Distilled version of HiDream AI's 17B parameter text-to-image model
Settled by community votes across 13 shared challenges, with an AI judge weighing in on each.
HiDream I1 Fast
#51 of 62 in Text-to-Image
Recraft V4.1 Pro
#36 of 62 in Text-to-Image
Where the votes landed
HiDream I1 Fast
0%
win rate
Ties
0%
Recraft V4.1 Pro
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + Clean glass rendering with thin, elegant edges
- + Vibrant colors on the sphere and book
- + Accurate lighting direction from the left
- − The sphere is quite large compared to the 'small' sphere requested
- − The sphere appears to be floating rather than resting on the bottom of the cube
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Excellent texture on the red book and wooden table
- + Small sphere size accurately follows the prompt
- + More realistic glass thickness and refraction effects
- − The plant is very dark and lacks detail
- − The book is slightly oversized for the cube
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 Pro is the winner because it accurately followed the size instruction for a 'small' sphere and captured much higher texture detail in the book and wood. HiDream I1 Fast produced a very clean image, but the sphere was disproportionately large and appeared to hover unnaturally within the cube.
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + Excellent handling of wet pavement reflections
- + Atmospheric lighting and cinematic depth of field
- + Subject is clearly in focus and fits the description
- − Lack of motion blur on the passing white car despite the prompt's request
- − The bicycle geometry is slightly warped near the top frame
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Perfect execution of motion blur from passing cars
- + Extremely convincing natural skin texture and age spots
- + Accurately captures the 'imperfect framing' of a candid street photo
- − The visible rain streaks feel a bit overlay-like rather than integrated into the focus depth
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 Pro is the winner for its superior adherence to the specific stylistic requests like 'motion blur' and 'natural skin texture,' feeling like a genuine film photograph. While HiDream I1 Fast produced a more aesthetically 'perfect' cinematic image, it missed the motion blur requirement and looks more digitally rendered compared to the authentic realism of Recraft.
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + Excellent metallic textures and complex engraving details
- + Clear interpretation of the 'paladin' archetype with visible weaponry
- + Rich, warm color palette that fits the torchlight prompt
- − The scars look a bit like face paint or a sticker rather than real skin trauma
- − Skin texture is slightly too smooth and airbrushed compared to the armor detail
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Exceptional realism in skin texture, dirt, and lifelike eyes
- + Very high fidelity on technical details like leather straps and cloth underlayers
- + More naturalistic integration of braids and beads into the hair
- − Lighting is a bit cooler and more diffuse than the requested 'warm torchlight'
- − Bokeh sparks are a bit overwhelming in the background
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 Pro produces a significantly more lifelike and gritty portrait that captures the 'battle-worn' aspect through realistic skin texture and grime. While HiDream I1 Fast excels at the ornate armor and warm lighting, its character looks more like a stylized game render compared to the cinematic realism of Recraft V4.1 Pro.
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + Strong grid layout for photos
- + Bold, high-contrast header section
- − Heavy text gibberish and artifacts across the menu items
- − Repetitive food photos that lack variety
- − Misspelled and broken header text
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Perfect text legibility with coherent menu items and descriptions
- + Excellent professional graphic design with color-coded sidebar accents
- + Strong variety of food photography that matches the category labels
- − Minor typo in 'sraalmon'
- − Layout is slightly less like a physical 'grid' of photos in the traditional sense
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 Pro is the clear winner as it produces a fully functional, professional-grade menu with legible text, diverse food imagery, and a clean minimalist aesthetic. HiDream I1 Fast struggles significantly with text generation, resulting in unreadable gibberish and repetitive, lower-quality images.
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + Excellent execution of the fiery glowing starburst for the price.
- + Text is very legible and follows a curved, dynamic path.
- + Vibrant colors and a strong sense of a commercial advertisement.
- − Failed the 'exploded burger' requirement, showing a mostly assembled burger instead.
- − Spelling error in 'LIMITED TIME ONLY' (shows 'LIMITED TINIK').
- − Odd white rings floating around the burger look out of place.
