Midjourney
ποΈ What is Midjourney?
The #1 AI image generator. Produces stunning, photorealistic and artistic images from text prompts. Runs inside Discord.
Midjourney is an AI image generator known for the most consistently polished, artistic output of any mainstream image model, now on version 7. It's now fully usable through a web interface at midjourney.com (Discord is no longer required), and V7 adds Omni Reference for style/character consistency, regional editing to rewrite just part of an image, and Draft Mode for roughly 10x faster, half-cost exploration before committing to a final render.
Midjourney is particularly strong at industry-leading image quality, vibrant community & styles library, and consistent aesthetic output, making it a popular choice for concept art & illustration and marketing and ad creatives. One thing to keep in mind: no free tier.
β¨ What are Midjourney's key features?
Omni Reference (V7)
Paste a style URL or reference image to force subsequent generations to follow the same visual tone, palette, and brushwork.
Regional editing
Select a specific area of a completed image and rewrite just that region, without regenerating the whole picture.
Canvas extension
Extend an image outward at 1.5x, 2x, or custom ratios to create wide banners or extended layouts from a tighter original frame.
Draft Mode
Roughly 10x faster and about half the cost of standard generation, making it cheap to explore many ideas before committing to a final render.
Full web interface
Midjourney is now fully usable at midjourney.com -- Discord is no longer required to generate images.
Industry-leading aesthetic quality
Consistently produces polished, gallery-ready output with minimal prompt engineering compared to most competitors.
Member gallery and community
Browse and remix prompts from a large, active community, useful for learning what works.
π What are Midjourney's pros and cons?
Pros
- Industry-leading image quality
- Vibrant community & styles library
- Consistent aesthetic output
- V6 model with stunning realism
Cons
- No free tier
- Discord-only interface (soon web)
- Limited editing / inpainting tools
π― What can you use Midjourney for?
π° How much does Midjourney cost?
Midjourney is offered as a paid product. Pricing depends on selected plan and usage volume. Visit the official website for monthly, annual, and enterprise pricing details.
Basic
- 3.3 hr/mo GPU time
- ~200 images/mo
- General commercial terms
- Access to member gallery
Standard
- 15 hr/mo GPU time
- Unlimited relaxed mode
- General commercial terms
- Private visibility
Pro
- 30 hr/mo GPU time
- 12 fast hours
- Stealth mode
- Max concurrent jobs
- Full commercial rights
π How to use Midjourney
- Sign up at midjourney.com and choose a paid plan -- there is no free tier.
- Use the web interface (or the Discord bot, if you prefer) to type a text prompt describing the image you want.
- Use Draft Mode to explore variations quickly and cheaply before generating a final high-quality version.
- Use Omni Reference or regional editing to refine style consistency or fix specific parts of an image.
- Upgrade your plan tier if you need more GPU hours, faster generation, or full commercial rights (Pro and above).
π Best Midjourney alternatives
Stable Diffusion
The best choice if you want a free, self-hostable alternative with full technical control.
Adobe Firefly
A better fit for teams needing commercially-safe training data and tight Adobe Creative Cloud integration.
Ideogram
Stronger specifically at rendering accurate text within generated images.
Leonardo AI
A more budget-friendly hosted alternative with a free tier, useful for casual exploration.
π Is Midjourney worth it?
Midjourney earns its 4.8 for consistently producing the most polished, aesthetically striking output of any mainstream image generator, and V7's Omni Reference and regional editing close the gap on the fine-grained control that used to be Stable Diffusion's exclusive advantage. It's not the right pick if budget matters more than polish, though: there's no free tier at all, so anyone who just wants to experiment casually without paying should start with a free-tier tool like Stable Diffusion or Leonardo AI before committing to a Midjourney subscription.
β Frequently Asked Questions
Is Midjourney free?
No, Midjourney has no free tier. Plans start at $10/month (Basic) for about 3.3 hours of GPU time per month, roughly 200 images.
Do I still need Discord to use Midjourney?
No. As of 2026, Midjourney's web interface at midjourney.com is fully generally available, and Discord is no longer required, though it's still supported for those who prefer it.
What is Draft Mode?
Draft Mode generates images roughly 10x faster and at about half the GPU cost of standard generation, making it much cheaper to explore many prompt variations before committing to a final, full-quality render.
What is Omni Reference in V7?
Omni Reference lets you paste a reference image or style URL so that subsequent generations follow the same visual tone, color palette, and artistic style consistently.
Can I use Midjourney images commercially?
Yes, all paid plans include general commercial usage terms; the Pro plan adds stealth mode (private generations) and the most complete commercial rights for business use.
How does Midjourney compare to Stable Diffusion?
Midjourney generally produces more polished results with less effort and no local setup, but has no free tier and less granular control. Stable Diffusion is free for most users, fully controllable, and self-hostable, but requires more technical know-how to get comparable results.
Can I edit just part of an existing image?
Yes, V7's regional editing lets you select a specific area of a completed image and regenerate only that region, useful for fixing a detail without redoing the whole piece.
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