GPT Image 1 OpenAI Qwen Image Edit 2511 Alibaba

Settled by community votes across 7 shared challenges, with an AI judge weighing in on each.

GPT Image 1

23.2 arena score

#28 of 62 in Text-to-Image

Skill signature · Text-to-Image

Qwen Image Edit 2511

20.2 arena score

#16 of 32 in Image Editing

Vote tally

Where the votes landed

GPT Image 1

win rate

Ties

Qwen Image Edit 2511

win rate

Shared challenges 7

Challenge by challenge

The strongest take from each model on every shared challenge, with the AI judge's read.

Man and Car in California

Editing

Edit instruction

“Make a photo of the man driving the car down the California coastline”

Source

GPT Image 1

Qwen Image Edit 2511

AI Judge Analysis

GPT Image 1

+ Excellent preservation of the original car's exterior design and highlights.
+ Highly realistic motion blur on the wheels and road surface.
+ Perfectly captures the requested California coastline atmosphere.

− The man's clothing is not preserved from the source image.
− The man's face and hairstyle show significant changes from the source.

Qwen Image Edit 2511

+ Successfully preserves the man's specific clothing and scarf from the source image.
+ Captures the subject's facial features and expression more accurately than Model A.
+ Includes palm trees which clearly signal a California setting.

− The car interior is generic and does not match the luxury Rolls-Royce style from the source image.
− The perspective of the man's arms and shoulders appears anatomically awkward.
− The exterior of the car is mostly cropped out, losing the context of the specific source vehicle.

Verdict: GPT Image 1 produces a far more professional and aesthetically pleasing image, perfectly maintaining the specific car model from the source while creating a convincing sense of motion. However, Qwen Image Edit 2511 is much better at source preservation for the person, successfully carrying over his specific outfit and hairstyle. GPT Image 1 is the preferred winner because it creates a more cohesive final composition, whereas Qwen Image Edit 2511 has anatomical issues with the man's pose and loses the identity of the car.

Pose & Character Mashup

Editing

Edit instruction

“Use Image 1 as the exact pose reference and Image 2 as the character reference. Recreate the person/character from Image 2 in the exact dynamic pose and body position from Image 1. Keep the exact face, hair, clothing style/details, and expression from Image 2. Match the lighting and environment of Image 1. The final image must show the character from Image 2 performing the precise action/pose from Image 1 with perfect anatomy and natural integration.”

Source

GPT Image 1

Qwen Image Edit 2511

AI Judge Analysis

GPT Image 1

+ Successfully merges the character from Image 2 with the pose from Image 1.
+ Accurately replicates the yellow background and lighting environment of Image 1.
+ Includes specific character details like the scarf and black sunglasses.

− Anatomy is significantly distorted, especially the right hand and the connection of the legs.
− Facial features have become slightly caricatured compared to the source reference.

Qwen Image Edit 2511

+ High resolution and clear image quality.

− Completely failed the instruction to recreate the person from Image 2 in the pose of Image 1.
− Simply overlaid Image 1 on top of Image 2, resulting in two people in the frame.
− Ignored the background and lighting requirements.

Verdict: GPT Image 1 followed the complex instruction of combining a specific character's identity with a specific reference pose, although the anatomical execution was poor. Qwen Image Edit 2511 failed the editing task entirely, performing a simple cut-and-paste overlay that resulted in an image containing both people rather than one character transformed into a new pose.

Outfit Transfer Challenge

Editing

Edit instruction

“Use Image 1 as the base person. Dress them in the exact elaborate outfit from Image 2 (including all layers, accessories, jewelry, and shoes). Carefully adapt the clothing to the body shape and pose in Image 1 while maintaining realistic fabric behavior, correct proportions, and perfect lighting/shadow matching. Keep the person’s exact face, hair, and background completely unchanged.”

Source

GPT Image 1

Qwen Image Edit 2511

AI Judge Analysis

GPT Image 1

+ Excellent preservation of the person's unique facial features and skin patterns from Image 1.
+ Highly accurate recreation of the coat and scarf textures and patterns from Image 2.
+ Maintains the composition and lighting of the original scene.

− The person's skin tone on the hands appears significantly darker than the original person's base tone.
− Cropped the image into a square, losing the lower half of the requested outfit (jeans/shoes).

Qwen Image Edit 2511

+ Successfully applied the full outfit including jeans and shoes.
+ Matches the pose and leaning posture well within the environment.

− Completely failed to preserve the person from Image 1, replacing him with the person from Image 2.
− Ignored the instruction to keep the person's face and hair unchanged.
− Low-quality face rendering with artifacts around the eyes and hair.

Verdict: GPT Image 1 followed the instructions for a true person-to-person edit, preserving the subject's distinct vitiligo and facial features from Image 1 while applying the clothing from Image 2. Qwen Image Edit 2511 failed the core task by simply pasting the person from Image 2 into the background of Image 1, ignoring the requirement to keep the original person's identity.

