The latest model from ByteDance, which is not available in Europe, has taken the top spot in the collaborative benchmark by Artificial Analysis, while GPT-4o continues to decline.
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Is ByteDance becoming a major player in the image generation field, surpassing long-established competitors? The most recent update to the Artificial Analysis rankings, which assesses the performance of market-available technologies in real-time, seems to suggest just that.
The Top 10 Image Generators of September 2025
Still not present in the European market, Seedream 4.0, the latest model from TikTok’s parent company that integrates image generation and editing, has claimed the top position in the Text-to-Image Arena as of September 2025. The former leader in August, version 3.0, remains in sixth place. However, the trend is less favorable for GPT-4o, which continues to fall after a long period of dominance. Introduced in March, OpenAI’s model has dropped off the podium this month, now outstripped by three Google models: Imagen 4 Ultra, Imagen 4, and Gemini 2.5 Flash, which generated significant excitement at its launch in August due to its image editing capabilities.
The remaining rankings are largely unchanged. Black Forest Labs holds onto the seventh spot with its FLUX.1 Kontext model, while Leonardo.AI places two models – Lucid Origin Ultra and Lucid Origin Fast – in the top 10. Kolors 2.1, developed by Chinese firm KlingAI, takes the eighth position. Ninth in August, HiDream’s Vivago 2.0 model has slipped to eleventh place, just ahead of Recraft V3.
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Here are the most efficient image generation models as of September 2025:
- Seedream 4.0 (ByteDance): 1,212 (Elo score)
- Imagen 4 Ultra (Google): 1,177
- Imagen 4 Preview (Google): 1,168
- Gemini 2.5 Flash (Google): 1,166
- GPT-4o (OpenAI): 1,165
- Seedream 3.0 (ByteDance): 1,156
- FLUX.1 Kontext [max] (Black Forest Labs): 1,135
- Kolors 2.1 (Kuaishou Kling AI): 1,135
- Lucid Origin Ultra (Leonardo.AI): 1,133
- Lucid Origin Fast (Leonardo.AI): 1,119
Access the complete ranking
Ranking Criteria for the Text-to-Image Arena
Similar to LMArena (formerly Chatbot Arena), the rankings by Artificial Analysis are based on user votes. A single prompt is submitted to two models, and the user selects which one delivers the best result. Each model is assigned an Elo score, which fluctuates based on performance in these head-to-head matchups. Earning a victory against a higher-ranked model brings points, while losing to a lesser-ranked opponent results in a loss of points. According to Artificial Analysis, the rankings are updated every hour.
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Jordan Park writes in-depth reviews and editorial opinion pieces for Touch Reviews. With a background in UI/UX design, Jordan offers a unique perspective on device usability and user experience across smartphones, tablets, and mobile software.