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.
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 Loenardo and FreePik in a head-to-head test to which service offered the best mix of quality and versatility to its users.
I decided to go for five prompts to test across a range of requirements. Fantasy Environment, Natural World, Abstract Design, Photorealistic Concept and Text & Typography Design.
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 a 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 a 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 a such a place. And just look at that beautifully textured wood. This is poetry in an image.
Test Three: Abstract Design
Prompt: “A geometric dreamscape where architecture defies gravity, featuring impossible staircases reminiscent of Escher’s work but with a vibrant color palette. Flowing fabric-like structures intersect with crystal formations, while small human silhouettes provide scale. The composition balances between order and chaos with strong diagonal elements.”
Leonardo: The colorful palette used by the Flux model, combined with some lovely design elements make this a great image. It’s vibrant, it follows the slightly abstract prompt, and gives the air of surrealism that’s demanded by the text.
The final result is let down perhaps by the fact that the image features not just human silhouettes but actual tiny scale people.
FreePik: A completely different take on the same subject, this is a much more organic interpretation of the prompt. That’s not to say it’s wrong, it’s just different to the Leonardo version.
They both flow, feature vibrant colors and echo Escher’s original works. Once again excellent prompt adherence even down to the black silhouettes on the stairs.
Test Four: Natural World
Prompt: “A macro photograph capturing the moment a dewdrop forms on a spider’s web at dawn. Within the dewdrop, a perfect reflection of the surrounding forest appears, with details of moss-covered trees and morning mist. Soft pastel colors from the sunrise create rainbow prisms through the water droplet.”
Leonardo: Both models struggled a little with this prompt, but Leonardo definitely comes out on top in this instance. The cobweb is realistic, evokes the kind of atmosphere you’d expect from an early morning forest, and captures the macro photo feel the prompt demands.
FreePik: For some reason I find this image, although beautifully constructed and true to the prompt, just a little disappointing.
The cobweb is almost an afterthought, while the dew drop is a huge improbable balloon of water dominating the screen. Not a great interpretation of the prompt in this case, although the reflection is bang on target.
Test Five: Fantasy Environment
Prompt:”A magical underwater library where bioluminescent sea creatures illuminate ancient books, detailed with vibrant coral shelves and floating text manuscripts. The scene is bathed in ethereal blue and green light filtering through the ocean surface above. The library extends into the depths with spiral staircases made of shells and pearls.”
Leonardo: Once again this is the best generation out of at least eight that I made. It’s adequate, but lacks any real atmosphere.
Flux has made it a little sterile in my opinion. I chose it because it was one of the few that Leonardo generated which at least tried to follow the bioluminescent illumination aspect of the prompt. But it’s definitely a bit meh.
FreePik: My oh my, here’s Mystic 2.5 once again dominating the conversation. This is a stunning image in so many ways. It’s full of life, colorful, prompt friendly and genuinely interesting.
Our eye is drawn into the intriguing curves, and even though the staircase is not made of shells and pearls, we can forgive that because of the vibrant use of coral and lighting in the foreground.
Conclusion
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.
I’m not sure what the Spanish have done to create such a powerful and world-class image generator, but it really has demonstrated that the AI image world is not as cut and dried as we might believe.
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.
