Is Midjourney out of date? Here are the 11 best AI image generation alternatives
These days, creating striking visuals no longer requires mastery of Photoshop or the skills of a graphic designer. Thanks to artificial intelligence, a simple text prompt is all it takes to generate a stunning image. And if there's one name that has exploded in this field, it's Midjourney.
But between the Discord interface, paid subscriptions and certain limits on customisation, Midjourney isn't for everyone. Fortunately, the AI is not short of resources. There are now a host of alternatives to Midjourney, some free, others better designed for certain uses.
Whether you're a designer, entrepreneur or just curious about testing AI-based image generators, we've put together a comparison of the best options in 2025. From realistic photo generation to stylised artistic creation, there's something for everyone.
☝️ Ready to find your new favourite tool? Let's start by laying the foundations.
What is Midjourney?
Midjourney is the darling of visual designers on the internet. This image generator is based on an artificial intelligence model capable of transforming text into images, often with striking quality. You describe what you want ("a retro-futuristic poster with a robot in a wheat field"), and the software spits out a unique visual creation in a matter of seconds.
What sets Midjourney apart is its strong artistic style, with ultra-aesthetic, often cinematic renderings and a recognisable visual signature. This is what has attracted a growing community of designers, illustrators, marketers... and even entrepreneurs looking for original content.
🛠️ But Midjourney has its own special features:
- it works via Discord, which can be confusing for the uninitiated;
- it requires a paid subscription (there is no free version);
- image generation is based on text commands, with no traditional graphical interface.
And as a result, despite its powerful image generation engine, Midjourney can put off some users looking for a simpler, free solution or one better suited to their workflow. That's where the alternatives to Midjourney come in...
Midjourney
Why consider an alternative to Midjourney?
Midjourney is 100% pay-as-you-go
This is one of the first obstacles encountered. Unlike many other AI image generators, Midjourney does not offer any free options, however limited. From the first generation onwards, you have to pay a monthly subscription fee. If you're in the exploration phase, if you want to test the tool before committing yourself, or if your budget is tight (freelancer, start-up, independent creative...), you're in trouble.
An unintuitive interface for the general public
Midjourney is used exclusively via Discord, a platform better known for gaming than graphic design. You have to interact with a bot, type in commands, navigate through channels that are sometimes overcrowded... In short, it has a logic all its own, which can put off non-technical users. No graphical dashboard, no drag-and-drop system, no integrated editor. In 2025, it seems almost anachronistic.
A strong visual style, but sometimes too rigid
There's no denying that the Midjourney aesthetic is magnificent. Very artistic, very detailed... and often recognisable at first glance. But that's also its drawback: by having a template trained on a certain style, the images generated tend to look the same. For professional uses such as a product visual, an advertising poster, a UX/UI mockup or a realistic photo, the Midjourney rendering can lack flexibility.
An exploding market
Finally, there's the novelty effect, with the ecosystem of AI image generators evolving very quickly. New tools arrive every month, with advanced features such as :
- style recognition
- the transfer of consistent characters from one image to another,
- editing via text,
- platform integration.
Alternatives such as Leonardo.ai, Ideogram or DALL-E via ChatGPT offer equivalent or even superior quality, with greater freedom and better integration into creative workflows.
The 11 best alternatives to midjourney
Comparative table of the top 11 alternatives to midjourney
1 of 10
| Midjourney |  Adobe Firefly |  Bing Image Creator |  Canva |  Craiyon |  DALL-E |  Ideogram |  Leonardo |  NightCafe |  Stable Diffusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies |
| See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software |
| Learn more about Midjourney | Learn more about Adobe Firefly | Learn more about Bing Image Creator | Learn more about Canva | Learn more about Craiyon | Learn more about DALL-E | Learn more about Ideogram | Learn more about Leonardo | Learn more about NightCafe | Learn more about Stable Diffusion |
Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly is Adobe's answer to the wave of AI image generators such as Midjourney. Designed to integrate naturally into the Creative Cloud ecosystem, it allows you to create an image from text, but also to transform, style or modify an existing visualwith a level of control that will appeal to demanding creatives.
✅ One of its main assets is its database. Where other models feed off the web, razing everything in their path, Firefly is trained solely on royalty-free content or content licensed under Adobe Stock. A detail that changes everything for designers and entrepreneurs who want to create commercially exploitable content without legal risks.
In terms of rendering, Firefly focuses on graphic cleanliness and consistency of form. It is less about artistic experimentation than Midjourney, and more about controlled creation. The tool is also particularly powerful for :
- generating stylised text (amazing IA typography effects) ;
- automatically fill areas in Photoshop using AI;
- modify an existing image without altering the quality of the design;
- adjusting the palette, shape or style of a visual element.
❌ Its main limitation? It is reserved for Adobe Creative Cloud subscribers, making it less accessible for beginners or occasional users.
Adobe Firefly stands out as a reliable, high-quality alternative to Midjourney that is well thought out for professional use.
Adobe Firefly
Bing Image Creator
Bing Image Creator, developed by Microsoft, uses OpenAI's DALL-E 3 model to enable anyone to generate an image from text, directly from their browser.
