# Iris-3B vs Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)

> Qwen-Image 2.1 scores 64.6 (B) to Iris-3B's 50.9 (D) for image generation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-15

Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) scores 64.6 (B) on agent readiness against Iris-3B's 50.9 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Iris-3B leads on payments & pricing. Both do image generation.

- Iris-3B: grade D, 50.9/100, rank #826 of 1094. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/iris-3b.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/iris-3b.json
- Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio): grade B, 64.6/100, rank #374 of 1094. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen-image-2-1.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/qwen-image-2-1.json
- Best image generation for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/image-generation/index.md
- All 91 image comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/image-generation/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Iris-3B (D)

Good for: An agent on a machine with a CUDA GPU that needs Apache-2.0 image generation, relative depth or 4x restoration without a vendor account.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 20

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: No package on PyPI, no version tags, no changelog and no CI workflow. Install is a git clone and `pip install -e .`

### Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) (B)

Good for: Low-cost image generation and multi-reference editing with transparent PNG output, for agents already on Model Studio or using the OpenAI Images protocol.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 70 against 45
- Schema & documentation, 66 against 47
- Agent ergonomics, 73 against 54
- Security & auth, 75 against 44
- Maintenance & community, 77 against 70
- Transparency & trust, 65 against 47

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install

Watch for: 20 requests a minute in every region


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Iris-3B | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 70 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +25 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 47 | 66 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +19 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 54 | 73 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +19 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 44 | 75 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +31 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 20 | Iris-3B +40 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 70 | 77 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +7 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 47 | 65 | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) +18 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **50.9 · D** | **64.6 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Iris-3B | Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | Speridlabs | Alibaba Cloud |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/api/v1` |
| Transports |  | HTTP |
| Auth | None | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (code and weights) | Closed API under Alibaba Cloud's product terms. Qwen-Image-2.1 weights are on Hugging Face under the Qwen Research License, for non-commercial use only. |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-02 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 175 stars | none |

## Verdicts

**Iris-3B.** Code and weights are Apache-2.0, and one Python package runs text-to-image, a 4-step Turbo, depth and 4x restoration from a documented CLI. It is ten days old, with no PyPI package, version tags, changelog or CI, needs an NVIDIA GPU and about 12 GB of weights, and has no server or API of its own.

**Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio).** qwen-image-2.1-pro generates and edits images with up to 10 references and transparent output, at $0.04 an image in Singapore, through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint or DashScope. Model Studio publishes a 99.9 per cent SLA and a no-training statement. The model allows 20 requests a minute, has no OpenAPI file, and its open weights are for non-commercial use only.

## Before you call either

### Iris-3B

1. Check for an NVIDIA GPU with CUDA and Python 3.11 or newer before downloading. The base weights are about 12 GB, and Qwen3-VL-4B downloads on the first run
2. Exclude `depth/*`, `upscaler/*` and `turbo/*` in `hf download` unless those models are needed. Each of the first two adds about 12 GB
3. Don't pass `--steps`, `--cfg-scale`, `--negative-prompt`, `--order` or `--shift` with a Turbo checkpoint. The script exits with an error
4. Pass `--seed` to reproduce an image, and set `--outdir`, since files are named after the prompt and a repeat run overwrites them
5. Load only exported directories (`model.safetensors` and `config.yaml`). A training `.pth` is read with `torch.load(weights_only=False)`, so never load one from an untrusted source

### Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)

1. Use the same region for the key, the model and the endpoint. Cross-region calls fail
2. Download each result within 24 hours. The URL expires and the image is purged
3. With the OpenAI SDK, pass `image`, `seed`, `prompt_extend` and `watermark` through `extra_body`, and write size as `1024x1024`, not `1024*1024`
4. Set a client timeout of up to 600 seconds for several outputs, or use the async DashScope call and poll the task id
5. Do not send `prompt_extend_mode: agent` with input images. It returns 400

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Iris-3B or Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio)?

Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) scores 64.6 (B) on agent readiness against Iris-3B's 50.9 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Iris-3B leads on payments & pricing.

### Do Iris-3B and Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) need an API key?

Iris-3B needs no key. Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) needs an API key.

### Can an agent call Iris-3B and Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Iris-3B. Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) has a hosted endpoint at https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/api/v1.

### Are Iris-3B and Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) open source?

Iris-3B is open source (Apache-2.0 (code and weights)). No open-source release is listed for Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iris-3b-vs-qwen-image-2-1.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iris-3b-vs-qwen-image-2-1.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "iris-3b", "b": "qwen-image-2-1"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare iris-3b qwen-image-2-1`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/iris-3b.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/qwen-image-2-1.json

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