Sometimes we wish we were artistically expressive enough to bring into reality an image we have in mind.
And it’s at times like this we’re thankful for innovative tools like Midjourney. Midjourney is one of the best AI tools out there for image generation. Using it, you can simply describe the image you want and create an image at the click of a button.
But innovation is infectious, that’s why there are so many other Midjourney alternatives popping up in the market. How good are these Midjourney alternatives? Are they worth it?
Let’s find out in this blog dedicated to analyzing the top Midjourney alternatives to consider and why we think so.
But first, let’s break down some of the pros and cons of Midjourney before we proceed to the alternatives.
Midjourney is one of the most popular generative AI tools for image generation. Once you learn how to use it properly it can be very helpful for generating images. As of March 2023, Midjourney had 19.26 million registered users.
Midjourney offers 4 subscription tiers. The Basic plan is priced at $10, the Standard plan at $30, the Pro plan at $60, and the Mega plan at $120. For a comparison of plans visit here.
Here are some of the pros and cons to know about using Midjourney.
Let’s look at the Midjourney alternatives now.
On a separate blog, we went through some of the top ChatGPT alternatives. There, our exercise was to fairly compare the alternatives. To do that we used the same prompt to see what each tool would generate and listed the pros and cons accordingly.
We expect to do the same here with these Midjourney alternatives. That way, we can fairly analyze the alternatives.
Here’s the prompt we will test:
“Create an image of an astronaut on the moon. Include a spaceship in the background”
Let’s begin with the first Midjourney alternative.
Bing’s Designer is one of the top Midjourney alternatives. It was formerly known as Microsoft Bing Image Creator and uses DALL·E 3 to help users create images. They are committed to serving users with AI tools while upholding responsible AI practices.
Let’s put the tool to the test:
The Designer Image Creator offers unlimited free creation along with 15 boosts (resets each day) that allow generating images faster.
It generated 4 accurate images for us and none of the images had watermarks. And you can tell the quality of the images is good.
The images were distinct from each other and were very detailed.
Each image came in a 1024x1024px resolution in JPEG format.
Images can be downloaded, saved to collections on your Microsoft Bing account, or shared by creating a unique link.
Furthermore, each image can be customized using the Microsoft Designer editor.
This editor along with its access to other AI tools makes Bing’s Designer one of the top Midjourney alternatives.
There are still some cons that you should know about when using this alternative.
Even though they offer unlimited free generations there are only limited boosts. Without the boosts, generating images is a very slow process.
You don’t really have control over the image style unless you specify it in the prompt itself.
There is also no way of resizing the image except by cropping it in the editor which only downscales it. And there are limited formats to download images in.
An important turnoff would be that you need a Microsoft account to be able to use Designer.
Other general cons include the increased censorship flagged by some reviewers on Capterra.
Simplified is an AI suite offering a variety of tools. It offers image generation capabilities similar to the likes of Midjourney, which is why it’s one of the Midjourney alternatives to consider. Simplified uses both AI models – DALL·E and Stable Diffusion to generate images.
Let’s check the tool in action:
Simplified offers 10 credits to try the tool.
There are more than 15 styles to choose from and there are a lot of parameters you can set before generating an image including negative prompts and reference images.
The image we generated using our prompt was of good quality was very good. You have the option to upscale the image, edit it in the Simplified editor (shown below), or simply download it.
The image can also be downloaded in PNG format and we set the aspect ratio previously as standard so the image was 1152x864px.
On the editor we tried exporting it and downloading it as a JPEG in high resolution and we were still able to download it.
Besides these formats, you can also download in PNG transparent, video, GIF, PDF, and SVG formats.
You can also resize the image, and enhance or remove backgrounds before downloading.
On the free tries, you only get to generate images using the Diffusion AI model and access to the DALL·E AI model is only for paid users.
To generate more than 1 image option you need to subscribe to a paid plan starting from $14.99/month.
Also, the images we generated as well as edited and downloaded came with the Simplified watermark and to remove it you’d need to upgrade to a paid plan.
Regardless of these cons, we think it is one of the best Midjourney alternatives proving good value for those who can use the paid version.
ImagineArt AI is a state-of-the-art image generation tool that rivals the capabilities of Midjourney. With its SDXL model that lets you get rapid results, it’s one of the top Midjourney alternatives.
ImagineArt offers 50 tokens that you can use to generate images. The tokens are renewed every 24 hours, which means it’s one of the best free Midjourney alternatives.
We generated 4 images (it’s set to 4 as default).
We didn’t set any other parameters and below are 3 out of the 4 images we got. We must admit that they’re the most realistic and quality images out of all the generations by the Midjourney alternatives here on this list.
The images came without watermarks and were downloadable. The standard download comes in 1024x1024px resolution and PNG format. We tried the upscale option and downloaded it in 2048x2048px resolution, also in PNG format.
With ImagineArt you can set parameters like aspect ratio, model, and art style. You can also include negative prompts (things you want the AI to avoid) and adjust the CFG scale to control how closely or loosely the AI follows your prompt.
imagineArt AI provides a commercial license for the images you generate even on their most basic plan, unlike Midjourney where images are public and not the best for commercial use. This makes it one of the best Midjourney alternatives to try if you want to generate images for commercial purposes.
Other general pros include the ability to access it via the web, Android, or iOS platforms and a thriving Discord community.
We don’t have that many cons to list as evidenced by the pros. If we were to list some, a few would be the limited format options available for download in the free plan and the lack of a robust editor.
Stockimg.ai is an all-around AI tool offering generative AI functions from social media posts to logos, book covers, and illustrations – making it one of the unique Midjourney alternatives on this list.
Let’s test it.
Stockimg.ai lets you set parameters such as the AI model/style, dimension, number of images, etc. We typed in the prompt and used the default settings. The image we generated was realistic and very good.
It also provides the option to make it an advanced generation. Subscribers also have the luxury of making it a private session so that your images aren’t public.
All generations happen on the Stockimg.ai editor so we can make a lot of edits as required to the image and the canvas behind the image. As a result, the image can be resized as required.
There are 4 format options available for download, PNG, JPEG, SVG, and PDF. We were able to download images in all 4 formats without a problem. You can also keep making changes to the overall canvas and keep creating and downloading variations.
A watermark appears on the canvas but we were able to enlarge the image over the watermark. We’re not sure how that works but it was possible for some reason.
Other pros include the ability to manage your social media account with AI, end-to-end using Stockimg.ai.
These features collectively make it one of the best Midjourney alternatives to use.
The AI didn’t accurately follow the prompt even though the quality of the image was good. The need for a spaceship in the background, in the prompt, was not picked up.
Also, the image alone cannot be downloaded as it is generated as part of the canvas in the Stockimg.ai editor.
The free plan only allows one AI image generation and 1 social media post generation.
Let’s wrap things up now.
As evident by these Midjourney alternatives, gone are the days when you had to spend a hefty amount of money for professional photographers, stock images, 3D illustrators, and an entire creative/editing team to create images. It’s as easy, affordable, and quick as it can be with AI tools.
The question remains whether you’d rather go with Midjourney for these image needs or with any one of these Midjourney alternatives.
Before we forget there are also just a few things to keep in mind when utilizing them: Remember to use these AI tools responsibly so that you don’t face copyright, ethical, and licensing issues. You should be in the clear when you use Midjourney or one of these Midjourney alternatives in a responsible manner. Also, remember that some images would need further editing and touching up to be completely usable and unique.
Regardless, the future has arrived and what it has to offer is beyond what we could’ve imagined a few decades ago.
So go ahead and take the leap, and be surprised by the results!
