Black Forest Labs' 12 billion parameter distilled image generation model optimized for speed, capable of generating high-quality images in just 4 inference steps
Settled by community votes across 13 shared challenges, with an AI judge weighing in on each.
FLUX.1 [schnell]
#48 of 62 in Text-to-Image
FLUX.2 [dev]
#19 of 62 in Text-to-Image
Where the votes landed
FLUX.1 [schnell]
0.0%
win rate
Ties
0.0%
FLUX.2 [dev]
100.0%
win rate
Challenge by challenge
The strongest take from each model on every shared challenge, with the AI judge's read.
Geometric Composition
Text-to-Image“A glass cube on a wooden table. Inside the cube is a small blue sphere. On top of the cube sits a red book. A green plant is behind the cube, partially visible through the glass. Soft window light from the left.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + Excellent photographic clarity and vibrant colors.
- + Very clean glass rendering with complex reflections.
- + Accurately places the plant behind the objects as requested.
- − Included an extra blue sphere on top of the book that was not in the prompt.
- − The 'small' blue sphere inside is quite large, filling much of the cube.
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Followed the object count perfectly with no extra items.
- + Achieved a more realistic 'small' scale for the blue sphere.
- + Handled the glass transparency and refraction very naturally.
- − The plant is slightly less 'behind' the cube and more to the side than in Model A.
- − Lighting is a bit more diffused than Model A's crisp window light.
Verdict: While FLUX.1 [schnell] produced a visually striking image with impressive reflections, it failed the specific object count by adding a redundant sphere on top of the book. FLUX.1 [dev] followed every instruction perfectly, including the relative sizing of the objects, making it the superior choice for prompt adherence.
Candid Street Photography
Text-to-Image“A candid street photo of an elderly Japanese man repairing a red bicycle in light rain, reflections on wet pavement, shallow depth of field, 50mm lens, natural skin texture, imperfect framing, motion blur from passing cars, cinematic but realistic, no stylization.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + Strong cinematic lighting with vibrant reflections.
- + Clear subject-background separation.
- + Good overall composition and bike geometry.
- − Failed to include motion blur on the passing cars as requested.
- − The man's hands are fused confusingly with the handlebars.
- − The background cars look static and too clean for the 'motion blur' prompt.
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Excellent adherence to the motion blur request for passing cars.
- + Highly realistic skin texture and aged details on the hands.
- + Captures the 'light rain' atmosphere more effectively with visible droplets on his jacket.
- − The 'imperfect framing' is a bit tight at the bottom.
- − Slightly less 'cinematic' color palette compared to Model A.
Verdict: Model B (FLUX.2 [dev]) followed the technical prompts much more accurately, successfully rendering the motion blur and the gritty, rainy atmosphere of a candid street photo. While Model A (FLUX.1 [schnell]) has a more vibrant cinematic look, it failed critical prompt elements like motion blur and had significant anatomical issues where the hands meet the bicycle.
Fantasy Warrior
Text-to-Image“Close portrait of a battle-worn paladin in ornate engraved plate armor, hair braided with small beads, faint scars and dirt on the skin, warm torchlight reflecting off metal, shallow depth of field, bokeh sparks, lifelike eyes, highly detailed texture on leather straps and cloth underlayer.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + Extremely high skin texture detail and realistic iris patterns
- + Dynamic lighting with strong contrast and sharp focus
- − Missed the request for beads in the hair braids
- − The framing is a bit too tight, cutting off most of the ornate armor and leather straps requested
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Perfectly adheres to multiple specific prompts including hair beads, bokeh sparks, and engraved plate armor
- + Great material separation between the leather straps, cloth scarf, and metal
- + Better interpretation of the 'battle-worn' aspect with visible scars and dirt
- − The facial skin texture is slightly smoother and less realistic than Model A
- − The torch flame looks a bit static and disconnected from the depth of field
Verdict: While FLUX.1 [schnell] provides a more intense and high-resolution facial study, FLUX.1 [dev] is the superior image for prompt adherence, successfully including the beads, sparks, and detailed armor that were missing or cropped out in the other version. FLUX.1 [dev] feels more like a complete character concept that respects every requested detail of the paladin's gear and appearance.
