A major new Midjourney rival has landed – here’s how to try out the open-source Flux
A new AI image generator called Flux.1 has hit the scene and is quickly gaining praise for its high-end results and the fact that it is an open-source model. Flux is built by Black Forest Labs, whose founders previously worked at Stability AI, makers of the popular Stable Diffusion line of AI image models.
Some are calling Flux models the successor to Stable Diffusion and potentially a major game changer for accessible, high-performance generative AI tools.
There are three versions of Flux.1: Pro, Dev, and Schnell, in decreasing size. The Pro version is designed for commercial use, with companies already using it to offer generative AI image services to their subscribers. The Dev and Schnell versions are optimized for different levels of performance and speed.
What sets Flux apart from Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and many of its competitors? Most notably, the two smaller models can run on reasonably good hardware, such as high-performance laptops. This makes it more accessible to a wider range of users, including hobbyists, developers, and small businesses that may not have the resources to invest in more expensive, proprietary tools. It also means that you don’t have to rely on internet access or cloud storage to run Flux. And while Midjourney has been praised for its ability to render highly detailed and visually appealing images, Flux claims to offer some distinct advantages, particularly when it comes to rendering human figures. Black Forest Labs is now working on adding a text-to-video model to its portfolio.
“Deeply rooted in the generative AI research community, our mission is to develop and improve state-of-the-art generative deep learning models for media such as images and videos, and to push the boundaries of creativity, efficiency, and diversity. We believe that generative AI will be a fundamental building block of all future technologies,” Black Forest Labs explained in its blog“By making our models available to a broad audience, we aim to make their benefits accessible to everyone, educate the public, and increase confidence in the safety of these models. We are committed to building the industry standard for generative media.”
We are excited to announce the launch of Black Forest Labs. Our mission is to develop and improve state-of-the-art generative deep learning models for media, pushing the boundaries of creativity, efficiency, and diversity. pic.twitter.com/ilcWvJgmsXAugust 1, 2024
How to Get and Use Flux
For those interested in exploring Flux, there are several ways to access and use the model. If your computer is good enough, you can download and run Flux.1 locally. Additionally, Flux is an open-source model and compatible with multi-model platforms, which greatly increases its availability.
The AI imaging platform NightCafe has already integrated the Flux.1 model, allowing users to directly compare its output with those of other models such as Ideogram and Stable Diffusion 3.
Similarly, Poe offers a chatbot-style interface for generating images with Flux.1. For the more technical, Flux.1 can also be accessed via Hugging Face and other open-source AI model hubs.