Many AI art generators exist, but few match Midjourney’s capabilities. However, Midjourney now operates solely as a premium service priced at $10 per month. Thus, we present 10 superior alternatives, mostly free, boasting robust text-to-image models. Let’s delve into the list.
1. DALL-E 3
DALL-E 3 stands out as the premier Midjourney alternative for image generation. Developed by OpenAI, the minds behind ChatGPT, it crafts photorealistic images from natural language descriptions. Introduced in 2021, followed by DALL-E 2 in 2022, OpenAI unveiled DALL-E 3 in 2023, boasting unparalleled detail and accuracy, even with nuanced prompts.
Today, DALL-E 3 surpasses its predecessors in accuracy and realism, delivering images at four times the resolution. However, access requires a ChatGPT Plus subscription.
DALL-E 3 stands out for its prompt comprehension, seamlessly blending diverse concepts, styles, and attributes to craft surprising, unique images. It represents one of the most potent AI art generators, surpassing Midjourney.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Accurate, realistic visual translation | Requires ChatGPT Plus subscription |
| Expands image canvas | |
| Built on 3.5B parameters |
2. Stable Diffusion XL and SDXL Turbo
If there’s a text-to-image model that rivals Midjourney, it’s Stable Diffusion. Unlike Midjourney, a paid and proprietary model, Stable Diffusion is free and open-source. It can be installed on a local PC with at least 8GB of VRAM. Many websites and apps already utilize Stable Diffusion to swiftly generate images from text input.
Stable Diffusion is built on Latent Diffusion Models, Eleuther AI, LAION, OpenCLIP, OpenAI’s ADM codebase, and CompVis. The company has publicly released Stable Diffusion XL and recently announced SDXL Turbo for real-time image generation.
I’ve utilized Stable Diffusion multiple times previously, noting its swift image generation. While its image quality lags behind Midjourney, the latest SDXL 1.0 aims to bridge this gap. Notably, Stable Diffusion struggles with rendering eyes, hands, and fingers accurately in human portraits. Nonetheless, it remains a proficient text-to-image model worth exploring.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free and open-source | Hand and eye rendering require improvement |
| Powerful capabilities | |
| Trained on large dataset |
Platforms: Web
Stable Diffusion XL (Free or Free) / SDXL Turbo (Free)
3. Adobe Firefly
Adobe, a leader in the digital graphics industry, has developed an impressive suite of software. Now, in the AI era, Adobe is actively innovating to compete with other image-generation models. To challenge Midjourney, Adobe introduces Firefly, its creative AI model.
Featuring tools for text-to-image generation, image expansion, vector recoloring, text effects, inpainting, sketch-to-image, and more, Firefly is still in development. However, Adobe has already launched the Text to Image tool, which is currently free for all users.
Similar to Midjourney, entering a prompt in natural language results in four images in various variations. Content types including Art, Graphic, Photo, or None are selectable, along with options for color, tone, lighting, composition, and more. In testing, I found it fast at generating images and capable with landscapes and other concepts. However, it lacks photorealism for human subjects compared to Midjourney.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| In-house text-to-image model by Adobe | Work-in-progress |
| Features image expansion and sketch-to-image | |
| Currently free |
Platforms: Web
Check out Adobe Firefly (Free)
4. Bing Image Creator
If you’re unaware, Microsoft integrated AI image generation into Bing AI Chat, alongside the standalone website. Now, you can generate images with a natural prompt in Bing Chat, but you must use the “Creative” mode to trigger Bing AI Image Creator. Powered by OpenAI’s DALL-E 3 and 2 models, there’s seemingly no limit on creating images in Bing Chat. Essentially, it’s a free service within Bing Search.
After the initial 25 image generations daily, quick output diminishes, necessitating a wait for the final image. While not adept at human face generation and slightly lower in quality compared to Midjourney, Bing Image Creator performs well in rapidly producing AI images, even on abstract concepts. For those seeking a cost-free alternative to Midjourney, Bing Image Creator proves a viable option.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Top free AI image generator | Limited customization |
| Powered by DALL- E 3 and 2 | |
| Integrated with Bing Chat |
Platforms: Web, Android, iOS
Explore Bing Image Creator (Free)
5. Leonardo.Ai
Leonardo.Ai, a cutting-edge text-to-image generation model, rivals Midjourney. Emerging from beta, it now offers access to its in-house and proprietary models. Additionally, it features Alchemy in beta, enabling image customization with presets, resolution adjustment, contrast tuning, and more.
Primarily geared towards game asset generation, Leonardo.Ai provides tools for swiftly creating production-ready visual assets, including environments, buildings, items, and helmets. While its focus is on gaming, it’s versatile for various creative tasks.
