faktryfaktry
Sign InSign Up

Which AI Model Should You Choose?

There are more image and video models than anyone has time to test. This guide covers the current version of each family on faktry, what each one does best, and which one to pick for the job in front of you.

By the faktry team Updated September 2026

A clip generated with FLUX 3 on faktry. Every image and video in this guide was made on the platform.

The short answer

If you only want a starting point, use Nano Banana 2 for images and Veo 3.1 for video. Both are fast, both handle most prompts well, and neither asks you to learn a parameter before you get a usable result.

The rest of this guide is for the moments when the default is not enough. Maybe the image has to contain readable text, the video has to run for thirty seconds, or you need to change one thing in a clip without regenerating the whole scene. Each section below names the model built for that problem.

Quick picks

Find your situation in the list, then read the section on that model for the detail.

Images: five models, five different strengths

Image models mostly differ in three things: how fast they answer, how closely they follow a detailed prompt, and how much they let you steer. These are the five we recommend, in the order most people should try them.

Nano Banana 2

GoogleBest for: Speed and versatility

Example generated with Nano Banana 2
Made with Nano Banana 2 on faktry.

Nano Banana 2 is Google's Gemini 3.1 Flash image model, and it is our default. It is quick, it copes with a wide range of subjects, and it can use web search to ground an image in real-world context, which helps with current products, places, and events.

It renders up to 4K and supports 11 aspect ratios, so the same model covers a square social post and a wide banner. A Lite version trades some quality for faster generation and a lower credit cost, which suits high-volume batches and early exploration.

Read the full Nano Banana 2 page

Example generated with Nano Banana 2
More examples generated with Nano Banana 2.
Example generated with Nano Banana 2

GPT Image 2.5

OpenAIBest for: Text, layout, and precise edits

Example generated with GPT Image 2.5
Typography-heavy layouts like this invitation are where GPT Image 2.5 is strongest.

GPT Image 2.5 is OpenAI's newest image model, released on 8 September 2026, and it replaces GPT Image 2 in this guide. It comes in two variants. Flare is the fast default, with up to 50% lower latency than its predecessor. Sunburst is slower and more precise, meant for final campaign work and edits where nothing else in the frame should move.

It is the model to reach for when an image has to contain words: invitations, slides, posters, packaging. It takes up to 16 reference images per edit, renders transparent backgrounds, and offers five quality tiers, so drafts can cost as little as 1 credit while finals use the higher tiers.

Read the full GPT Image 2.5 page

Example generated with GPT Image 2.5
More examples generated with GPT Image 2.5.
Example generated with GPT Image 2.5

Seedream 5.0

ByteDanceBest for: Editing and multilingual text

Example generated with Seedream 5.0Example generated with Seedream 5.0
Made with Seedream 5.0 on faktry.

Seedream 5.0 is ByteDance's multimodal image model, built for professional layouts such as dense infographics, product sheets, and posters with a lot of copy. Its native multilingual text rendering is the main reason people pick it, especially for non-English copy.

It edits with up to 10 reference images. The Pro tier gives the highest detail and text fidelity for final delivery, while Lite is faster, cheaper, and reaches up to 4K.

Read the full Seedream 5.0 page

Flux 2

Black Forest LabsBest for: Fine control and consistency

Flux 2 from Black Forest Labs comes in three variants. Pro delivers professional detail and consistency, Max pushes for the highest quality and resolution, and Flex exposes the controls: guidance scale, inference steps (1 to 50), and prompt expansion.

Guidance decides how literally the model follows your prompt, and steps trade time for refinement. If you like tuning an image instead of re-rolling it, this is the family to use. Black Forest Labs has announced FLUX 3 as its successor; on faktry that model is currently available for video, so Flux 2 remains the choice for Flux images.

Read the full Flux 2 page

Example generated with Flux 2
Flux 2 Pro
Example generated with Flux 2
Flux 2 Flex

Krea 2

KreaBest for: Aesthetic style and creative range

Krea 2 is trained for how an image feels, not only what it contains. Left to its own choices, it picks colour grading, depth of field, and framing that suit the subject. A creativity setting, from raw to high, controls how much of that interpretation you want.

You can feed it one image or a moodboard and it carries the visual style into new work. It is particularly good with film grain, motion blur, chrome, lens flares, and similar photographic effects. Large is the pick for photorealism, product shots, and architecture. Medium is faster and better suited to illustration, anime, and concept art.