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Perfectly followed the 'deconstructed/exploded' layout requirement.
- + High-quality photorealistic textures on the lettuce, patty, and bun.
- + Clean and accurate typography for all requested text elements.
- − The lighting on the burger components is a bit cool compared to the warm, fiery background.
- − The sauce trail looks slightly more like plastic than liquid.
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 Pro is the clear winner as it successfully rendered the complex 'exploded' composition requested in the prompt, whereas HiDream I1 Fast provided a standard assembled burger. Recraft V4.1 Pro also maintained perfect text accuracy and a higher level of photorealistic detail in the individual ingredients.
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + Successfully captures a bright, cozy cafe atmosphere in the background.
- + Includes all requested text elements from the prompt.
- − Significant text artifacts and overlapping characters on the lower half of the board.
- − Spelling errors such as 'Buter' and garbled pricing text.
- − Handwriting style becomes inconsistent and messy toward the bottom.
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Excellent text rendering with near-perfect legibility and spelling.
- + Highly realistic chalk texture with smudges and natural handwriting variations.
- + Consistent and elegant cursive/print hybrid style across the entire board.
- − The composition is a tight close-up, sacrificing some of the 'cozy café' environmental context.
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 Pro is the clear winner as it followed the complex text requirements perfectly, maintaining a consistent and realistic chalk texture throughout. HiDream I1 Fast struggled significantly with text coherence, resulting in overlapping characters and several spelling errors that made the menu unreadable.
The Reversed Rodeo
Text-to-Image“Horse riding astronaut in space — horse on top, not vice versa. Surreal, highly detailed, cinematic.”
AI Judge Analysis
HiDream I1 Fast
- + High resolution and clear lighting on the subject.
- + Good anatomical rendering of the horse and astronaut gear.
- − Completely failed the environment prompt by setting the scene in a desert instead of space.
- − The horse's back left leg is detached or poorly connected at the joint.
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Successfully placed the scene in a space environment as requested.
- + Highly detailed cinematic lighting and cosmic backdrop.
- − Failed the paradoxical logic part of the prompt by putting the astronaut on top instead of the horse on top.
- − The horse's rear left leg has an anatomical issue where the hoof is floating or disconnected.
Verdict: Both models failed to follow the paradoxical instruction of 'horse on top, not vice versa,' instead generating a standard astronaut riding a horse. Recraft V4.1 Pro is the superior image as it correctly interpreted the 'in space' setting, whereas HiDream I1 Fast generated a desert scene with a blue sky.
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + The capybara's fur texture is very sharp and detailed.
- + The composition of the two characters creates a clear narrative.
- − The capybara has human hands, which is a significant anatomical error.
- − The human passenger appears to be sitting in the front passenger seat instead of the back seat as requested.
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Correctly places the passenger in the back seat and the capybara in the driver's seat.
- + Depicts paws on the steering wheel instead of human hands.
- + The lighting and cinematic grain feel much more photorealistic and cohesive.
- − The passenger's face is slightly out of focus compared to Model A.
- − The capybara's eyes lack a bit of the 'professional expression' life mentioned in the prompt.
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 Pro is the clear winner as it correctly follows the complex spatial instructions, placing the passenger in the back seat and giving the capybara paws instead of the uncanny human hands seen in HiDream I1 Fast. Recraft V4.1 Pro also achieves a superior photorealistic aesthetic that feels like a real film still rather than a digital composite.
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + Successfully uses a parchment paper texture for the invitation body
- + Includes a distinct scroll banner for the secondary text as requested
- + Matches the square format requirement
- − Text rendering is poor with significant typos like 'D are invited' and 'Anches'
- − The illustration style looks significantly more cartoonish than cinematic
- − The layout is somewhat cluttered with repeating text elements at the bottom
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Excellent typography with perfect spelling for all requested text
- + Highly atmospheric cinematic lighting and detailed textures on the jack-o-lantern
- + Professional composition that looks like a real event poster
- − The 'parchment' element is less distinct, focusing more on a general dark background
- − Uses a modern sans-serif font for the location text which contrasts slightly with the gothic theme
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 Pro is the clear winner due to its superior text rendering and high-fidelity cinematic aesthetic. While HiDream I1 Fast followed the 'parchment' instruction more literally, its execution suffered from severe spelling errors and a lower-quality illustrative style compared to the polished, professional look of Recraft V4.1 Pro.
