FLUX.1 from Black Forest Labs (the original Stable Diffusion team) is the most capable open-source image model as of 2024 — dramatically better than SDXL at text rendering, anatomy, and photorealism.
FLUX.1 Variants
- FLUX.1 [pro]: Best quality — API only, not downloadable
- FLUX.1 [dev]: Open weights, non-commercial — excellent quality
- FLUX.1 [schnell]: Open weights, commercial license — 1–4 steps, fast
What FLUX Does Better Than SDXL
- Text rendering — actually reads correctly in images
- Human anatomy — dramatically fewer deformed hands
- Prompt adherence — follows complex descriptions more reliably
- Photorealism — closes the gap with Midjourney significantly
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