Is Flux 2 Worth Using in 1 Minute

Wanted to do a short post on Flux 2 within the context of all the other models we are seeing right now.

In short, the answer to this question is, maybe.

Flux 2 comes in at a whopping 60+ gigs base model and 30+ gigs for it's fp8 counterpart, not even to mention the text encoder sitting at 18 gigs in and of itself. Meaning, when it's all said and done, you'll need between 50 and 100 gigs of free space, and between 30 and 60 gigs of VRAM just to get started - not even to mention the cost of system Ram which certainly helps with generations.

Put simply, one of the biggest competitive advantages of Flux was that it was open-source. Flux 1 Dev set the pace for a lot of what we have today, and while Flux 2 tries to follow in the same footsteps, their perspective has shifted.

There are a three different Flux models with the two best being closed source and the third middle child being open source to the public. So, not only is the model essentially unusable locally for the vast majority of the population, but we also aren't even receiving the very best Flux 2 has to offer. This essentially forces our hand into one of two options, either pay for access to the closed source high performing models (which we already do for Nano, so why switch now if they aren't better), or pay on Runpod to use these models. In any case, you're paying and spending time setting up a model that likely isn't better than Nano Pro, defeating the entire competitive advantage Flux originally had to offer and completely whiffing on the available opportunity - a local, open-source model better than Qwen Image Edit, and comparable to Nano Banana.

Now, if the model is really good, then we'll pay for it, right? Well that's just it, is that Flux 2, even with it's best models, barely competes with Nano Banana Pro, and costs of running this model in Runpod will likely land more expensive than if you were to pay per generation for Nano Banana Pro in Fal or Comfy. Not even to mention the ridiculous Black Friday deals available for Nano Banana across model providers (free & unlimited for one year with Invideo). It's so heavy, we don't even have intention of providing it through Silent Snow AI, as there are cheaper, better alternatives and pipelines for you guys.

I'll give some credit where credit is due, Flux 2 does a pretty solid and competitive job at matching colors by HEX code which is extremely important in a business context, but even in this feature it doesn't necessarily outperform Nano Banana Pro, and it certainly doesn't win in character consistency from what we've seen.

Even in the little things Flux 2 loses - Nano Banana Pro accepts up to 14 input images, Flux 2 is 10. Issues that existed in Flux 1 Dev like excessive freckles and plastic skin remain in Flux 2, a massive oversight that a lot of people were hoping to see improved and is already improved in Seedream and Nano.

Overall, it's a great addition and it's nice to have options, but Flux 2 doesn't seem to do anything we couldn't already do with Nano Banana and Seedream, nor does it really allow for expansion opportunities in the open source community due to its size. 3 months ago this would've been a warm welcome, but coming just after Nano Banana Pro, Flux 2 almost seems late to the party.

If you have the budget to spend on Nano Banana and Seedream, I wouldn't even waste your time with this to be honest. It's something to keep an eye on as the open-source community can be quite crafty, but the headache and operational cost of running a model this large locally, as of now, far exceeds the start up needed to get going with Nano or Seedream. The trade off of time and energy for a potential improvement is just too high to waste time on. If you don't have a budget to spend on AI, then maybe this is a great model for you! We will likely see quantized versions in the next week!

What are your thoughts on Flux 2?

Resource:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyt-L9vFqMw