OpenAI's legacy image generation model supporting generations, edits with masks (inpainting), and variations
Settled by community votes across 6 shared challenges, with an AI judge weighing in on each.
DALL-E 2
17.7
arena score
#37 of 44 in Text-to-Image
Skill signature
Not enough comparable category data
The chart appears once both models have ratings across at least three shared arena categories.
Wan 2.6
23.4
arena score
#23 of 44 in Text-to-Image
Best Image-to-Video right now
Vote tally
Where the votes landed
DALL-E 2
0.0%
win rate
Ties
0.0%
Wan 2.6
100.0%
win rate
0.0%
0.0% ties
100.0%
Shared challenges
6
Challenge by challenge
The strongest take from each model on every shared challenge, with the AI judge's read.
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.”
DALL-E 2
Wan 2.6
AI Judge Analysis
DALL-E 2
- + Strong bold sans-serif typography
- + High contrast and minimalist aesthetic
- − Fails to follow the grid layout for food photos
- − The food images are abstract and unappetizingly cropped
- − Lacks defined sections for specific food categories
Wan 2.6
- + Excellent adherence to the requested grid layout with food photos
- + Clear categorization into Appetizers, Pizza, and Mains
- + Professional use of vibrant color accents and legible sans-serif fonts
- − Minor text artifacts and spelling inconsistencies
- − Some repetitive imagery in the food grid
Verdict: Wan 2.6 followed the creative prompt almost perfectly, delivering a functional and aesthetically pleasing restaurant menu design with a clear hierarchy. DALL-E 2 produced a much more abstract, less usable design that ignored the request for a food photo grid and specific menu sections.
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.”
DALL-E 2
Wan 2.6
AI Judge Analysis
DALL-E 2
- + The image features chalk-like textures on a blackboard background.
- − The text is completely illegible gibberish.
- − The prompt adherence is poor, failing to include specific menu items or the date.
- − The composition is a cramped, low-resolution crop with no environmental context.
Wan 2.6
- + Renders all requested text perfectly with 100% accuracy to the prompt.
- + The chalk texture and handwriting style are highly realistic, including smudges and dust.
- + Excellent atmospheric composition showing the blackboard within a cozy café setting.
- − The 'cursive' style requested for the title is more of a stylized print than true cursive.
Verdict: Wan 2.6 is the clear winner as it successfully rendered every specific text element requested in the prompt with high fidelity and realistic chalk textures. DALL-E 2 failed the challenge entirely, producing illegible 'word salads' and failing to follow any of the structural or content instructions.
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.”
DALL-E 2
Wan 2.6
0% wins
0% ties
100% wins
AI Judge Analysis
DALL-E 2
- − The image is a complete failure and shows a black handbag instead of a taxi scene.
- − There is zero prompt adherence of any kind.
- − The image is low resolution and lacks detail.
Wan 2.6
- + Excellent prompt adherence including the capybara's outfit, facial expression, and steering wheel placement.
- + High visual quality with realistic lighting, textures, and a convincing Manhattan background.
- + Captures the requested 'bored' expression of the passenger perfectly.
- − Minor text artifacts on the taxi rooftop sign.
- − The woman appears to be in the front passenger seat rather than the back seat as requested.
Verdict: DALL-E 2 suffered a catastrophic failure, producing an image of a black handbag that has nothing to do with the prompt. Wan 2.6 followed the prompt almost perfectly, delivering a high-quality, humorous, and photorealistic scene that captured every specific detail requested.
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.”
DALL-E 2
Wan 2.6
AI Judge Analysis
DALL-E 2
- + Strong isometric perspective and clean lighting shadows.
- + Vibrant color palette that pops against the background.
- − Failed significantly on text rendering, displaying 'Sush' instead of the requested text.
- − Missing the required 'JAPAN' text and flag icon.
- − The sushi models are abstract and do not resemble realistic or miniature 3D cartoon sushi.
Wan 2.6
- + Perfect adherence to text instructions, including 'JAPAN', 'SUSHI', and the flag icon.
- + Excellent 3D miniature diorama style with soft, refined textures.
- + High visual clarity and a professionally balanced composition.
- − The text is placed as a 2D overlay rather than being integrated into the 3D scene's top center space.
Verdict: Wan 2.6 followed every detail of the prompt, including complex text and iconography, while maintaining a high-quality 3D aesthetic. DALL-E 2 failed to render the text correctly, omitted several prompt elements, and produced unrecognizable food items.
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.”
DALL-E 2
Wan 2.6
AI Judge Analysis
DALL-E 2
- + Successfully uses warm brown and cream tones
- + Captures a minimalist silhouette of a cloche
- − Text is nonsensical and does not follow the prompt
- − Missing the steam element and the Est. 1720 banner
- − Graphic elements are disjointed and distorted
Wan 2.6
- + Excellent prompt adherence including specific name and EST date
- + Clean vector emblem style with professional typography
- + Incorporates all requested elements like steam and banner seamlessly
- − The banner is slightly cut off at the edge of the cloche graphic
Verdict: Wan 2.6 is the clear winner as it perfectly follows all instructions, including rendering complex text correctly. DALL-E 2 fails significantly on the text typography and fails to include several key visual requirements like the steam and the banner.
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.”
DALL-E 2
Wan 2.6
AI Judge Analysis
DALL-E 2
- + Successfully adopts a complex technical infographic aesthetic.
- + Integrates several diagrammatic elements and icons as requested.
- + Matches the specific color palette of navy, white, and red.
- − Text is largely nonsensical and illegible (e.g., 'ALLPOO APPLOO').
- − The layout is cluttered and chaotic rather than clean and modern.
Wan 2.6
- + High quality and accurate text rendering for names and title.
- + Clean, modern design with a very professional font choice.
- + Adheres strictly to the requested NASA-inspired color palette.
- − Fails to include the six specific infographic steps requested in the prompt.
- − The visual more closely resembles a poster or towel design than a vector infographic.
Verdict: DALL-E 2 attempts to follow the instruction for a complex infographic layout but fails significantly with nonsensical text and a messy composition. Wan 2.6 produces a much cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing design with perfectly rendered text, though it misses the specific sequential steps requested in the prompt. Wan 2.6 is the preferred model because its output is usable and coherent, while DALL-E 2's output is marred by significant artifacts and garbled text.
Next steps
Explore each model
Alibaba's multimodal generation model from the Wan AI suite, supporting text-to-video, image-to-video, reference-to-video with audio, and text-to-image, in both Chinese and English