✅ The main advantage? It's completely free. All you need is a Microsoft account to access a simple, fast and surprisingly powerful tool, with no subscription or technical skills required.
This generator stands out for its ease of access. The interface is uncluttered, the prompts are in natural language, and the results are displayed in a matter of seconds. For each query, several variants are proposed, with surprising visual quality. The DALL-E 3 model excels in particular at :
- understanding complex descriptions (even subtle or ambiguous ones) ;
- generating several visual styles depending on the context of the prompt;
- producing coherent, well-framed images with no glaring anatomical errors;
- manage the textual content integrated into the image, with a good level of legibility.
In terms of style, Bing Image Creator is highly versatile. It can generate realistic portraits as well as cartoons, fantasy scenes or product illustrations. It doesn't offer advanced settings or extensive customisation, but for most uses such as social networking, mock-ups or light marketing content, it's more than up to the job. And for a free tool, that's impressive.
For entrepreneurs in a hurry, content creators or the curious, it's an accessible, fast and powerful option, ideal for experimenting without constraints.
Bing Image Creator
BlueWillow
BlueWillow is an AI image generator which, like Midjourney, works via Discord. It is aimed primarily at designers looking for a free, easy-to-use tool capable of producing visuals with a distinctive aesthetic. The aim of the platform is to democratise the creation of images using artificial intelligence, without technical complexity.
✅ What's striking about BlueWillow is the respectable quality of the renderings, especially for a 100% free tool. It relies on a combination of open source AI models (such as Stable Diffusion, sometimes DALL-E) in the background, and can generate images in a matter of seconds via simple prompts. The style tends towards the artistic, with an often fantastical, surreal or painted feel,making it a good choice for illustration or creative experimentation.
BlueWillow is also popular for :
- producing images in a variety of styles (painting, digital art, manga...) ;
- quickly inspiring visual concepts for creative projects;
- operating without subscription or strict limitations (except for the occasional queue);
- remain accessible to all thanks to an active and caring community on Discord.
❌ On the other hand, don't expect a graphical interface or a personal space to organise your visuals: everything happens via Discord commands, with its advantages (simplicity, speed) and its limitations (lack of customisation, unstructured working environment).
To sum up, BlueWillow is an interesting free alternative to Midjourney for those who want to try out AI-assisted artistic creation without commitment. It's a good way in for budding artists, exploratory designers and the curious, provided you're comfortable with the Discord world.
Canva Magic Media
Canva Magic Media is the AI image generation functionality integrated into the well-known world of Canva, the online design platform used by millions of entrepreneurs, content creators and marketing teams. Here, there's no need to code, write commands in Discord or understand the inner workings of AI - everything is designed to be simple, fluid and visual.
Based on models such as Stable Diffusion or DALL-E, depending on the version, Canva Magic Media lets you generate an image directly from a drag-and-drop interface. You enter a description, Canva produces several suggestions, and then all you have to do is integrate them into your visual.
The main advantage is that it integrates directly into the Canva ecosystem. This means you can :
- generate visuals that are consistent with your graphic charter;
- rework the images generated in the same way as any other Canva element (cropping, overlaying, filters, etc.);
- use content in a variety of formats (banners, carousels, flyers, etc.);
- access the AI without leaving your usual workspace, which speeds up creation.
Canva Magic Media is available with a Pro account, but also offers free trials and credits for generated images. Visual quality depends on the template used and the prompts, but remains solid overall for marketing, illustrative or digital content.
❌ It's not the most artistic or customisable tool, but it's perfect for producing effective visuals quickly, in an environment that's already popular for its simplicity.
Canva
Craiyon
Craiyon, formerly known as DALL-E mini, is a free AI image generator that focuses on total accessibility. A lightweight tool with no registration required, it allows anyone to generate an image from a text prompt in just a few seconds. The approach is minimalist, almost crude... but that's precisely its charm.
Craiyon is aimed above all at those who want to experiment, have fun or sketch out visual ideas quickly, without any requirement for professional quality. The images produced are often approximate, a little blurred or surreal, but they allow you to set an intention, trigger inspiration, or simply visualise a concept without friction.
✅ The tool is particularly popular for:
- testing visual ideas without commitment ;
- generating humorous or experimental images;
- forming prompts for more advanced AI;
- starting a creative process without a complex or paid tool.
❌ That said, it's still a far cry from the rendering offered by Midjourney, DALL-E 3 or Leonardo. The visual style is cartoonish, the colours sometimes garish, and the proportions approximate. But in some cases (brainstorming, games, concept sketches), it's more than enough, especially for a tool that's totally free, with no accounts and no friction.
In short, Craiyon is an ultra-accessible alternative to Midjourney, ideal for beginners, students or designers who want a fun, fast, no-fuss image generator.
Craiyon
DALL-E de ChatGPT 4o
Since the arrival of ChatGPT 4o, AI image generation has become even more intuitive... and downright impressive. The tool directly integrates DALL-E, the OpenAI image model, into the ChatGPT interface. All you have to do is enter what you want to appear, and the AI delivers a customised image, without having to use third-party software or configure anything. It's smooth, fast and visually stunning.
