I have been sharing AI-generated images from Midjourney with a friend for some time now. 

Recently, he left me stunned by the AI images produced using DALL E-3 which is integrated into chatGPT. 

He even argued that these images surpassed Midjourney’s creations. So, he asked if there were any Midjourney alternatives that he could explore to see how they compared in the world of AI image generation.

Midjourney, the frontrunner in AI image generation since its 2022 debut, now faces a formidable challenger in DALL E-3. 

While Midjourney has a loyal following, it is not without its limitations. To use it, you need both a Discord account and a paid subscription. Furthermore, Midjourney recently discontinued its free trials, leaving many in search of alternative AI image-generation tools.

At my friend’s request, I delved into the realm of AI image generation and compiled a list of impressive alternatives. I am sharing this list with you to save you valuable time in researching the countless AI image-generation tools in the market.

Leonardo AI

Leonardo AI is a tool similar to Midjourney but it is free and you get 150 image credits per day. If you want to upgrade, the subscription plan starts at 10$ per month.

The best thing is there is no need to use Discord as you do it with Midjourney. You can directly generate images on their website. 

The interface is user-friendly and to see all your generated images you don’t need to go to a separate app.

In the case of Midjourney, you should go from Discord to the Midjourney website to view your images.

With Leonardo AI, the prompts you write should be specific. If you want the AI-generated images to be clean and nice, you have to use a lot of negative prompts.

Features:

You can train your AI model by giving 10 to 20 image inputs.

You can extend, replace, remove the background, and erase any elements within the AI-generated Image.

If you are into generating gaming assets then Leonardo AI can be a good choice for you.

Adobe Firefly AI

Adobe Firefly is another good alternative for Midjourney. Firefly is good at generating realistic images because this model is trained on Adobe stock images. 

The interface is user friendly and Adobe is releasing features mainly focusing on designers.

Since Adobe Firefly is integrated into the Adobe ecosystem, graphic designers find it tempting to use this new AI image generation tool.

Adobe is also in discussions with Google to integrate Firefly into Google’s generative AI tool Bard.

Features:

Other than text-to-image, Firefly has other features like generative fill, Text effects, generative recolor

Firefly is soon going to launch new features like text-to-vector, text-to-brush, sketch-to-image, and text-to-template.

Firefly has both free and paid plans available. Once you install Firefly, you can also use it in Photoshop and Illustrator.

One disadvantage is that the images generated have Adobe Firefly watermark

Stable Diffusion AI Generator

If you are looking for a free alternative to Midjourney then Stable diffusion by Stability AI is one of the best tools out there in the market. 

The best thing is it is completely free to use but it will take some effort to set it up.

The main drawback of stable diffusion is that the user interface is not friendly and learning stable diffusion takes a bit of time when compared to other AI Image generation tools.

Features:

There are 2 features in stable diffusion called Inpainting and outpainting.

With inpainting, you can modify a few elements of the images.

With outpainting you can generate new art outside the boundaries of the image.

You can also provide image prompts similar to midjourney. You can upload an image and combine it with a text prompt to generate images similar to the given image prompt.

Microsoft Bing Image Creator:

Bing Image Creator is powered by Dalle and integrated with Bing Chat.

In the Bing Chat, you can generate both text and images in the same place.

You can also use Bing Image Creator directly on its website, unlike Midjourney which can be used on Discord.

The best part about  Bing Image Creator is this is the best AI image generator that is freely available without any limitations.

Although it is free, it generates stunning images as it is powered by Dall E, which itself is a part of Openai.

The user interface is intuitive and easy to use for a beginner.

You can go to https://www.bing.com/create and start creating your own AI images immediately.

DALLE 3 by Open AI:

For the last 1 year, Midjourney has been the king in the AI image generation space.

Many people thought DALL E was not as good as Midjourney.

But recently when DALL E-3 was integrated into ChatGPT it became so powerful and is giving tough competition for Midjourney in the AI image generation space.

Jokes apart but some people think that midjourney is dead (which is not true). Anyways DALL E-3 seems to be much more powerful than its previous version.

To use DALL E-3, you need to get a ChatGPT PLUS Subscription which costs around 20$ per month which is twice that of midjourney but worth the price.

It seems DALL E-3 understands text prompts better than Midjourney.

The best thing about DALL E-3 is if we have any doubts about writing a prompt, we can ask ChatGPT directly because of the direct integration of DALL E-3 into ChatGPT.

If you can afford the price, then I suggest you experiment with DALL·E-3, because with 1 subscription you can use both ChatGPT and DALL·E-3 at a time. As a bonus, you can also use a lot of plugins in the ChatGPT store.

Conclusion:

If you are looking for free AI image generation tools, then Microsoft Bing Image Creator, Stable Diffusion, and Leonardo AI are your best options.

If you are a graphic designer or a Video Editor then go with Adobe Firefly, because Adobe owns Photoshop, illustrator, and Premiere Pro. These tools are directly integrated with Firefly and they will provide more value for you.

If you are looking for the best alternative to Midjourney and you are willing to pay money, then hands down Dalle 3 is the best. Since Dall E- 3 is directly integrated into ChatGPT you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

Frequently asked questions: