Midjourney vs DALL-E vs Stable Diffusion vs Flux 2026: AI Image Generation Compared

## 1. Introduction 2026 AI image-gen has four dominant models, each leading a niche: aesthetic (Midjourney), photoreal + text (DALL-E 3), open-source self-host (SD 3.5), and newest photoreal (FLUX). ## 2. Overview ## 3. Strengths - **Midjourney V7:** aesthetic + cinematic, V7 personalization, Niji Mode, Style References - **DALL-E 3:** ChatGPT integrated, natural-language prompts, text-in-image leader, fluent Turkish - **SD 3.5:** Apache 2.0, self-host, LoRA + ControlNet + IP-Adapter ecosystem - **FLUX:** newest photoreal, FLUX [schnell] Apache 2.0 free, Mistral Le Chat engine ## 4. KVKK + Commercial Use Self-host SD 3.5 or FLUX schnell on local GPU = 100% KVKK compliance. Commercial use: Midjourney Pro+, DALL-E 3 ChatGPT Plus, SD/FLUX schnell open license. ## 5. Scenarios - Solo content creator: ChatGPT Plus ($20) - Marketing agency: Midjourney Standard ($30) - Professional artist: Midjourney Pro + local SD/FLUX - E-commerce product photos: FLUX [pro] API - KVKK-critical enterprise: SD/FLUX schnell self-host - High-volume social automation: FLUX schnell self-host ## 6. Conclusion Each model leads in a different niche. Turkish stack recommendation: marketing — Midjourney + ChatGPT Plus ($50); KVKK-critical — local SD/FLUX schnell on RTX 4090.