8 tools · Updated October 2026
There is no single best AI image generator. Midjourney is the usual pick for artistic images, Stable Diffusion for full control at no cost, Adobe Firefly for commercial work, and ChatGPT's image models for following long instructions. Below is a side-by-side comparison, then what each tool is good at and where it falls short.
| Tool | Best for | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Midjourney | Artistic, polished images | Paid |
| DALL-E 3 | Following detailed instructions | Freemium |
| Stable Diffusion | Full control, free and offline | Free |
| Leonardo AI | Game assets and consistent styles | Freemium |
| Firefly | Commercial and brand work | Freemium |
| AI Raphael | Quick generation and editing in the browser | Freemium |
| Pixfy | Keeping a character consistent | Freemium |
| Callirra | Trying several models with one account | Freemium |
AI image generation with artistic quality
Midjourney has a strong default style: even short prompts tend to come out with good lighting and composition. It is a common choice for concept art, illustrations and mood boards, and it runs in a web app as well as on Discord.
Watch out: There is no free plan, and it gives less precise control over exact layouts than tools built around editing.
Midjourney features, pricing and alternatives →
OpenAI's image generation model
OpenAI's image generation is used through ChatGPT, so you describe what you want in plain sentences and refine it by replying. It handles long prompts with several objects and short text in the image better than most. In ChatGPT, DALL-E 3 has since been succeeded by OpenAI's newer GPT Image models.
Watch out: The free tier of ChatGPT limits how many images you can create, and the output style is less distinctive than Midjourney's.
DALL-E 3 features, pricing and alternatives →
Open-source AI image generation
Stable Diffusion is open source, so you can run it on your own computer with tools like ComfyUI or Automatic1111 and use thousands of community models and LoRAs for specific styles or characters. Nothing leaves your machine.
Watch out: You need a decent GPU and some patience with setup. Hosted versions exist but are less flexible.
Stable Diffusion features, pricing and alternatives →
AI image generation for creatives
Leonardo AI is a web app aimed at creators and game artists, with several models, preset styles and the option to train on your own images. It gives free credits every day, which makes it easy to try.
Watch out: The many models and settings take time to learn, and the free credits run out quickly at high resolution.
Leonardo AI features, pricing and alternatives →
Adobe's AI image generation
Adobe trained Firefly on licensed content such as Adobe Stock, and positions it as safe for commercial use. It is built into Photoshop (Generative Fill) and Adobe Express, so it fits teams already working in Adobe tools.
Watch out: Free use is limited by monthly generative credits, and its output is more conservative than Midjourney's.
Firefly features, pricing and alternatives →Free AI image generator and editor powered by Nano Banana Pro
AI Raphael is a web tool built on Google's Nano Banana Pro model that combines a text-to-image generator with an editor, so you can create an image and then change parts of it in one place.
AI Raphael features, pricing and alternatives →
Create AI characters and images with reusable references
Pixfy lets you save a character or reference and reuse it across new images, which helps for comics, mascots and series of social posts where the same face has to appear again.
Pixfy features, pricing and alternatives →
Most of the top AI image & video models in one workspace — video from $0.02/sec, one credit pool, 18 free credits. New users: 20% off the first month.
Callirra puts many of the leading image and video models in one workspace with a single credit balance, so you can run the same prompt through different models and compare the results without separate subscriptions.
Callirra features, pricing and alternatives →For art and mood boards, Midjourney gives the best-looking results with the least effort. For ads, packaging or anything going to a client, Adobe Firefly's licensing story matters more than style. For a specific layout with text, ChatGPT's image models follow instructions most closely.
Stable Diffusion is free if you have the hardware. Leonardo AI, Firefly and ChatGPT have free allowances that are enough to test. Midjourney requires a subscription from the start.
If you already have a photo and want to remove the background, unblur it or change one part, an AI photo editor will do that better than a generator.
Stable Diffusion is completely free if you run it on your own computer. Among hosted tools, Leonardo AI gives free daily credits, and Adobe Firefly and ChatGPT include a limited number of free images. Midjourney has no free plan.
Midjourney and Stable Diffusion (with a photorealistic community model) produce the most convincing photos. ChatGPT's image models are good at realistic scenes that need several specific details.
It depends on each tool's terms and your plan. Adobe Firefly is built for commercial use. Midjourney allows commercial use on paid plans. Always read the current terms before using images in a product or ad.
Our GPT Image prompt library has prompts grouped by use case and style, most with the image they produced. Browse GPT Image prompts