Modern Clean Menu
Text-to-Image“Modern minimalist restaurant menu design, white background with colorful food photos in grid, sections for appetizers/pizza/mains, bold sans-serif fonts, vibrant accents, clean professional layout for casual dining.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + Clean minimalist aesthetic with plenty of white space
- + Clear headings for sections like Appetizers and Pizza
- + Professional and balanced layout that looks like a real single-page menu
- − Nonsense word ORFEFUS instead of Mains
- − Text rendering is blurry and illegible for item descriptions
- − Food images are somewhat generic and less detailed
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Excellent photographic quality for the food items
- + Includes vibrant colorful accents as requested in the prompt
- + Better adherence to the sections (Appetizers, Pizza, Mains) with pricing included
- − Layout is a bit cramped with overlapping elements
- − Text spelling is poor (PIZZAU, DIZZA)
- − The grid layout feels a bit disorganized compared to Model A
Verdict: FLUX.1 [schnell] captures the minimalist, professional essence of a menu layout much better, though it fails on text legibility and correct section labeling. FLUX.2 [dev] produces much higher quality food imagery and incorporates the 'vibrant accents', but the overall graphic design feels cluttered and full of spelling errors. FLUX.1 [schnell] is likely the better starting point for a professional design project.
Magic Burger Explosion: Fiery Photorealism Challenge
Text-to-Image“Ad for 'Magic Burger'. Dynamic, exploded burger with all components (bun, patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sauce) suspended in mid-air. Emphasize photorealistic detail and a sense of motion. Dark, fiery background with glowing embers. Integrate text: 'MAGIC BURGER' as a prominent title, 'LIMITED TIME ONLY' as a secondary message, and '€6.99' in a starburst, all rendered with a fiery, glowing effect.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + High level of photorealistic detail in the burger patty and cheese texture
- + Excellent rendering of melting cheese drips contributing to the motion
- − Several spelling errors including 'AGIC' instead of 'MAGIC' and price confusion with '€699'
- − The 'exploded' effect uses odd crouton-like chunks rather than separating the actual burger layers
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Perfect adherence to text requirements with glowing, fiery fonts and no spelling errors
- + Accurately represents an 'exploded burger' with separated, suspended layers as requested
- + Stronger visual composition for an advertisement with well-placed starburst price
- − The bun texture is slightly smooth and less photorealistic than the other model
Verdict: FLUX.2 [dev] followed every instruction perfectly, including the complex text rendering and the specific 'exploded layer' structure request. While FLUX.1 [schnell] has slightly more detailed textures, its failure to spell the product name correctly and the confusing inclusion of random bread chunks makes it ineffective as an advertisement.
Chalkboard Menu
Text-to-Image“Handwritten-style chalkboard menu in a cozy café, all text rendered in the exact same realistic chalk handwriting style with natural variations in letter size, slight slant, and chalk texture — no printed or digital fonts anywhere on the board. Title at the top in elegant cursive chalk handwriting: ‘TODAY’S SPECIALS – APRIL 30, 2026’. Below it, three menu items also in the same handwritten chalk style: ‘Truffle Mushroom Risotto – $24’, ‘Grilled Octopus with Lemon & Herbs – $28’, ‘Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – $9’. At the very bottom, smaller text in the identical handwritten chalk style (slightly smaller but still clearly legible with the same handwriting characteristics): ‘All items made fresh daily • Ask about our gluten-free options’. Warm ambient café lighting, visible chalk dust and smudges, realistic handwriting imperfections, no clean printed text anywhere.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + The text is sharp and legible
- + Captures the basic layout of a menu board
- − Numerous spelling errors including 'Pril', 'Taffle', and 'Octtoopus'
- − The handwriting looks like a digital marker font rather than chalk texture
- − Fails to render the elegant cursive title requested
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Perfect text rendering with zero spelling errors for all requested items
- + Excellent chalk texture with realistic smudges and strokes
- + Follows the instruction for elegant cursive title and date perfectly
- − Slightly tighter composition on the sides of the board
Verdict: FLUX.2 [dev] significantly outperforms FLUX.1 [schnell] in this challenge. While FLUX.1 [schnell] struggles with spelling and rendering a realistic chalk texture, FLUX.2 [dev] provides perfect adherence to the text prompts, realistic handwriting, and the specific chalk aesthetic requested.
The Reversed Rodeo
Text-to-Image“Horse riding astronaut in space — horse on top, not vice versa. Surreal, highly detailed, cinematic.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + Perfectly follows the specific instruction of having the horse on top of the astronaut.
- + Excellent cinematic lighting and surreal composition.
- + Successfully avoids the common 'astronaut on horse' trope through creative interpretation.
- − The horse has two heads/necks merged together which is a significant anatomical artifact.
- − The astronaut's suit is fragmented and lacks structural coherence in the mid-section.
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + High visual quality with realistic textures on the horse and spacesuit.
- + Great background depth with the nebulae, stars, and planetary atmosphere.
