I tested Leonardo vs FreePik with 5 prompts — which AI image generator wins?

Leonardo and FreePik are two of the most established AI image generators on the market. Both companies have a solid reputation for producing quality images from text prompts, although they take significantly different approaches to that task. While FreePik provides a fairly typical range of products and services for generating images, Leonardo has turned into a vast hub of image resources covering everything from templating and design to video creation.

FreePik vs. Leonardo: A Head-to-Head Comparison

One of the interesting things about FreePik is the fact that it offers third party image generation from Ideogram and Google Imogen 3, as well as its own models. Leonardo also offers images from Flux and Stable Diffusion, but focuses more on image styles than named models. It will be interesting to see how this contrast works in practice. We thought it was about time to put Leonardo and FreePik in a head-to-head test to see which service offered the best mix of quality and versatility to its users.

Test One: Text & Typography Design

Prompt: "A stylish modern penthouse apartment in Paris, with a spectacular view of the city. Modern minimalist furniture, chrome and steel with an expensive look. One expensive modern painting on the wall, and a small stainless steel bauble which is the word 'Peace'."

Leonardo: The penthouse created by Leonardo is definitely minimal and stylish, and judging by the Eiffel tower in the distance, it’s set in Paris. So the prompt adherence is spot on. The one glitch is the word 'Peace' is not really clear in the image, but this was the best of the multiple images I produced with Leonardo, so text is not a strong point here.

FreePik: I literally gasped when this image was produced by FreePik. I used the Mystic 2.5 Flexible model, and it’s an absolute triumph. Not only did the model create this image in a single pass, but everything from the text adherence to the structure of the image is just about perfect. This is one of the best outputs I’ve ever seen from an AI image generator; perhaps only Midjourney has done this well for me in the past.

Test Two: Photorealistic Concept

Prompt: "A forgotten lighthouse keeper's desk from the 1920s, with an abandoned journal, vintage navigation tools, and a steaming cup of tea. Light streams through a salt-crusted window, capturing dust particles in the air. The scene tells a story of solitude with detailed textures of weathered wood, tarnished brass, and dog-eared pages."

Leonardo: This image is what I would call a workable generation. It provides a relatively close approximation to the prompt, although it would be an exaggeration to say this was a 1920s setting. There’s nothing wrong with the image, but it’s pretty bland. If I was a schoolteacher I’d mark this as "could try harder." And this was the best of at least eight generated images.

FreePik: This image is astounding. Not only is the prompt adherence 100%, but it oozes character and atmosphere. You can almost smell the musty location, with dust in the air and the kind of brass implements and vintage tools you’d expect to find in such a place. And just look at that beautifully textured wood. This is poetry in an image.

HONESTAI ANALYSIS

What a shocking surprise. I went into this test thinking it was a slam dunk in favor of the powerful and well-established Leonardo product brand. But that opinion was instantly shattered with the first image generated by the Mystic 2.5 Flexible model. It’s not just the image generation that makes FreePik so impressive. I spent time playing around with a few of the other features, and was blown away by things like the Mockup generator with its simple interface and superb output. FreePik will now be my go-to commercial image generator, no question.

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