What is the best AI text to image model?

Based on blind community voting, Nano Banana 2 is currently the #1 ranked AI text to image model with an Elo rating of 1256. Rankings update in real time as new votes come in.

How are AI text to image 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 Portrait

Ranking the best AI text to image models for portrait, based on 1 blind community-voted challenge.

Highlights

5 images

Best AI Models for Portrait

21 models ranked · Last update: April 23, 2026 4:08 AM

#	Model	Price	¢/img	Elo
1	Nano Banana 2 Google	$$	2.2¢	1256
2	Nano Banana Pro Google	$$$	6.7¢	1254
3	ImagineArt 1.5 (Preview) Vyro AI	$$	3¢	1229
4	FLUX.2 [dev] Flash fal	$	0.5¢	1225
5	GPT Image 1.5 OpenAI	$	0.9¢	1223
6	FLUX.2 [dev] Turbo fal	$	0.8¢	1217
7	GPT Image 1 Mini OpenAI	$	0.5¢	1207
8	Z-Image Turbo Alibaba	$	0.5¢	1206
9	Recraft V4 Recraft AI	$$	4¢	1204
10	FLUX.2 [pro] Black Forest Labs	$$	1.5¢	1203

11	Lucid Origin Leonardo AI	$$	2¢	1202
12	FLUX.2 [dev] Black Forest Labs	$$	1.2¢	1182
13	Recraft V4 Pro Recraft AI	$$$$	25¢	1180
14	Reve Image 1.0 Reve AI	$$	4¢	1164
15	Grok Imagine Image xAI	$$	2¢	1156
16	Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large Stability AI	$$$	6.5¢	1155
17	Grok Imagine Image Pro xAI	$$$	7¢	1147
18	HiDream I1 Fast HiDream AI	$	0.5¢	1131
19	Seedream 5.0 Lite ByteDance	$$	3.5¢	1110
20	Nano Banana Google	$$	3.9¢	1101
21	Imagen 4.0 Fast Generate 001 Google	$$	2¢	1092

Google dominates the portrait category with Nano Banana Pro (1253 Elo) and Nano Banana 2 (1251 Elo) securing the top two spots, maintaining a narrow 10-point lead over OpenAI’s GPT Image 1.5 (1243 Elo). Unlike the overall leaderboard where diverse architectures compete closely, portrait-specific performance shows a sharp efficiency advantage for GPT Image 1.5, which achieves an 80.6% win rate at roughly 13% of the cost of the category leader.

Elo vs Cost

Elo vs Speed

5 without speed data omitted.

Highlighted Battles

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

Nano Banana Pro vs ImagineArt 1.5 (Preview)

Fantasy Warrior

50% · 50%

Reve Image 1.0 vs Grok Imagine Image

Fantasy Warrior

50% · 50%

Think a model is ranked wrong? Cast your vote

Challenges

Fantasy Warrior Portrait

“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.”

Top 3

Nano Banana 2

Lucid Origin

Nano Banana Pro

Bottom 3

Imagen 4.0 Fast Generate 001

Seedream 5.0 Lite

Nano Banana

20 models competed

Vote on this challenge All results & rankings

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