Bald man challenge

Image Editing

Edit instruction

“Give the person a full, thick head of natural hair with realistic texture, density, and a natural hairline. Preserve facial features and lighting.”

GPT Image 1

Qwen Image Edit 2511

AI Judge Analysis

GPT Image 1

+ Successfully added a large volume of hair as requested.
+ Preserved the lighting and background of the original image well.

− The hairline is unnaturally straight across the forehead.
− The texture of the hair looks somewhat like a wig and lacks fine strand detail.
− Modified the eye shape and expression slightly, making the person look less like the original.

Qwen Image Edit 2511

+ Excellent realistic texture with convincing curls and flyaway strands.
+ The hairline is much more natural and integrates perfectly with the original forehead wrinkles.
+ Superior preservation of the original person's facial features and eyes.

− The hair volume is slightly less 'thick' at the very top compared to Model A, though more realistic.

Verdict: Qwen Image Edit 2511 performed a much more realistic edit, providing hair that looks like it belongs to the subject with a natural hairline and believable texture. GPT Image 1's result looks like a synthetic toupee with an unnaturally straight hairline and slightly altered facial features.

Over-the-top cartoon caricature

Editing

Edit instruction

“Create a caricature of me and my job. Make it exaggerated and humorous, incorporating my profession as a tv show anchor and my love for dogs and hockey.”

Source

GPT Image 1

Qwen Image Edit 2511

AI Judge Analysis

GPT Image 1

+ Excellent inclusion of all themes (news desk, dog, hockey stick, and hockey dog graphic)
+ Successfully preserves the facial features and hair color of the original person in a caricature style
+ The watercolor-style texture adds a charming, artistic quality to the caricature

Qwen Image Edit 2511

+ Strong caricature style with clean, bold lines and vibrant colors
+ Captures the 'TV anchor' profession well with a studio background and formal attire

− Completely missed the hockey theme requested in the prompt
− Text in the speech bubble is nonsensical gibberish
− Includes odd artifacts like a candle on a desk and a floating hand holding a wire

Verdict: GPT Image 1 is the clear winner as it successfully incorporated every element of the prompt—TV anchoring, dogs, and hockey—into a cohesive and humorous caricature. While Qwen Image Edit 2511 produced a clean vector style, it failed to include the hockey theme and featured several nonsensical visual artifacts and gibberish text.

Studio Ghibli Anime Style

Editing

Edit instruction

“Transform this photo into a Studio Ghibli–inspired illustration. Use soft pastel colors, hand-painted textures, gentle lighting, dreamy backgrounds, and a warm, nostalgic mood”

Source

GPT Image 1

Qwen Image Edit 2511

AI Judge Analysis

GPT Image 1

+ Perfectly captures the Studio Ghibli artistic style with hand-painted textures and soft linework.
+ Excellent use of warm, nostalgic pastel colors that fit the specific aesthetic requested.
+ Preserves the iconic composition and character expressions of the source meme while translating them into illustration.

− Loss of fine detail in the background compared to the original image.
− The man's shirt pattern is simplified significantly.

Qwen Image Edit 2511

+ High preservation of original facial features and clothing details.
+ Maintains the background elements like the red bus and other pedestrians very clearly.
+ Crisp lighting and clean execution of a digital anime style.

− Fails to achieve the 'Ghibli' look, appearing more like a generic modern manhwa or webtoon style.
− Colors are too vibrant and lack the requested 'soft pastel' and 'warm nostalgic' mood.
− Misses the 'hand-painted textures' requirement, looking very digitally polished.

Verdict: GPT Image 1 is the clear winner as it successfully interprets the 'Studio Ghibli' request with appropriate textures, colors, and stylistic choices. Qwen Image Edit 2511 creates a clean anime-style filter but ignores the specific textural and tonal requirements of the Ghibli aesthetic, resulting in an image that feels too modern and digital.

Golden Hour Stroll

Image Editing

Edit instruction

“Add dynamic motion to this photo: make hair blow in the wind, add leaves flying, energetic and lively feel.”

GPT Image 1

Qwen Image Edit 2511

AI Judge Analysis

GPT Image 1

+ Excellent preservation of the woman's face and original features.
+ Highly realistic integration of blowing wind in the hair.
+ Naturalistic depiction of many small, autumnal leaves.

− The wind direction appears slightly inconsistent between the hair and the floating leaves.

Qwen Image Edit 2511

+ Successfully adds both wind-blown hair and colorful leaves as requested.
+ Good preservation of the dog's appearance and the background.

− The hair effect looks somewhat artificial and stringy compared to the original hair texture.
− The woman's facial features changed slightly, losing the exact likeness of the source image.

Verdict: GPT Image 1 is the superior edit because it maintains a high degree of fidelity to the source person's face while integrating the motion effects much more realistically. Qwen Image Edit 2511 successfully adds the requested elements, but the hair looks illustrated and the facial features have been subtly altered from the original.