Source: leonardo.io
You can train your own AI model and create images for your personalized environment. What stood out to me is that Leonardo.Ai is adept at generating human faces without blemishes in the eyes. So if you’re interested in a powerful text-to-image model like Midjourney, Leonardo.Ai is an excellent alternative.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Best for generating game assets | After 150 image generations, subscription required |
| Character portraits are high-quality | |
| Supports custom dimensions |
Platforms: Web
Explore Leonardo.Ai (Free up to 150 images, Paid plan starts at $10 per month)
6. Blue Willow by LimeWire
Blue Willow, an alternative to Midjourney, gained over 300 million users on its Discord server within months. It’s free for up to 20 images and has been acquired by LimeWire. No need to join its Discord server anymore to generate AI images. Blue Willow is utilized for various purposes including creating logos, comic characters, digital art, landscapes, graphic concepts, and more.
Experimenting with prompts yielded decent images, yet Blue Willow falls short of Midjourney in realism. Nonetheless, for digital art or graphics, Blue Willow excels. What stands out is its speedy image generation despite a large user base, which is impressive. In essence, Blue Willow presents a promising, free alternative to Midjourney worth trying.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Surprisingly adept at generating human faces | Free users limited to 20 images |
| Free to use without limitations | |
| Very fast |
Platforms: Web, Android, iOS
Discover Blue Willow (Free)
7. Fotor AI Image Generator
Fotor, an online photo editor, now offers its own AI image generator. Simply input text prompts with desired details, and it recreates images accordingly. Notably, it features an image-to-image AI photo generator. Additionally, users can specify their preferred style, such as Photography, Conceptual art, Anime, Cartoon, Oil painting, and more.
Standard options include customizing aspect ratio, number of images to generate, and further editing. Fotor offers 5 credits to free users, after which the Pro plan is available for $2.66 per month. The generated images are comparable to Midjoruney in conceptual arts.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| AI image generator is capable | Requires account creation |
| Suitable for conceptual art | Limited to 5 free credits |
| Allows further image editing |
Platforms: Web, Android
Discover Fotor (Free)
8. NightCafe
Again, NightCafe isn’t an image model itself but a website service allowing access to multiple text-to-image models. It supports Stable Diffusion (including the latest SDXL 1.0 model), DALL-E 2, CLIP-Guided Diffusion, VQGAN+CLIP, and Style Transfer. Choose Style Transfer for creating masterpieces inspired by old artworks, CLIP-Guided Diffusion for artistic images, and VQGAN+CLIP for beautiful sceneries.
Stable Diffusion and DALL-E 2 models offer next-generation image synthesis. However, the website isn’t entirely free. You receive only 3 free credits upon sign up and must pay or earn credits through social campaigns to access other advanced models. In essence, NightCafe presents another option for comparing various image models.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Very capable text-to-image model | Not entirely free |
| Stable Diffusion and DALL-E available | Multiple limitations |
| Best for creating old masterpieces |
Platforms: Web
Discover NightCafe (Free up to 3 credits, Paid plan starts at $4.79/ month)
9. Lexica
Lexica, an AI-image generator, utilizes a refined image model based on Stable Diffusion. Its latest version, Aperture v3.5, excels in creating portraits and serves as a search engine for Stable Diffusion-generated images. It offers up to 100 AI images monthly for free, and for $10 a month, you can generate up to 1000 images.
Regarding image generation, you can utilize Lexica Aperture v3.5 or v2 and select dimensions up to 768 x 1152. In my experience, Lexica performed well, producing high-quality images. If you seek a free AI image generator like Midjourney, this Stable Diffusion-powered Lexica model is a promising starting point.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Effortless to use | Somewhat slow image generation |
| 3 available models | |
| Generate 100 images monthly for free |
Platforms: Web
Explore Lexica (Free up to 100 images/month, Paid plans start at $10/month)
10. Playground AI
Playground AI hosts its own Playground v2 model, Stable Diffusion XL, and Stable Diffusion 1.5. You can create 500 images per day for free on Playground AI. However, the DALL-E model is not available in the free version, and there might be quality and detail limits after 50 images.
Additionally, image dimensions cannot be altered from 515 x 512 or 768 x 768. Despite these limitations, it remains an excellent choice for beginners. Image generation is swift, with no waiting queues. In conclusion, Playground AI may be the ideal free alternative to Midjourney.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Generates 500 images per day for free | Free users can only generate one image at a time |
| Offers Stable Diffusion XL and 1.5 | Includes many limitations for free users |
| Quick image generation |
Platforms: Web
Explore Playground AI (Free up to 500 images/day, Paid plan starts at $15/month)
Pritam Chopra is a seasoned IT professional and a passionate blogger hailing from the dynamic realm of technology. With an insatiable curiosity for all things tech-related, Pritam has dedicated himself to exploring and unraveling the intricacies of the digital world.