Read the full Krea 2 page

Video: what to check before you pick

Video adds length, sound, and consistency to the list. The questions that matter are how long a single clip can be, whether it comes with audio, whether you can give it references, and whether you can edit what it made. The models are ordered roughly from the best first stop to the more specialised choices.

Veo 3.1

GoogleBest for: Realism and synchronized audio

Veo 3.1 is Google's flagship video model and the one we suggest first. It generates synchronized audio along with the picture, accepts text, a starting image, or reference images, and outputs 720p, 1080p, or 4K in clips of 4, 6, or 8 seconds.

Standard mode is for finished clips and Fast mode is for iteration. Reference-to-video helps keep a character or product consistent between shots, and prompt enhancement fixes common phrasing problems before generation. The short clip length is the main limit; for anything longer, look further down this list.

Read the full Veo 3.1 page

HappyHorse-1.0

AlibabaBest for: Top-ranked quality

At the time of writing, HappyHorse-1.0 holds the number one position on the Artificial Analysis Video Arena for text-to-video and image-to-video without audio, where the ranking comes from blind human preference votes. With audio it sits second in both.

It generates video and sound together in a single pass, handles 3 to 15 second clips at 720p or 1080p, accepts up to 9 reference images, and supports instruction-based editing. Choose it when what matters most is how good the result looks to a viewer who does not know which model made it.

Read the full HappyHorse-1.0 page

Sora 2

OpenAIBest for: Cinematic storytelling

Sora 2 is OpenAI's cinematic video model. Output is fixed at 720p, clips run from 1 to 10 seconds, and it works from text or from a starting image. It is known for coherent scenes with believable motion, lighting, and camera work.

Standard is a good draft mode and Pro is the premium tier for finished work. It has the narrowest technical range in this guide, so pick it for the look of the footage rather than for length, resolution, or references.

Read the full Sora 2 page

Kling 3.0

KlingBest for: Multi-shot sequences

Kling 3.0 can plan up to 10 shots inside a single request, so a short sequence with cuts comes out as one generation with the same characters throughout. Clips run 3 to 15 seconds, with audio and voice matching, and 4K output is available.

Standard and Pro modes let you trade speed for quality, and lip sync makes it usable for talking clips. If you are storyboarding a small scene instead of filming one continuous take, this is the most direct tool.

Read the full Kling 3.0 page

Wan 3.0

AlibabaBest for: Long clips with many references

Made with Wan 3.0 on faktry.

Wan 3.0 generates up to 30 seconds in one continuous pass, with synchronized audio by default, at 480p, 720p, or 1080p. That length is the headline. Most models make you stitch several clips together to get there.

It also accepts the widest range of references we offer: up to 10 images, 5 videos, and 5 audio clips, plus documents and web pages. Reference, editing, replication, and motion-driving are handled by the same model.

Read the full Wan 3.0 page

Seedance 2.5

ByteDanceBest for: Directed scenes up to 30 seconds

Made with Seedance 2.5 on faktry.

Seedance 2.5 generates native 30-second clips with joint audio, at 480p or 720p. You can hand it up to 50 multimodal references to lock a character, a set, or a colour palette across the whole take.

Start and end frame control lets you pin the first and last image and have the model invent the motion between them. ByteDance reports roughly 20% better prompt accuracy than Seedance 2.0. It stops at 720p, so choose Wan 3.0 if you need 1080p.

Read the full Seedance 2.5 page

FLUX 3

Black Forest LabsBest for: Video with dialogue

Made with FLUX 3 on faktry.

FLUX 3, released on 23 July 2026, is Black Forest Labs' multimodal model: one architecture for image, video, and audio. On faktry its video side is live, with clips up to 20 seconds at 720p or 1080p and native, multilingual dialogue.

There are four modes: text to video, image to video, first and last frame, and video extension, which continues an existing clip. Billing is per second of output, starting at 10 credits. It is a strong pick whenever a clip needs people talking.

Read the full FLUX 3 page

MiniMax H3

MiniMaxBest for: 2K output and multi-reference control

Made with MiniMax H3 on faktry.

MiniMax H3, also called Hailuo 03, is an open-weight model that generates, references, and edits video in one place. It outputs up to 2K at 24 fps with native stereo audio, in clips of 5 to 15 seconds.

A single request can carry a character from a photo, the camera language of a reference clip, and a voice from an audio recording, with up to 9 images, 3 videos, and 3 audio clips. It can also replace, remove, or add subjects and relight a scene. Billing is per second, starting at 10 credits.

