	W
#2	Google: Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) (nano-banana-2) gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview (nano-banana-2) [web-search] #2·Elo 1260·In $0.500·Out $3.00	1260	1260	$0.500	$3.00	9,210	O
#3	Microsoft: MAI-Image-2.5 mai-image-2.5 #3·Elo 1256·In $5.00·Out -	1256	-	$5.00	-	800	O
#4	gpt-image-1.5-high-fidelity gpt-image-1.5-high-fidelity #4·Elo 1227·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1227	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	15,724	W
#6	Google: Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) (nano-banana-pro) gemini-3-pro-image-preview (nano-banana-pro) #6·Elo 1216·In $2.00·Out $12.00	1216	1155	$2.00	$12.00	12,583	O
#7	xAI: Grok Imagine Image Quality grok-imagine-image-quality #7·Elo 1205·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1205	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	2,509	O W
#11	grok-imagine-image grok-imagine-image #11·Elo 1176·Out -	1176	-	-	-	21,165	W
#12	Recraft: Recraft V4.1 Utility Pro recraft-v4.1-utility-pro #12·Elo 1176·Out -	1176	-	-	-	385	O
#14	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Max flux-2-max #14·Elo 1171·Out $0.070/run ~143 / $10	1171	-	-	$0.070/run ~143 / $10	15,671	O W
#17	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Pro flux-2-pro #17·Elo 1162·Out $0.030/run ~333 / $10	1162	-	-	$0.030/run ~333 / $10	20,946	O W
#20	Recraft: Recraft V4.1 Pro recraft-v4.1-pro #20·Elo 1155·Out $0.250/run ~40 / $10	1155	-	-	$0.250/run ~40 / $10	411	O W
#21	flux-2-dev flux-2-dev #21·Elo 1155·Out $0.012/run ~833 / $10	1155	-	-	$0.012/run ~833 / $10	8,699	W
#22	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Flex flux-2-flex #22·Elo 1155·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1155	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	20,798	O W
#24	ByteDance Seed: Seedream 4.5 seedream-4.5 #24·Elo 1149·Out -	1149	-	-	-	25,188	O
#25	Google: Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) (nano-banana) gemini-2.5-flash-image-preview (nano-banana) #25·Elo 1147·In $0.300·Out $2.50	1147	1160	$0.300	$2.50	101,693	O
#31	gpt-image-1 gpt-image-1 #31·Elo 1115·Out $0.042/run ~238 / $10	1115	-	-	$0.042/run ~238 / $10	33,781	W
#32	hidream-o1-image hidream-o1-image #32·Elo 1113·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1113	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	779	W
#33	Recraft: Recraft V4 recraft-v4 #33·Elo 1113·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1113	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	8,665	O W
#35	gpt-image-1-mini gpt-image-1-mini #35·Elo 1112·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1112	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	21,728	W
#41	z-image-turbo z-image-turbo #41·Elo 1077·Out $0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	1077	-	-	$0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	2,629	W
#42	flux-2-klein-9b flux-2-klein-9b #42·Elo 1077·Out $0.010/run ~1000 / $10	1077	-	-	$0.010/run ~1000 / $10	17,709	W
#47	qwen-image qwen-image #47·Elo 1055·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1055	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	8,670	W
#49	photon photon #49·Elo 1046·Out $0.015/run ~667 / $10	1046	-	-	$0.015/run ~667 / $10	20,707	W
#50	flux-1.1-pro flux-1.1-pro #50·Elo 1044·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1044	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	18,271	W
#51	p-image p-image #51·Elo 1043·Out $0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	1043	-	-	$0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	12,425	W
#52	ideogram-v3-quality ideogram-v3-quality #52·Elo 1039·Out $0.090/run ~111 / $10	1039	-	-	$0.090/run ~111 / $10	16,809	W
#53	lucid-origin lucid-origin #53·Elo 1031·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1031	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	34,268	W
#54	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Klein 4B flux-2-klein-4b #54·Elo 1028·Out $0.0080/run ~1250 / $10	1028	-	-	$0.0080/run ~1250 / $10	18,087	O W
#56	ideogram-v2 ideogram-v2 #56·Elo 1017·Out $0.080/run ~125 / $10	1017	-	-	$0.080/run ~125 / $10	18,774	W
#57	glm-image glm-image #57·Elo 1013·Out $0.120/run ~83 / $10	1013	-	-	$0.120/run ~83 / $10	712	W
#58	dall-e-3 dall-e-3 #58·Elo 1010·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1010	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	38,925	W
#60	Recraft: Recraft V3 recraft-v3 #60·Elo 991·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	991	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	35,012	O W

Find your model. Switch when a better one ships.

LMArena rankings joined with live provider pricing. Pick a subset and category, or click any model for the full deep-dive.

Last refresh: 6/3/2026, 4:07:20 AM (11,177 rows)

Available only

All models (32) · Text to Image · Art

Rank = arena overall rank. Muted rows aren't hosted on OpenRouter or a partner. Gaps in the rank sequence are closed-source or unreleased models we don't track.

