What is the best AI image editing model?

Based on blind community voting, Nano Banana Pro is currently the #1 ranked AI image editing model with an Elo rating of 1269. Rankings update in real time as new votes come in.

How are AI image editing models ranked on Lumenfall?

Lumenfall Arena ranks AI models through blind community voting. In each matchup, two models generate from the same prompt and voters pick the better result without seeing model names. Votes are processed using TrueSkill, a Bayesian rating algorithm developed by Microsoft Research, that produces a single Elo score reflecting each model's relative quality.

What is an Elo rating for AI models?

An Elo rating is a numerical score representing a model's skill relative to other models. Under the hood, Lumenfall uses TrueSkill, which tracks two values per model: mu (estimated skill) and sigma (uncertainty). The displayed Elo is calculated as 1000 + 10 x (mu - 3*sigma), a conservative lower bound. A model must prove itself consistently across many matchups to earn a high rating.

ARENA Leaderboard

See how AI image models stack up against each other. How it works

Best AI Models for Photorealism

Ranking the best AI image editing models for photorealism, based on 5 blind community-voted challenges.

Highlights

10 images

Best AI Models for Photorealism

16 models ranked · Last update: April 23, 2026 3:38 AM

#	Model	Price	¢/img	Elo
1	Nano Banana Pro Google	$$$	6.7¢	1269
2	GPT Image 1.5 OpenAI	$	0.9¢	1253
3	Nano Banana Google	$$	3.9¢	1252
4	Nano Banana 2 Google	$$	2.2¢	1249
5	FLUX.2 [flex] Black Forest Labs	$$$	6¢	1245
6	Seedream 5.0 Lite ByteDance	$$	3.5¢	1229
7	Seedream 4.5 ByteDance	$$	4¢	1228
8	Wan 2.6 Alibaba	$$	3¢	1228
9	Grok Imagine Image xAI	$$	2¢	1218
10	FLUX.2 [pro] Black Forest Labs	$$	1.5¢	1217

11	FLUX.2 [max] Black Forest Labs	$$	3¢	1215
12	Qwen Image Edit 2511 Alibaba	$$	3¢	1210
13	Grok Imagine Image Pro xAI	$$$	7¢	1192
14	Reve Image 1.0 Reve AI	$$	4¢	1187
15	Seedream 4.0 ByteDance	$$	3¢	1176
16	Z-Image Turbo Alibaba	$	0.5¢	1053

Google's Nano Banana Pro dominates the Photorealism category with an Elo of 1268 and a 71.8% win rate, establishing a 15-point lead over the closest competitor. While Nano Banana Pro maintains the top spot, budget-tier OpenAI GPT Image 1.5 (Elo 1253) significantly outperforms its price bracket by securing the second-rank position despite being over 85% cheaper per image than the category leader.

Elo vs Cost

Elo vs Speed

1 without speed data omitted.

Highlighted Battles

The most competitive head-to-head matchups, selected by closeness and vote count.

Qwen Image Edit 2511 vs Nano Banana 2

Man and Car in California

47% · 49% · 4%

FLUX.2 [flex] vs Qwen Image Edit 2511

Man and Car in California

48% · 52%

FLUX.2 [pro] vs FLUX.2 [max]

Neutral Expression to Genuine Smile

50% · 50%

Grok Imagine Image vs Seedream 5.0 Lite

Neutral Expression to Genuine Smile

50% · 50%

Think a model is ranked wrong? Cast your vote

Challenges

Man and Car in California Image Editing Photorealism

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

Input

Top 3

GPT Image 1.5

Nano Banana Pro

Wan 2.6

Bottom 3

Seedream 5.0 Lite

Grok Imagine Image

Seedream 4.0

13 models competed

Vote on this challenge All results & rankings

Bald man challenge Image Editing Photorealism Portrait

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

Input

Top 3

Before After

Nano Banana Pro

Before After

Nano Banana 2

Before After

Seedream 5.0 Lite

Bottom 3

Before After

Wan 2.6

Before After

Seedream 4.0

Before After

Z-Image Turbo

15 models competed

Vote on this challenge All results & rankings

Night Sky Transformation Image Editing Photorealism

“Change the scene to night: a deep, dark sky with subtle, glistening stars visible behind the mountain.”

Input

Top 3

Before After

Nano Banana Pro

Before After

Reve Image 1.0

Before After

GPT Image 1.5

Bottom 3

Before After

Wan 2.6

Before After

FLUX.2 [flex]

Before After

Z-Image Turbo

16 models competed

Vote on this challenge All results & rankings

Neutral Expression to Genuine Smile Image Editing Photorealism Portrait

{
  "action": "image_edit",
  "reference": "uploaded neutral portrait",
  "change": "Warm genuine Duchenne smile: lips curved up, slight natural teeth, soft eye crinkles, subtle cheek raise",
  "details": "Realistic smiling skin (dimples if present, soft cheek shadows), slightly brighter eyes; keep exact eye shape/color/iris",
  "preserve_exact": "Face identity/structure, eyes/nose/lips/eyebrows, hair, skin texture/pores/freckles, makeup, clothing, head pose, background, lighting, shadows, framing",
  "no_changes": "No face shape change, no new features, no gaze shift, no hair/clothing/lighting/background edits",
  "style": "Ultra-photorealistic 8K portrait, sharp face focus, natural soft lighting, realistic skin glow"
}

Input