Read the full MiniMax H3 page

Gemini Omni Flash

GoogleBest for: Editing and iteration

Gemini Omni Flash applies Gemini's multimodal reasoning to video, and v1.1 (27 August 2026) is the one to try when you already have footage. Describe the change in plain language and it edits the existing clip, up to 60 seconds of uploaded video.

It also generates from text, from an image with an optional end frame, or from up to 10 images and 3 short reference clips. Resolution runs from a cheap 360p draft to 4K and is priced per second, so you can iterate low and finish high. New generations are 3 to 10 seconds long.

Read the full Gemini Omni Flash page

LTX 2.5

LightricksBest for: Open weights and native 4K

Made with LTX 2.5 on faktry.

LTX 2.5 is Lightricks' open-weights video model. It adds native multi-shot generation that holds character, environment, and lighting steady across cuts, and it outputs anything from 720p to native 4K HDR with synchronized audio.

It handles text-to-video, image-to-video, and audio-to-video, with clips up to 20 seconds. Because the weights are open, it is the one to look at if you plan to fine-tune on your own data or self-host later. On faktry you can try it with no setup.

Read the full LTX 2.5 page

The video models at a glance

ModelClip lengthResolution
Veo 3.14, 6, or 8 s720p to 4K
HappyHorse-1.03 to 15 s720p, 1080p
Sora 21 to 10 s720p
Kling 3.03 to 15 sUp to 4K
Wan 3.0Up to 30 s480p to 1080p
Seedance 2.5Up to 30 s480p, 720p
FLUX 3Up to 20 s720p, 1080p
MiniMax H35 to 15 sUp to 2K
Gemini Omni Flash3 to 10 s360p to 4K
LTX 2.5Up to 20 s720p to native 4K

Same scene, three models

One scene, three models: FLUX 3, Sora 2, and MiniMax H3, in that order.

Specs only tell you so much. The clip beside this text shows one scene, a shopper choosing peaches at a market, generated by FLUX 3, Sora 2, and MiniMax in turn, each labelled on screen.

Watch the hands, the basket, and the people in the background. Small details like these, along with lighting and how the camera moves, are where models separate, and they are hard to judge from a description.

The fastest way to choose is to run your own prompt through two or three models and compare. Free credits cover that, and the same prompt works across all of them.

Five questions that settle most choices

When two models both look right, these decide it, roughly in order of importance.

  1. How good does the result need to be? Photorealism, artistic interpretation, and readable text are different skills. Product photography asks for something other than concept art.
  2. How many tries will you need? Faster models let you iterate more. Draft with a fast model or a Lite tier, then spend credits on the premium model for the final render.
  3. What will it be delivered as? Print needs more resolution than a screen, and every platform has its own aspect ratio. Check the resolution and clip length before you commit.
  4. Do you need to steer, or just ask? Most people are well served by defaults. If you want to tune guidance, steps, or creativity, pick a model that exposes them.
  5. What is the budget? Credit costs vary by model, tier, and resolution. Video is billed per second on several models, so shorter test clips keep experiments cheap.

Picking by job

The same models, grouped by what the output has to do.

Product photography
Flux 2 Pro for detail and consistency. GPT Image 2.5 when you need a transparent background or text on the pack. Seedream 5.0 for dense product sheets.
Social media
Nano Banana 2 for stills, or its Lite tier for volume. Veo 3.1 or Kling 3.0 for clips.
Marketing video
Veo 3.1 for quality with sound, Sora 2 for a cinematic look, and Seedance 2.5 or Wan 3.0 when the spot runs past ten seconds.
Posters, slides, and invitations
GPT Image 2.5 or Seedream 5.0, both of which are strong with text and layout.
Creative exploration
Krea 2 for style, Flux 2 Flex for control, and Nano Banana 2 when you want many quick variations.
Editing existing footage
Gemini Omni Flash for plain-language edits. HappyHorse-1.0 and MiniMax H3 for reference-based edits.
People talking on screen
FLUX 3 for multilingual dialogue, Kling 3.0 for lip sync, and Veo 3.1 for synchronized audio.

What this guide leaves out

When a newer version exists in the same family, we cover only the newer one. GPT Image 2.5 stands in for GPT Image 2, Seedance 2.5 for Seedance 2.0, Wan 3.0 for Wan 2.5, and Kling 3.0 for Kling 2.5 Turbo.

The one exception is Flux 2. FLUX 3 is newer, but only its video side is live on faktry, so Flux 2 is still the right answer for Flux images. We will update this guide as that changes.