Rank	Model	Elo	Value	In / 1M	Output	Votes	Open in
#1	gpt-image-2 (medium) (medium) gpt-image-2 (medium) #1·Elo 1360·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1360	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	4,582	W
#2	Google: Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) (nano-banana-2) gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview (nano-banana-2) [web-search] #2·Elo 1260·In $0.500·Out $3.00	1260	1260	$0.500	$3.00	9,210	O
#3	Microsoft: MAI-Image-2.5 mai-image-2.5 #3·Elo 1256·In $5.00·Out -	1256	-	$5.00	-	800	O
#4	gpt-image-1.5-high-fidelity gpt-image-1.5-high-fidelity #4·Elo 1227·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1227	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	15,724	W
#6	Google: Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) (nano-banana-pro) gemini-3-pro-image-preview (nano-banana-pro) #6·Elo 1216·In $2.00·Out $12.00	1216	1155	$2.00	$12.00	12,583	O
#7	xAI: Grok Imagine Image Quality grok-imagine-image-quality #7·Elo 1205·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1205	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	2,509	O W
#11	grok-imagine-image grok-imagine-image #11·Elo 1176·Out -	1176	-	-	-	21,165	W
#12	Recraft: Recraft V4.1 Utility Pro recraft-v4.1-utility-pro #12·Elo 1176·Out -	1176	-	-	-	385	O
#14	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Max flux-2-max #14·Elo 1171·Out $0.070/run ~143 / $10	1171	-	-	$0.070/run ~143 / $10	15,671	O W
#17	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Pro flux-2-pro #17·Elo 1162·Out $0.030/run ~333 / $10	1162	-	-	$0.030/run ~333 / $10	20,946	O W
#20	Recraft: Recraft V4.1 Pro recraft-v4.1-pro #20·Elo 1155·Out $0.250/run ~40 / $10	1155	-	-	$0.250/run ~40 / $10	411	O W
#21	flux-2-dev flux-2-dev #21·Elo 1155·Out $0.012/run ~833 / $10	1155	-	-	$0.012/run ~833 / $10	8,699	W
#22	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Flex flux-2-flex #22·Elo 1155·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1155	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	20,798	O W
#24	ByteDance Seed: Seedream 4.5 seedream-4.5 #24·Elo 1149·Out -	1149	-	-	-	25,188	O
#25	Google: Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) (nano-banana) gemini-2.5-flash-image-preview (nano-banana) #25·Elo 1147·In $0.300·Out $2.50	1147	1160	$0.300	$2.50	101,693	O
#31	gpt-image-1 gpt-image-1 #31·Elo 1115·Out $0.042/run ~238 / $10	1115	-	-	$0.042/run ~238 / $10	33,781	W
#32	hidream-o1-image hidream-o1-image #32·Elo 1113·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1113	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	779	W
#33	Recraft: Recraft V4 recraft-v4 #33·Elo 1113·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1113	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	8,665	O W
#35	gpt-image-1-mini gpt-image-1-mini #35·Elo 1112·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1112	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	21,728	W
#41	z-image-turbo z-image-turbo #41·Elo 1077·Out $0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	1077	-	-	$0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	2,629	W
#42	flux-2-klein-9b flux-2-klein-9b #42·Elo 1077·Out $0.010/run ~1000 / $10	1077	-	-	$0.010/run ~1000 / $10	17,709	W
#47	qwen-image qwen-image #47·Elo 1055·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1055	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	8,670	W
#49	photon photon #49·Elo 1046·Out $0.015/run ~667 / $10	1046	-	-	$0.015/run ~667 / $10	20,707	W
#50	flux-1.1-pro flux-1.1-pro #50·Elo 1044·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1044	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	18,271	W
#51	p-image p-image #51·Elo 1043·Out $0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	1043	-	-	$0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	12,425	W
#52	ideogram-v3-quality ideogram-v3-quality #52·Elo 1039·Out $0.090/run ~111 / $10	1039	-	-	$0.090/run ~111 / $10	16,809	W
#53	lucid-origin lucid-origin #53·Elo 1031·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1031	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	34,268	W
#54	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Klein 4B flux-2-klein-4b #54·Elo 1028·Out $0.0080/run ~1250 / $10	1028	-	-	$0.0080/run ~1250 / $10	18,087	O W
#56	ideogram-v2 ideogram-v2 #56·Elo 1017·Out $0.080/run ~125 / $10	1017	-	-	$0.080/run ~125 / $10	18,774	W
#57	glm-image glm-image #57·Elo 1013·Out $0.120/run ~83 / $10	1013	-	-	$0.120/run ~83 / $10	712	W
#58	dall-e-3 dall-e-3 #58·Elo 1010·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1010	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	38,925	W
#60	Recraft: Recraft V3 recraft-v3 #60·Elo 991·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	991	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	35,012	O W