HiDream AI's 17B parameter text-to-image model using sparse diffusion transformer with mixture of experts, achieving state-of-the-art image generation quality with strong prompt following
Settled by community votes across 12 shared challenges, with an AI judge weighing in on each.
HiDream I1 Full
#60 of 62 in Text-to-Image
Recraft V4 Pro
#18 of 62 in Text-to-Image
Where the votes landed
HiDream I1 Full
0%
win rate
Ties
0%
Recraft V4 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 Full
- + Excellent depiction of window light and shadows on the table surface
- + The blue sphere features realistic reflections and a sense of depth
- + Strong composition with a warm, natural aesthetic
- − The plant is more to the side than strictly 'behind' the cube as requested
- − The blue sphere appears to be floating unnaturally in the center of the air
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Strict adherence to spatial instructions with the plant directly behind the cube
- + Highly realistic glass texture with convincing thickness and refractive properties
- + The sphere sits naturally on the bottom surface of the cube
- − The lighting feels a bit flatter and less atmospheric compared to Image A
- − The composition is slightly tighter, cropping the table edge more aggressively
Verdict: Both models followed the complex spatial prompt very well. Recraft V4 Pro is the likely winner for its superior realism in glass physics and better placement of the plant behind the cube, whereas HiDream I1 Full created a more artistic but slightly less accurate scene.
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 Full
- + Excellent reflection quality on the wet pavement
- + Strong 50mm lens feel with a nice background bokeh
- + Good capture of natural facial skin texture
- − Anatomical failure with the man's legs merging with the bicycle frame
- − The man is sitting on air/the frame rather than a seat
- − White cars in the background lack the requested motion blur
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Successfully captured the requested motion blur on the passing taxi
- + Superior pose and anatomical realism with the man standing naturally
- + The lighting and grain achieve a more 'no stylization' cinematic look
- − The man's face and hands are slightly underexposed and muddy
- − Raindrops appear as static long streaks rather than a natural mist
Verdict: Recraft V4 Pro is the clear winner as it correctly interprets 'motion blur' and maintains anatomical integrity, whereas HiDream I1 Full suffers from a significant structural error where the man's legs transform into the bicycle frame. Recraft V4 Pro also better adheres to the requested cinematic, unstylized aesthetic through its use of film-like grain.
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 Full
- + Exceptional capturing of warm torchlight reflections
- + Very high fidelity in skin textures and lifelike eyes
- + Excellent adherence to the 'engraved plate armor' and 'warm bokeh' instructions
- − The scar on the nose looks a bit like a digital artifact or smudge
- − The hair-to-bead transitions are somewhat cluttered in the upper portion
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Very realistic and gritty interpretation of 'dirt on skin' and 'battle-worn'
- + Excellent hair braiding detail with clearly defined beads
- + High-quality engraving detail on the pauldrons
- − Lighting is somewhat flat and lacks the 'warm torchlight reflection' requested
- − The character's face is overly shadowed, losing the 'lifelike eyes' detail
- − Less shallow depth of field compared to the prompt's request
Verdict: HiDream I1 Full produced a more cinematic and vibrant image that perfectly captured the lighting and bokeh requested in the prompt. While Recraft V4 Pro handled the textures of the armor and the physical 'battle-worn' dirt effectively, it failed to provide the warm, reflective lighting that defines the mood of the scene. HiDream I1 Full feels more like a professional portrait, whereas Recraft V4 Pro feels slightly underexposed.
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 Full
- + Excellent photo quality for the food items
- + Clean, high-contrast typography for headers
- − Nonsense 'lorem ipsum' style text for descriptions
- − Redundant food photos (four similar pizzas) which do not match the section headers
- − Layout feels cramped compared to a real menu
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Perfectly legible and accurate English text
- + Superior adherence to the 'grid' layout requested
- + Logically organized sections with distinct, varied food photos for each category
- − Minor spacing inconsistency at the bottom of the 'Mains' category descriptions
Verdict: Recraft V4 Pro produced a professional, functional menu design with perfect text rendering and a clear logical structure that followed all prompt instructions. HiDream I1 Full generated high-quality images but failed on text legibility and logical organization, showing only pizzas regardless of the section categories.
