AI image generation has been a topic of interest online for a while now, with users trying to generate the most outlandish, or conversely the most realistic AI-generated images. When it comes to realism, even the best AI image generation tools like Midjourney, DALL-E, etc can sometimes spit out images with strange features like far too many appendages or limbs that blend into one another.
Flux, a relatively new open-source AI image generator, is poised to overtake the competition by bringing hyperrealism into AI generated artwork.
Black Forest Labs, an AI startup, has announced the release of FLUX, its very first suite of text-to-image AI models.1. The German startup wants to develop sophisticated generative AI for images and videos.
The tool is being praised for its advanced machine learning image generation capabilities that go beyond what Midjourney provides. What’s more, Flux seeks to democratize the generation of complex AI images.
“We believe that generative AI will be a fundamental building block of all future technologies,” the company stated in an announcement. “By making our models available to a wide audience, we want to bring its benefits to everyone, educate the public and enhance trust in the safety of these models.”
There are three different versions of Flux available: Pro, Dev, and Schnell. Commercial customers are the target demographic for the Pro edition, which is already embedded by companies like FreePik. Developers are the target audience for Dev, while the fastest form, Schnell, is designed to provide optimized performance. These versions are appropriate for both personal and business use and may be utilized on high-end laptops, especially those that have an Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU.
As of now, Midjourney reigns superior as the most powerful Artificial intelligence art generation tool, well known for its ability to produce detailed, visually appealing, and high-quality images in response to text inputs. But Flux seems to be catching up quickly, showcasing exceptional promise in computer generated imagery. Let’s look at a comparison of the two:
Accessibility
In contrast to Midjourney, which can only be accessed through Midjourney, Flux is an open-source model that can be downloaded and used locally or across a variety of sites, including Hugging Face, NightCafe, and Freepik.
Image Quality
In terms of photorealism, Flux appears to be Midjourney’s biggest competitor at the moment. According to early feedback, Flux is superior at producing human figures but still falls short of Midjourney v6.1 in terms of skin texture quality. However, users have found that by combining Flux with Lora, an XLabs photorealism fine-tuning tool, they can generate startlingly realistic results.
ELO Score Comparison
The FLUX.1 models outperformed other models in several parameters during the latest benchmark testing. While MidJourney v6.1 performs well in creative and stylistic generations, the Pro and Dev models of FLUX.1 are superior in terms of visual quality, prompt adherence, and output versatility.
Which Model Should You Choose?
The decision ultimately comes down to what your AI image generation needs are. FLUX.1 is the obvious choice if high technical precision, community-driven development, and open-source flexibility are important to you. It is an extremely powerful tool for both researchers and developers due to its open-source nature and exceptional performance in technical benchmarks.
However, MidJourney continues to be a strong contender if you value visual style and creative AI image generation. Users turn to it because of its sophisticated approach to generating synthetic images and user-friendly interface.
With their respective advantages, both models showcase the latest developments in AI image generation.
Interested in more AI image generation tools? Check them out here 👇
- Bing’s New AI Video Creator Uses OpenAI’s Sora – And It’s Free - June 3, 2025
- Opera Neon Redefines Web Browsing with Built-In AI Agents - May 28, 2025
- Google Workspace Gets AI Overhaul! - May 21, 2025
