Best LLMs for Photorealistic (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 · Photorealistic

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 1384·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1384	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	15,927	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 1270·In $0.500·Out $3.00	1270	1270	$0.500	$3.00	29,019	O
#4	gpt-image-1.5-high-fidelity gpt-image-1.5-high-fidelity #4·Elo 1247·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1247	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	46,921	W
#5	Microsoft: MAI-Image-2.5 mai-image-2.5 #5·Elo 1247·In $5.00·Out -	1247	-	$5.00	-	2,163	O
#6	Google: Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) (nano-banana-pro) gemini-3-pro-image-preview (nano-banana-pro) #6·Elo 1243·In $2.00·Out $12.00	1243	1183	$2.00	$12.00	37,132	O
#7	xAI: Grok Imagine Image Quality grok-imagine-image-quality #7·Elo 1239·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1239	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	8,539	O W
#11	grok-imagine-image grok-imagine-image #11·Elo 1180·Out -	1180	-	-	-	68,982	W
#12	Recraft: Recraft V4.1 Utility Pro recraft-v4.1-utility-pro #12·Elo 1180·Out -	1180	-	-	-	976	O
#15	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Max flux-2-max #15·Elo 1161·Out $0.070/run ~143 / $10	1161	-	-	$0.070/run ~143 / $10	48,108	O W
#16	ByteDance Seed: Seedream 4.5 seedream-4.5 #16·Elo 1161·Out -	1161	-	-	-	79,289	O
#17	Google: Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) (nano-banana) gemini-2.5-flash-image-preview (nano-banana) #17·Elo 1159·In $0.300·Out $2.50	1159	1172	$0.300	$2.50	368,205	O
#19	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Pro flux-2-pro #19·Elo 1154·Out $0.030/run ~333 / $10	1154	-	-	$0.030/run ~333 / $10	62,934	O W
#23	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Flex flux-2-flex #23·Elo 1146·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1146	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	61,186	O W
#24	flux-2-dev flux-2-dev #24·Elo 1145·Out $0.012/run ~833 / $10	1145	-	-	$0.012/run ~833 / $10	24,892	W
#25	Recraft: Recraft V4.1 Pro recraft-v4.1-pro #25·Elo 1144·Out $0.250/run ~40 / $10	1144	-	-	$0.250/run ~40 / $10	1,102	O W
#32	hidream-o1-image hidream-o1-image #32·Elo 1125·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1125	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	2,008	W
#35	Recraft: Recraft V4 recraft-v4 #35·Elo 1121·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1121	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	28,611	O W
#37	z-image-turbo z-image-turbo #37·Elo 1115·Out $0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	1115	-	-	$0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	7,884	W
#38	gpt-image-1 gpt-image-1 #38·Elo 1115·Out $0.042/run ~238 / $10	1115	-	-	$0.042/run ~238 / $10	118,020	W
#39	gpt-image-1-mini gpt-image-1-mini #39·Elo 1112·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1112	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	65,699	W
#43	flux-2-klein-9b flux-2-klein-9b #43·Elo 1089·Out $0.010/run ~1000 / $10	1089	-	-	$0.010/run ~1000 / $10	56,594	W
#45	p-image p-image #45·Elo 1076·Out $0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	1076	-	-	$0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	40,533	W
#48	qwen-image qwen-image #48·Elo 1063·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1063	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	43,243	W
#49	Recraft: Recraft V3 recraft-v3 #49·Elo 1054·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1054	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	80,268	O W
#50	ideogram-v3-quality ideogram-v3-quality #50·Elo 1051·Out $0.090/run ~111 / $10	1051	-	-	$0.090/run ~111 / $10	51,557	W
#52	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Klein 4B flux-2-klein-4b #52·Elo 1046·Out $0.0080/run ~1250 / $10	1046	-	-	$0.0080/run ~1250 / $10	57,373	O W
#54	flux-1.1-pro flux-1.1-pro #54·Elo 1044·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1044	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	26,892	W
#55	lucid-origin lucid-origin #55·Elo 1035·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1035	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	132,915	W
#56	photon photon #56·Elo 1035·Out $0.015/run ~667 / $10	1035	-	-	$0.015/run ~667 / $10	56,125	W
#57	ideogram-v2 ideogram-v2 #57·Elo 1019·Out $0.080/run ~125 / $10	1019	-	-	$0.080/run ~125 / $10	27,531	W
#58	glm-image glm-image #58·Elo 1000·Out $0.120/run ~83 / $10	1000	-	-	$0.120/run ~83 / $10	1,990	W