- − Completely fails the primary negative constraint by placing the astronaut on top of the horse.
- − The astronaut's left leg disappears into the horse's flank without a clear foot or stirrup.
Verdict: FLUX.1 [schnell] is the clear winner for prompt adherence, as it is the only model that followed the constraint to put the horse on top of the astronaut. While FLUX.2 [dev] produced a higher-fidelity image with better anatomy, it ignored the specific surreal instruction and defaulted to a standard trope.
The Capybara Taxi Driver
Text-to-Image“Photorealistic scene inside a yellow New York taxi at night. A capybara is driving, wearing a yellow taxi driver cap and a dark jacket. It has a calm, professional expression and both front paws on the steering wheel. In the back seat sits a human businesswoman in a coat, looking at her phone with a completely normal, bored expression (as if this is just another normal ride). Through the windows you can see the streets of Manhattan at night with blurred lights. Realistic taxi interior, photorealistic, detailed fur and fabric, 35mm lens, night lighting with reflections, shallow depth of field.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + Excellent texture on the capybara's fur
- + Clear text on the hat
- + Cinematic lighting consistent with a New York night
- − Only one paw is visible on the steering wheel, failing the 'both front paws' prompt
- − The perspective makes the capybara look like it's in the passenger seat of a right-hand drive car despite being a NY taxi
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Perfectly follows 'both front paws on the steering wheel' instruction
- + Realistic taxi driver hat and uniform jacket
- + Better spatial arrangement of driver vs passenger
- − The passenger's hands and phone are slightly blurry/distorted
- − The capybara's paws look somewhat human-like in texture
Verdict: Both models captured the surreal yet mundane atmosphere requested. FLUX.2 [dev] followed the technical requirements of the prompt more accurately, specifically depicting both paws on the steering wheel and placing the driver in the correct seat for a New York taxi, whereas FLUX.1 [schnell] had better fur rendering but failed on the specific paw placement.
The Halloween Invitation
Text-to-Image“Vintage gothic Halloween party invitation. Dark parchment poster, spooky border with webs and thorns, central glowing jack-o-lantern, bats, twisted trees, moody night sky. Add elegant gothic title text saying "Halloween Party Invitation", a small scroll banner saying "You are invited to a night of frights", and event details at the bottom: Date: 30.10.2026 Time: 7pm Location: The Arches, NYC Spooky but polished, cinematic lighting, square format.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + Excellent typography style for the main header
- + Atmospheric glowing effect on the Jack-o-lantern and text
- − Multiple spelling and grammar errors in the body text
- − Repetitive and nonsensical additional text fields like 'Fate: butistigtion'
- − Poor execution of the banner element
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Flawless text rendering for all requested details including date, time, and location
- + Highly detailed border featuring thorns and webs as requested
- + Stronger adherence to the 'vintage parchment' aesthetic with the scroll and torn paper edges
- − The twisted trees are somewhat obscured by the dark background
- − Composition is slightly less dynamic than Model A in the sky region
Verdict: While both models captured the requested atmosphere, FLUX.2 [dev] is the clear winner due to its superior text rendering, correctly spelling every detail of the invitation and banner. FLUX.1 [schnell] struggled significantly with the text, creating multiple misspellings and adding redundant, garbled lines of text that detracted from the design.
Isometric Miniature Diorama Scenes
Text-to-Image“Create a clear, 45° top-down isometric miniature 3D cartoon scene of Japan's signature dish: sushi, with soft refined textures, realistic PBR materials, gentle lighting, on a small raised diorama base with minimal garnish and plate. Solid light blue background. At top-center: 'JAPAN' in large bold text, 'SUSHI' below it, small flag icon. Perfectly centered, ultra-clean, high-clarity, square format.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + Excellent clean 3D render quality with clear PBR-style textures
- + High contrast and very sharp details on the sushi piece
- + Good adherence to the flag icon request
- − Missed the secondary 'SUSHI' text below 'JAPAN'
- − The white-on-light-blue text has poor readability
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Perfect adherence to all text requirements including 'JAPAN' and 'SUSHI'
- + Beautiful miniature scene composition with a variety of sushi types
- + Better background contrast makes the text and flag highly legible
- − Texture on the fish is slightly more matte/clay-like than the 'refined' request
Verdict: FLUX.2 [dev] is the clear winner as it followed every part of the prompt, including the specific text elements that FLUX.1 [schnell] missed. While FLUX.1 [schnell] produced a very sharp 3D asset, FLUX.2 [dev] successfully created the full miniature scene with better layout and readability.