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 Full
- + Features a beautiful and realistic chalk art drawing of a coffee cup.
- + Correctly uses an elegant cursive style for the header.
- + The chalk texture on the letters is convincing and varied.
- − Failed to follow the menu item instructions, providing gibberish text instead of the requested dishes.
- − The layout is cluttered and contains repetitive $50 prices.
- − Text includes unintended strokes and artifacts like a floating '1500'.
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Excellent prompt adherence, correctly rendering all the specific menu items and prices.
- + Captures the 'cozy café' atmosphere well with the background scene.
- + The chalk smudges on the board add to the realism of the medium.
- − The handwriting style is more of a clean digital font than a natural cursive/handwritten style.
- − The title is in all-caps print rather than the requested elegant cursive.
- − The text lacks the slight slant and natural irregularities requested in the prompt.
Verdict: Recraft V4 Pro is the clear winner for its superior text rendering accuracy, successfully displaying every item requested in the prompt without errors. While HiDream I1 Full achieves a more artistic and 'hand-drawn' feel, it completely fails to render the actual words requested, producing illegible gibberish instead.
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 Full
- + Excellent anatomical rendering of the horse and astronaut
- + High contrast and cinematic lighting reflecting off the visor
- + Dynamic composition with a sense of motion in orbit
- − The horse's back legs blend awkwardly into the planetary clouds
- − The prompt instruction 'horse on top' was interpreted as the astronaut riding the horse, rather than a literal role reversal
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Complex environmental detailing with asteroids and ice particles
- + Highly cinematic atmosphere and lighting
- + Detailed textures on the astronaut's suit
- − Failed the negative constraint/specific instruction 'horse on top, not vice versa'
- − The horse's front leg anatomy is slightly distorted as it interacts with the ice
Verdict: Both models failed the negative constraint to have the horse on top of the astronaut (a literal role reversal), instead producing the standard 'astronaut riding a horse' trope. HiDream I1 Full is the likely winner because it provides a cleaner, more coherent image with better focus on the subjects, whereas Recraft V4 Pro has slightly warped horse anatomy and a cluttered foreground.
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 Full
- + Excellent clarity and lighting on the faces of the subjects.
- + Accurately places the businesswoman in the background as requested.
- + Realistic texturing on the capybara's fur and the passenger's coat.
- − The capybara's 'hands' are rendered more like strangely fused human-ape fingers than capybara paws.
- − The taxi interior looks a bit too modern and clean, more like a luxury SUV than a standard NYC taxi.
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Superb cinematic atmosphere with realistic rain and Manhattan city lights.
- + Excellent anatomical accuracy for capybara paws on the steering wheel.
- + Authentic New York taxi aesthetic including the driver's hat style.
- − The image is slightly noisier and less sharp than Model A.
- − The businesswoman in the background is a bit obscured by the window frame.
Verdict: Recraft V4 Pro captures the specific 'vibe' of a rainy New York night perfectly, with superior anatomical accuracy for the capybara's paws. While HiDream I1 Full is cleaner and more vibrant, it fails the realism test with its distorted hand/paw rendering. Recraft V4 Pro is the preferred choice for its cinematic quality and better adherence to the professional yet nonchalant mood of the prompt.
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 Full
- + Successfully captures a vintage parchment aesthetic
- + Includes the scroll banner as requested
- + Composition feels balanced and thematic
- − Fails significantly on text accuracy for the date and location details
- − Title is missing the word 'Invitation'
- − Visual style is more like a cartoon illustration than cinematic lighting
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Excellent text rendering with 100% accuracy for all requested details
- + Highly detailed and metallic thorny border with spiderwebs
- + Cinematic atmospheric lighting with a realistic 3D feel
- − The parchment texture is less prominent, favoring a darker background
- − Title text is a standard serif font rather than an 'elegant gothic' style
Verdict: Recraft V4 Pro is the clear winner as it followed every instruction, specifically accurately rendering all of the complex text details including the date, time, and location. While HiDream I1 Full captured the parchment look well, its failure to generate legible or correct information at the bottom of the invitation makes it unusable for the intended purpose.
