MAI-Image-2.5 Pro vs MAI-Image-2.5
MAI-Image-2.5 is Microsoft AI's image model from June 2026; MAI-Image-2.5 Pro is the quality-focused version from July, rebuilt for precise editing. Both ran the same twelve prompts through fal on 22 October 2026, with the same ratios, 16:9 for the banner since neither offers 21:9.
Anvisha Pai, Co-founder & CEO, Voyager
Which to use
Pro, when the result has to be right. It spelled the infographic's title correctly where 2.5 wrote 'pour-pover', drew a clean chart axis where 2.5 repeated 250 and 150, put three ice cubes in the glass where 2.5 put four or five, and added a real brass handle in the edit where 2.5 hung a small ring on the rim. Both make warm, convincing photographs, both set the poster's smaller lines in capitals, and both return about a megapixel or less with no 21:9. Pro costs about $0.17 an image against about $0.05 on fal, read on 22 October 2026, and took a little longer, median 29 seconds against 21. One run per prompt is a fair first look, not a ranking.
Side by side, measured
| MAI-Image-2.5 Pro | MAI-Image-2.5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Microsoft | Microsoft |
| Released | 2026-07-23 | 2026-06-02 |
| Price | $0.17 per image, average text-to-image request via fal | $0.05 per image via fal |
| Seconds per image | 25 to 40 | 19 to 44 |
| 12 pictures cost | $2.14 | $0.5982 |
| Sizes | At most 1,048,576 pixels in any shape, in seven ratios from 16:9 to 9:16: 1024 square, 768 by 1024 at 3:4 and 1360 by 768 at 16:9 in our run | Seven ratios, auto, 1:1, 4:3, 3:4, 16:9, 9:16, 3:2 and 2:3, at about one megapixel or less: 1024 square, 768 by 1024 at 3:4 and 1360 by 768 at 16:9 in our run |
Seconds and cost are from our own runs of the same 12 prompts through each model.
The same 12 prompts, MAI-Image-2.5 Pro against MAI-Image-2.5
One try each, nothing re-rolled or retouched, generated by us. MAI-Image-2.5 Pro is on the left, MAI-Image-2.5 on the right. Every prompt has its own page with the whole roster.
Text in an image
Every model on this prompt →
›What we asked for
A concert poster that reads 'MODA SUMMER SESSIONS' in large bold type, with the subtitle 'Friday 12 June, 8pm, Roundhouse' and a smaller line 'Tickets at the door'. Risograph style, two colours, tangerine and navy, grainy ink texture.
Product on white
Every model on this prompt →2.5 drew a plain cone; Pro a cone holding a paper filter full of coffee grounds. Neither has a handle or stand.
›What we asked for
Studio product photograph of a matte black ceramic pour-over coffee dripper on a seamless white background, soft top light, subtle contact shadow, centred, catalogue style.
Face and hands
Every model on this prompt →
›What we asked for
Close-up portrait of a woman in her 40s with short grey hair, laughing, holding a red ceramic mug with both hands, natural window light, 85mm lens, shallow depth of field.
Logo mark
Every model on this prompt →
›What we asked for
A flat vector logo mark for a bicycle repair shop called 'Spoke & Chain': a single-colour icon combining a chain link and a wheel spoke, with the wordmark below in a geometric sans-serif, black on white.
Busy scene
Every model on this prompt →
›What we asked for
A crowded Saturday farmers market seen from slightly above: at least twelve stalls with striped awnings, shoppers carrying tote bags, a dog on a leash, crates of oranges, a musician with a guitar, bunting overhead, late morning light.
Specific art style
Every model on this prompt →
›What we asked for
A lighthouse on a rocky cliff during a storm, in the style of a Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print, with visible wood grain texture, flat colour areas and a bokashi gradient sky.
Both printed every value correctly. 2.5's axis repeats 250 and 150; Pro's is clean, though its January bar stops at 100.
›What we asked for
A clean bar chart titled 'Monthly active users' showing six months, January through June, with the values 120, 150, 180, 170, 220 and 260, labelled axes, white background, one accent colour, no 3D effects.
Wide aspect ratio
Every model on this prompt →
›What we asked for
Website hero banner: a wide panorama of a sunlit modern co-working space with plants, the left third of the frame kept as clear wall space for text, warm neutral palette.
Infographic with steps
Every model on this prompt →Both kept the four steps exact. 2.5's title reads 'pour-pover'; Pro's is spelled right, on a card photographed on a table.
›What we asked for
An infographic card titled 'How to brew pour-over' with four numbered steps in this order: 1. Rinse the filter, 2. Bloom for 30 seconds, 3. Pour in slow circles, 4. Wait 3 minutes. A simple icon beside each step, muted palette, clean sans-serif type.
Food photography
Every model on this prompt →
›What we asked for
Overhead photograph of a margherita pizza on a wooden board, fresh basil leaves, one slice pulled out with the cheese stretching, restaurant menu photography, natural light.
Hard composition
Every model on this prompt →Pro drew three ice cubes and 2.5 four or five; both gave the book a title nobody asked for.
›What we asked for
A glass of water on a wooden table with exactly three ice cubes in it, a yellow pencil resting across the rim of the glass, a blue book to the left of the glass and a red apple to the right, photographed from table height.
Edit an existing image
Every model on this prompt →Both turned the dripper green and left the rest alone. Pro added a slim brass handle on the right; 2.5 a small brass ring on the rim.
›What we asked for
Change the coffee dripper to a deep forest green and add a small brass handle on its right side. Keep the background, lighting and composition exactly as they are.
Frequently asked questions
Is MAI-Image-2.5 Pro better than MAI-Image-2.5?
On our twelve prompts, yes on type, the composition test and the edit; the photographs are similar. Microsoft built Pro for precise, consistent editing.
How much more does Pro cost?
On fal, about $0.17 a text-to-image request against about $0.05, roughly three and a half times. Pro edits run $0.18 to $0.27 by fal's estimate.
Were both run the same way?
Same prompts, one attempt each, through fal on the same day, at the same aspect ratios. Neither offers 21:9, so both banners are 16:9, and both return about a megapixel or less.
Voyager
Run any of these inside Voyager
Voyager is an agent for creative work that runs every model on this page. Brief it, and it picks the model for the job, makes the thing and hands back something you can edit. Create an account to get started.