Adorable Baby Animals in Sunny Meadow
Text-to-Image“Hyper-photorealistic scene of fluffy baby animals—a golden retriever puppy, tabby kitten, baby bunny, and red fox kit—with big expressive eyes and ultra-detailed soft fur, playfully chasing butterflies and tumbling together in a lush wildflower meadow, warm golden sunrise light with god rays and dew sparkles, joyful wholesome vibe, 8K masterpiece.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + Strong vibrant colors with a joyful vibe.
- + Excellent fur texture on the puppy and fox.
- + Good use of bokeh and foreground elements.
- − Failed to include a rabbit, instead adding a second kitten/crossbreed.
- − Anatomical issues with the center-right animal which has kitten and rabbit features blended together.
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Included all requested animals: puppy, tabby kitten, bunny, and fox kit.
- + Beautiful lighting with clearly visible 'god rays' and dew sparkles as requested.
- + Realistic anatomy and high-quality fur rendering.
- − The composition is a bit crowded in the bottom center.
- − The butterflies are less integrated into the movement of the animals compared to Image A.
Verdict: FLUX.2 [dev] is the clear winner as it successfully included all four requested animals, whereas FLUX.1 [schnell] failed to generate the bunny and produced a strange hybrid animal instead. FLUX.2 [dev] also captured the specific lighting effects like 'god rays' and 'dew sparkles' much more effectively.
Vintage Cafe Logo
Text-to-Image“Vintage minimalist restaurant logo for "Caffè Florian", retro cloche dome with steam and "Est. 1720" banner, classic typography, warm brown and cream tones, subtle texture on light background, vector emblem style.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + Clean vector-style emblem
- + Excellent color palette adhering to the brown and cream request
- − Failed significantly on text, outputting 'CAFEE FRAMILAN' instead of 'Caffè Florian'
- − Incorrect year '7720' instead of '1720'
- − Missing the steam element above the cloche
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Perfect text rendering for both 'Caffè Florian' and 'EST. 1720'
- + Includes all requested elements including the steam and banner
- + Stronger vintage texture on the background
- − The cloche icon is slightly less minimalist than Image A
- − The banner ribbon ends are somewhat complex for a 'minimalist' logo
Verdict: FLUX.2 [dev] followed the prompt instructions perfectly, including the specific text, dates, and subtle elements like the steam above the cloche. FLUX.1 [schnell] produced a visually clean emblem but failed on nearly every specific text and detail requirement, inventing words and dates that were not in the prompt.
Apollo 11: Journey to Tranquility
Text-to-Image“Create a clean, modern vector infographic poster about the Apollo 11 mission. NASA-inspired palette (navy, white, muted red, light gray). Flat-vector style, crisp lines, consistent iconography, subtle gradients only. Steps (stop at landing): 1. Launch (Saturn Vicon) 2. Earth Orbit (Earth + orbit ring icon) 3. Translunar (trajectory arc icon) 4. Lunar Orbit (Moon + orbit ring icon) 5. Descent (lunar module descending icon) 6. Landing (lunar module on the surface icon) Small supporting elements (minimal text): • Crew strip: three silhouette icons with only last names: Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins. • Landing site marker: Moon pin labeled "Tranquility" only. Layout constraints: generous margins, large readable labels, clean background with subtle stars. Vector-only, print-poster look, high resolution.”
AI Judge Analysis
FLUX.1 [schnell]
- + Excellent adherence to the NASA-inspired color palette.
- + Creative abstract layout that conceptually links the Earth and Moon.
- + Clean vector styling with consistent iconography and line weights.
- − The text is completely illegible gibberish.
- − Does not clearly follow the ordered 6-step infographic structure requested.
- − Includes a strange overlapping rocket artifact at the top.
FLUX.2 [dev]
- + Strong adherence to the specified 6-step structure with clear labels.
- + Rendered high-quality, recognizable icons for each specific stage like the Saturn V and Lunar Module.
- + Includes accurate historical context like the names of the astronauts and 'Tranquility' site.
- − Contains several grid items that were not requested (extraneous iconography).
- − Suffers from significant spelling errors in the step labels (e.g., 'VALSIST ORDIT').
- − The composition feels like a loose collection of assets rather than a unified infographic poster.
Verdict: FLUX.2 [dev] is the winner because it successfully followed the complex 6-step prompt instructions and correctly identified the specific mission assets like the Lunar Module, whereas FLUX.1 [schnell] produced a more abstract, confused layout. While FLUX.2 [dev] has spelling issues and extra icons, its overall utility as an infographic about Apollo 11 is significantly higher.
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