August update: Midjourney 6.1 vs FLUX.1
On July 30, 2024, Midjourney 6.1 was released, and on August 1, Black Forest Labs unveiled three models in the FLUX.1 series. Both releases drew attention, but their approaches differ: Midjourney focuses on prompt adherence and aesthetics, while FLUX.1 offers open and fast options for different use cases.
Who's behind FLUX.1: the new hope of open source
The FLUX.1 project was developed by Black Forest Labs, a team founded by Robin Rombach, who previously held a key position at Stability AI. The company raised $32 million in investments to launch the new models. The series includes three versions: the fastest FLUX.1 Schnell, the flagship FLUX.1 Pro, and the open FLUX.1 Dev for non-commercial use. The latter is based on distillation from FLUX.1 Pro, so at a similar size it works more efficiently than standard generative models.
What Midjourney 6.1 can do
The main Midjourney 6.1 update brought a noticeable improvement in image quality, more coherent visuals, and cleaner text rendering within images. Personalized models were introduced — they adapt to user preferences. In practical tests, Midjourney showed the best understanding of complex prompts. For example, when a scene required depicting a candy house, only this model drew all the candies exactly as described.
Two FLUX.1 versions: Schnell and Pro
FLUX.1 Schnell is the speed-focused option. It is distributed under the Apache 2.0 license, so it can be freely used in local development and personal projects. The model is compatible with ComfyUI, making it easy to integrate into pipelines. However, speed comes at the cost of quality: images are less detailed, and stylistic requests like ink-wash techniques are handled worse by Schnell than by competitors.
FLUX.1 Pro is the flagship of the series. It was built for maximum performance and handles prompt adherence best within the lineup, delivering high detail and greater variety of outputs. When compared to Midjourney 6.1 in terms of visual quality, composition, and color harmony, Pro holds its own against the leader and sometimes even surpasses it in detail.
Hands-on comparison: eight prompts
To gauge the real difference, we used eight varied prompts — from a candy house to an autumn landscape and a portrait of three girls. Midjourney 6.1 was run from Discord, FLUX.1 Schnell generated with the output_quality 90 parameter, and FLUX.1 Pro with 25 steps, guidance 3, and interval 2. For the sake of a clean experiment, we did not change default settings beyond those specified.
Prompt understanding — unequivocally Midjourney 6.1: it follows descriptions more accurately and distorts details less often. In aesthetics and overall harmony, two tools lead: Midjourney 6.1 and FLUX.1 Pro. FLUX.1 Schnell, however, noticeably lags in color and composition.
Conclusions: how to choose for your needs
So, if your priority is accurate prompt interpretation and beautiful images, go with Midjourney 6.1. For unrestricted local work and high speed, FLUX.1 Schnell is a good fit. And when you need Pro-level quality without being tied to Discord, pick FLUX.1 Pro. Keep in mind that Schnell and Dev have open licenses, while Pro and Midjourney work via subscription or API.
