AI Image Race 2025: Who Tops the Chart

Developed by Artificial Analysis, the Text to Image Arena is a live ranking tool that helps businesses choose the best AI image generators for their needs. Unlike opaque corporate evaluations, this platform anonymizes models and compares their outputs in real time through crowdsourced user testing. Modeled after the Chatbot Arena, it assigns an Elo score updated after each head-to-head battle triggered by identical text prompts.

January 2025 Market Leaders

The hierarchy remains unchanged since October 2024. Recraft V3 (previously red_panda), which generates images in over 100 styles, retains its lead. FLUX 1.1 [pro] and FLUX.1 [pro] (Black Forest Labs) hold second and third places, followed closely by Midjourney v6.1 (4th). Ideogram (6th and 8th) and Stability.ai (9th and 10th) maintain strong positions, while Adobe, OpenAI, and Luma Labs lag behind.

Top 10 (Elo Scores):

Recraft V3 – 1,149

FLUX 1.1 [pro] – 1,121

FLUX.1 [pro] – 1,105

Midjourney v6.1 – 1,087

FLUX.1 [dev] – 1,083

Ideogram v2 – 1,081

Midjourney v6 – 1,081

Ideogram v2 Turbo – 1,075

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large Turbo – 1,074

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large – 1,070

How Does the Text to Image Arena Rank AI Models?

The ranking system borrows its logic from competitive gaming and chess tournaments. Each AI model receives an Elo score that fluctuates based on real-time user comparisons. When two anonymized models face off using the same text prompt, the winner gains points if it defeats a higher-ranked rival. Conversely, losing to a lower-ranked model results in a penalty. This dynamic scoring mirrors esports leaderboards but with a twist: rankings refresh hourly, ensuring the results always reflect the latest performance trends.