NightCafe has a free side-by-side comparison of models. Open it at creator.nightcafe.studio/evals.

There are two public grids:

• Text to Image — /evals/ai-text-to-image-model-comparison
• Image Editing — /evals/ai-image-editing-model-comparison (prompt-to-edit: the same instruction plus one or more start images)

Use the tab at the top of the page to switch between them.

You can also find it from:

• The What's New popup and the What's New page (AI Model Comparison)
• Your profile menu — AI Model Comparison (under My Collections)
• The site footer — NightCafe column, under Blog
• Studio's model picker — a discovery note that says “Not sure what model to choose?” with a Compare Models button (opens in a new tab)
• Prompt to Edit — the edit-options model picker and the “Choose Prompt to Edit Model” modal link to the Image Editing comparison

What you see

Each row is the same prompt (and, on Image Editing, the same start image or set of start images). Each column is a model (some models appear more than once when they have more than one quality setting). For a finished result you can see the credit cost, how long that generation took, the output size, and whether the model is PRO. The model name also appears under each thumbnail.

• Click a thumbnail to view it larger.
• Try in Studio opens that model in Studio.
• On Image Editing, models that only accept one start image are skipped on cases that use more than one input.

How to browse

• Use the Models control to show or hide models, drag to reorder them, or sort by Default, Recently added, Cheapest, Most expensive, or Fastest.
• On Text to Image, use the category menu to focus on Art & Illustration, Tricky Prompts, Typography & Text, Portraits & People, Design & Products, Photorealism, or Anime & Manga.
• On Image Editing, categories include everyday edits and a Style Transfer set — useful if you used to restyle photos with the original Style Transfer algorithm.
• You can pin the prompt column so it stays visible while you scroll sideways.
• You can change thumbnail size (small, medium, or large).
• Long prompts can be expanded with Show full prompt.

Credits and scoring

Looking at the comparison does not spend credits. It is a visual comparison of NightCafe's own benchmark prompts, not a third-party leaderboard and not a ranked score. Credit costs shown on each result can change over time — check Studio for the current price before you generate.

For written recommendations (including value picks such as Muse Image, GPT Image 2.5 Low, Flux 3 Klein, and Seedream 5.0 Flash), see the NightCafe AI Models Guide.

FAQs

Does opening the comparison use credits?

No. Browsing the grid is free. You only spend credits if you generate something in Studio.

Can I try the same prompt myself?

Use Try in Studio on a result to open that model. The comparison prompts are NightCafe's benchmark set — you can write your own prompt in Studio.

What's the difference between the two tabs?

Text to Image starts from a prompt only. Image Editing starts from a prompt plus one or more existing images, so you can compare prompt-to-edit models on the same change.

Is this the same as a live workshop?

No. The comparison page is always available. NightCafe also hosts occasional live Create With Me sessions — the latest replay is Make Something for the Season.