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + Excellent 3D miniature cartoon aesthetic with tangible soft textures.
- + Great text rendering and logical placement of the flag icon.
- + Accurate interpretation of the diorama base and isometric perspective.
- − Physical logic of the salmon nigiri containing a filling like a roll is strange.
- − The background has a slight gradient rather than being a perfectly solid color.
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Crisp typography with a modern graphic design feel.
- + High-resolution rendering of individual rice grains on the base.
- + Clean light blue background matches the prompt perfectly.
- − The sushi pieces are very small relative to the base and the text.
- − The composition feels bottom-heavy with a lot of empty space in the middle.
Verdict: HiDream I1 Fast better captures the 'miniature 3D cartoon' and 'diorama' aspects of the prompt, resulting in a more cohesive and charming scene. Recraft V4.1 Pro has cleaner typography and background, but the actual sushi subject feels undersized and detached from the overall composition compared to the first model.
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + Warm, aesthetically pleasing lighting and rim light
- + High clarity and softness in animal fur
- − Missed the baby bunny entirely
- − Includes two kittens instead of one, missing prompt specifics
- − Static composition fails to capture the requested action of 'tumbling' or 'chasing'
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Perfectly adheres to the animal list (puppy, kitten, bunny, fox)
- + Dynamic and creative composition that captures the 'tumbling' and 'chasing' action
- + Superior rendering of 'dew sparkles' and atmospheric god rays
- − The fox's anatomy is slightly elongated in the midsection
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 Pro is the clear winner as it successfully included all four requested animals (golden retriever, tabby kitten, bunny, and fox) while HiDream I1 Fast missed the bunny and duplicated the kitten. Furthermore, Recraft V4.1 Pro captured the energy of the prompt with dynamic movement, whereas HiDream offered a static, posed portrait.
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + Excellent handle of the 'vintage' and 'warm' aesthetic requests
- + Strong emblem composition with balanced design elements
- + Accurate representation of the cloche and steam details
- − Typos in the text including '17210' instead of '1720'
- − The 'Est.' text is slightly clipped by the ribbon border
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Perfect text rendering for both name and date
- + Clean, professional vector style that looks like a real logo
- + Accurate interpretation of minimalist and classic typography
- − Missed the request for a cream/warm background
- − The steam effect is a bit too abstract compared to the vintage request
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 Pro is the winner because it successfully rendered all text elements accurately, which is crucial for a logo prompt. While HiDream I1 Fast captured the 'warm vintage' mood better, the significant typo '17210' makes it unusable as a professional design compared to Recraft's clean execution.
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
HiDream I1 Fast
- + Strongly adheres to the requested NASA-inspired color palette.
- + Includes iconic elements like the US flag and planetary rings.
- − Poor text rendering with numerous spelling errors.
- − Visual layout is cluttered and icons are not consistently sized.
- − Fails to follow the logical step-by-step numbering requested.
Recraft V4.1 Pro
- + Excellent layout with a clear, logical flowchart structure.
- + High-quality text rendering with very few errors.
- + Consistent vector iconography and professional use of whitespace.
- − Minor numbering error (steps are numbered 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 05).
- − Monochrome blue color scheme leans less into the requested 'muted red' and 'NASA gray' variety compared to image A.
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 Pro produces a far superior infographic with a clean, professional layout that accurately follows the sequential steps of the prompt. While HiDream I1 Fast captures the requested color palette well, its text is illegible and the composition lacks the organized vector aesthetic required for an infographic.
Explore each model
Recraft V4.1 Pro tier text-to-image model — supports up to 2048×2048 and ultra-wide formats for hero imagery, campaigns, and print-ready work