OpenAI's previous generation image model with higher quality than DALL-E 2 and support for larger resolutions
Settled by community votes across 3 shared challenges, with an AI judge weighing in on each.
DALL-E 3
18.5
arena score
#35 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.
FLUX.1 [schnell] FP8
17.8
arena score
#36 of 44 in Text-to-Image
Vote tally
Where the votes landed
DALL-E 3
0%
win rate
Ties
0%
FLUX.1 [schnell] FP8
0%
win rate
Shared challenges
3
Challenge by challenge
The strongest take from each model on every shared challenge, with the AI judge's read.
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 3
FLUX.1 [schnell] FP8
AI Judge Analysis
DALL-E 3
- + Excellent chalk texture and realistic dusty aesthetic
- + Beautiful decorative framing and consistent artistic style
- − Severely failed to render the requested text accurately with many spelling errors like 'OCCTUS' and 'GRILILLED'
- − Inflated prices significantly compared to the prompt (e.g., $234)
FLUX.1 [schnell] FP8
- + Legible handwriting that follows the prompt content more closely
- + Accurately rendered the requested date and most of the menu item keywords
- − The 'chalk' looks like a digital marker or clean whiteboard pen rather than dusty chalk
- − Text layout is repetitive and includes redundant lines for the same items
Verdict: DALL-E 3 produces a much more visually convincing chalkboard with authentic textures and lighting, but it fails significantly on text legibility and accuracy. FLUX.1 [schnell] FP8 followed the textual instructions better and is much more readable, though it lacks the 'chalky' realism requested in the prompt. FLUX is the preferred choice for a task requiring specific text rendering despite its cleaner digital look.
The Reversed Rodeo
Text-to-Image“Horse riding astronaut in space — horse on top, not vice versa. Surreal, highly detailed, cinematic.”
DALL-E 3
FLUX.1 [schnell] FP8
AI Judge Analysis
DALL-E 3
- + Excellent cinematic lighting and atmospheric effects
- + High visual clarity and a cohesive color palette
- + Accurate depiction of an astronaut in space context
- − Failed to follow the specific spatial instruction (horse on top of astronaut)
FLUX.1 [schnell] FP8
- + Followed the difficult logic of the prompt by placing horses on top of mechanical equipment
- + Strong surrealist quality as requested
- + High detail in the textures of the horse and planet background
- − The representation of the astronaut is reduced to just mechanical equipment/a backpack
- − Anatomy of the horses merges awkwardly with the equipment
Verdict: DALL-E 3 produced a high-quality but generic image, completely ignoring the specific 'horse on top' spatial instruction. FLUX.1 [schnell] FP8 successfully interpreted the surreal prompt, depicting horses atop astronaut-themed equipment, making it the winner for significantly better prompt adherence.
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.”
DALL-E 3
FLUX.1 [schnell] FP8
AI Judge Analysis
DALL-E 3
- + Excellent intricate gothic composition with high artistic detail in the border and textures
- + The jack-o-lantern has a high-quality cinematic glow and texture
- − Text rendering is mostly nonsensical gibberish or misspelled beyond the main title
- − The design is very cluttered, making it difficult to read as an actual invitation
FLUX.1 [schnell] FP8
- + Clear and readable typography for the primary heading
- + Effective use of the requested scroll banner and layout elements
- − Low visual complexity with a flat, clip-art style for the pumpkin and border
- − Contains several typos in the smaller text like 'A ai nigh tof friights' and 'Theaches'
Verdict: DALL-E 3 produces a much more visually stunning and atmospheric image that perfectly captures the 'vintage gothic' aesthetic, though the secondary text is unreadable. FLUX.1 [schnell] FP8 follows the layout instructions better and has clearer text but lacks the professional, cinematic finish found in the DALL-E 3 output. DALL-E 3 is preferred for its superior artistic execution, despite its failure to render the small text accurately.
Next steps
Explore each model
FP8 quantized variant of Black Forest Labs' FLUX.1 [schnell] model, offering ~2x faster inference with reduced precision while maintaining high-quality image generation in 4 steps