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 Full
- + Excellent typography style that matches the cartoon aesthetic
- + Solid isometric perspective and 3D modeling
- + Clean textures and high-quality rendering of individual sushi pieces
- − Completely missed the requested flag icon
- − The diorama base is more of a tray than a standalone diorama scene
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Successfully included all prompt elements including the flag icon
- + Highly creative interpretation of a 'diorama base' using a bed of rice
- + Excellent PBR material textures, especially on the salmon and roe
- − Typography is a bit thin and less impactful than the other model
- − The sushi arrangement feels slightly less structured for a graphics-style icon
Verdict: Recraft V4 Pro is the winner because it adhered more strictly to the prompt by including the flag icon and provided a much more creative, high-quality interpretation of the diorama base using a realistic rice texture. HiDream I1 Full produced a very clean, professional-looking image, but failed to include one of the core requested elements (the flag).
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 Full
- + Excellent vibrant lighting and warm 'joyful' atmosphere.
- + Consistent cute and expressive eye rendering.
- + Sharp subjects with high visual clarity.
- − Missed the bunny entirely (included two kittens instead).
- − Static composition that doesn't capture the 'tumbling' or 'chasing' aspect.
- − Looks more like a digital illustration than the requested 'hyper-photorealistic' scene.
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Successfully included all four requested animals: puppy, kitten, bunny, and fox.
- + Captured the action terms like 'chasing' and 'tumbling' with dynamic poses.
- + Closer to hyper-photorealism with realistic fur textures and environmental details like dew.
- − The fox kit has a slightly distorted front paw area in the grass.
- − The lighting is a bit more muted than the 'golden sunrise light' requested.
Verdict: Recraft V4 Pro is the clear winner as it followed all parts of the prompt, including the specific list of four animals and the action-oriented composition. HiDream I1 Full failed to include the baby bunny and produced a more generic, static portrait that leaned toward a 3D-render aesthetic rather than photorealism.
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 Full
- + Clean vector emblem style
- + Perfectly legible 'Est. 1720' text
- + Accurate brown and cream color palette
- − Completely misses the main brand name 'Caffè Florian'
- − The steam design looks a bit like a generic cup inside the cloche rather than steam rising from it
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Accurately renders all requested text including the main brand name
- + Excellent vintage typography and cross-hatched illustration style
- + Sophisticated composition with a true scroll banner
- − Subtle texture is less visible compared to the solid cream of the other model
- − The cloche is detached from the rest of the logo elements
Verdict: Recraft V4 Pro is the clear winner as it successfully included the main brand name 'Caffè Florian', which HiDream I1 Full omitted entirely. Recraft V4 Pro also demonstrated superior artistic quality with its vintage cross-hatched cloche and elegant typography, perfectly capturing the requested restaurant logo aesthetic.
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 Full
- + Strong aesthetic appeal with a bold navy background.
- + Consistent flat-vector style for all icons.
- + Accurately captures the requested NASA-inspired color palette.
- − Failed to include 2 of the 6 requested mission steps.
- − Contains significant text gibberish and artifacts in the icons.
- − The central rocket is a generic shuttle design rather than the requested Saturn V.
Recraft V4 Pro
- + Perfect adherence to all 6 requested mission steps.
- + Flawless text rendering and descriptive supporting text.
- + Accurate iconography including the Saturn V, Lunar Module, and astronaut icons.
- − The layout is a bit sparse with significant empty white space.
- − The Saturn V icon is slightly stretched vertically.
Verdict: Recraft V4 Pro is the clear winner as it followed every instruction, including the specific 6-step sequence, and rendered perfect English text. HiDream I1 Full failed to include all mission steps and produced nonsensical text labels as well as inaccurate spacecraft designs.
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Recraft's latest image generation model at ~2048px resolution with stronger composition, refined lighting, and realistic materials for print-ready and large-scale work