#61	dall-e-3 dall-e-3 #61·Elo 940·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	940	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	105,119	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 · Photorealistic

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 1384·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1384	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	15,927	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 1270·In $0.500·Out $3.00	1270	1270	$0.500	$3.00	29,019	O
#4	gpt-image-1.5-high-fidelity gpt-image-1.5-high-fidelity #4·Elo 1247·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1247	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	46,921	W
#5	Microsoft: MAI-Image-2.5 mai-image-2.5 #5·Elo 1247·In $5.00·Out -	1247	-	$5.00	-	2,163	O
#6	Google: Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) (nano-banana-pro) gemini-3-pro-image-preview (nano-banana-pro) #6·Elo 1243·In $2.00·Out $12.00	1243	1183	$2.00	$12.00	37,132	O
#7	xAI: Grok Imagine Image Quality grok-imagine-image-quality #7·Elo 1239·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1239	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	8,539	O W
#11	grok-imagine-image grok-imagine-image #11·Elo 1180·Out -	1180	-	-	-	68,982	W
#12	Recraft: Recraft V4.1 Utility Pro recraft-v4.1-utility-pro #12·Elo 1180·Out -	1180	-	-	-	976	O
#15	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Max flux-2-max #15·Elo 1161·Out $0.070/run ~143 / $10	1161	-	-	$0.070/run ~143 / $10	48,108	O W
#16	ByteDance Seed: Seedream 4.5 seedream-4.5 #16·Elo 1161·Out -	1161	-	-	-	79,289	O
#17	Google: Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) (nano-banana) gemini-2.5-flash-image-preview (nano-banana) #17·Elo 1159·In $0.300·Out $2.50	1159	1172	$0.300	$2.50	368,205	O
#19	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Pro flux-2-pro #19·Elo 1154·Out $0.030/run ~333 / $10	1154	-	-	$0.030/run ~333 / $10	62,934	O W
#23	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Flex flux-2-flex #23·Elo 1146·Out $0.060/run ~167 / $10	1146	-	-	$0.060/run ~167 / $10	61,186	O W
#24	flux-2-dev flux-2-dev #24·Elo 1145·Out $0.012/run ~833 / $10	1145	-	-	$0.012/run ~833 / $10	24,892	W
#25	Recraft: Recraft V4.1 Pro recraft-v4.1-pro #25·Elo 1144·Out $0.250/run ~40 / $10	1144	-	-	$0.250/run ~40 / $10	1,102	O W
#32	hidream-o1-image hidream-o1-image #32·Elo 1125·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1125	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	2,008	W
#35	Recraft: Recraft V4 recraft-v4 #35·Elo 1121·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1121	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	28,611	O W
#37	z-image-turbo z-image-turbo #37·Elo 1115·Out $0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	1115	-	-	$0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	7,884	W
#38	gpt-image-1 gpt-image-1 #38·Elo 1115·Out $0.042/run ~238 / $10	1115	-	-	$0.042/run ~238 / $10	118,020	W
#39	gpt-image-1-mini gpt-image-1-mini #39·Elo 1112·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1112	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	65,699	W
#43	flux-2-klein-9b flux-2-klein-9b #43·Elo 1089·Out $0.010/run ~1000 / $10	1089	-	-	$0.010/run ~1000 / $10	56,594	W
#45	p-image p-image #45·Elo 1076·Out $0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	1076	-	-	$0.0050/run ~2000 / $10	40,533	W
#48	qwen-image qwen-image #48·Elo 1063·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1063	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	43,243	W
#49	Recraft: Recraft V3 recraft-v3 #49·Elo 1054·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1054	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	80,268	O W
#50	ideogram-v3-quality ideogram-v3-quality #50·Elo 1051·Out $0.090/run ~111 / $10	1051	-	-	$0.090/run ~111 / $10	51,557	W
#52	Black Forest Labs: FLUX.2 Klein 4B flux-2-klein-4b #52·Elo 1046·Out $0.0080/run ~1250 / $10	1046	-	-	$0.0080/run ~1250 / $10	57,373	O W
#54	flux-1.1-pro flux-1.1-pro #54·Elo 1044·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	1044	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	26,892	W
#55	lucid-origin lucid-origin #55·Elo 1035·Out $0.020/run ~500 / $10	1035	-	-	$0.020/run ~500 / $10	132,915	W
#56	photon photon #56·Elo 1035·Out $0.015/run ~667 / $10	1035	-	-	$0.015/run ~667 / $10	56,125	W
#57	ideogram-v2 ideogram-v2 #57·Elo 1019·Out $0.080/run ~125 / $10	1019	-	-	$0.080/run ~125 / $10	27,531	W
#58	glm-image glm-image #58·Elo 1000·Out $0.120/run ~83 / $10	1000	-	-	$0.120/run ~83 / $10	1,990	W
#61	dall-e-3 dall-e-3 #61·Elo 940·Out $0.040/run ~250 / $10	940	-	-	$0.040/run ~250 / $10	105,119	W