✅ What sets DALL-E apart is its conversational interaction. You chat with the AI, refine the prompt, request a new version... and it's all done in the same space. No need to master writing complex prompts: ChatGPT helps you formulate your idea, find the right style or correct a detail. It's a complete creative assistant, much more than just an image generator.
In practical terms, you can use it to :
- generate illustrative or realistic visuals from precise descriptions ;
- automatically reformulate your prompts for better results;
- modify a generated image without recreating everything (add an element, change the style, etc.);
- work in continuous conversation, making the creative process smoother.
The renderings are particularly meticulous: logical composition, harmonious colours, respect for detail, and above all a very fine contextual understanding. Even textual elements in the image (such as a poster or logo) are handled better than in most AI generators.
❌The only constraint: you need to be a ChatGPT Plus subscriber.
To sum up, ChatGPT 4o with DALL-E is a high-end alternative to Midjourney, designed for those who want to gain in productivity without sacrificing quality. It's the perfect tool for content creators, entrepreneurs, marketers, or anyone who simply wants an AI that understands and executes their ideas with precision.
DALL-E
Flux Pro (Mistral)
Flux Pro, powered by Mistral, is a rising alternative in the AI image generator landscape, designed to offer a highly stylised creative experience. Less well known than the giants of the sector, this platform is attracting more and more graphic designers and illustrators looking for original rendering, with an approach that is more artistic than technical.
✅ One of Flux Pro's great strengths lies in its assertive visual style. Where Midjourney tends towards an ultra-polish, cinematic aesthetic, Flux offers more expressive, sometimes dreamlike, even abstract renderings. It's an excellent tool for generating visuals that break away from the conventional framework, without seeking photorealism at all costs.
The platform is particularly aimed at creative people who want to :
- explore atypical styles or break with traditional visual codes ;
- create coherent visual universes for publishing, video games or illustration;
- generate visuals inspired by digital drawing, painting or collage;
- produce original results quickly, with a clear, efficient interface.
Flux Pro is easy to use: you enter a prompt, choose a style and the AI executes. The tool also offers advanced features such as style reuse, variation based on an image, and simplified retouching tools, very useful for designers who want to refine the result without starting from scratch.
❌ It's not the most mainstream or versatile tool, but it's a nugget for designers looking for singularity.
In short, Flux Pro is an alternative to Midjourney cut out for digital artists, those who want more daring, more visual emotion, and a less standardised image generator .
Ideogram.ai
Ideogram.ai is an AI image generator that has made a name for itself by tackling one of the major challenges of visual templates: integrating text correctly into images. Where most generators struggle to produce legible or faithful typography, Ideogram hits hard with an impressive mastery of text and image composition. The result is visuals that look like real posters, logos or graphic slogans, with a consistency rarely seen elsewhere.
✅ The tool particularly stands out for its use in branding, graphic design and the creation of commercial visual content. Thanks to a simple interface and a fast engine, it's possible to generate impactful visuals in a matter of seconds, intelligently blending artistic style and message readability.
Ideogram is particularly useful for :
- creating logos or posters with perfectly integrated text ;
- testing ideas for visual slogans or stylised messages;
- producing coherent and distinctive graphic compositions;
- prototyping marketing content (headlines, taglines, visual branding).
The tool operates via an intuitive webapp, with the option of choosing styles, adjusting artistic intensity or re-running several variants. The community is also very active, with an inspiring public gallery that encourages creative experimentation.
In short, Ideogram.ai is a very specific but highly effective alternative to Midjourney: if your priority is to get a clear visual message across , with text that doesn't look like an AI doodle, then this is one of the best choices. Perfect for entrepreneurs, graphic designers or marketing teams looking for a useful, readable and original image generator.
Ideogram
Leonardo.Ai
Leonardo.Ai is without doubt one of the most ambitious and versatile alternatives to Midjourney at the moment. Designed from the outset for professional designers, this platform takes rendering customisation and creative workflow optimisation to a whole new level. It offers a rare combination of premium visual quality, advanced styling control and features worthy of a full digital studio.
✅ Leonardo's strength lies in its ability to generate visuals that are both ultra-detailed and stylised, with a perfectly controlled aesthetic. Whether for video games, comics, concept art, product design or even NFT, the tool lets you explore coherent, rich and easily reusable visual worlds. It also lets you train your own models, which is rare among AI-based image generators, so you can create a unique visual style that reflects your image.
Leonardo is particularly attractive for its ability to :
- generate very high definition images, ready for printing or publication ;
- create characters or objects that are consistent from one image to the next;
- train personalised models, based on your own images or concepts;
- edit, enhance and vary existing visuals in a fluid environment.
The interface is intuitive yet rich, with advanced options accessible to beginners and professionals alike. You can manage collections of visuals, apply predefined styles, explore community galleries, and even collaborate with others on projects.
In short, Leonardo.Ai is a premium alternative to Midjourney, designed for demanding designers who want to go beyond the simple prompt = image. If you're looking for a robust platform for producing artistic, consistent and customisable visuals on a large scale, Leonardo ticks all the boxes. It's the perfect tool for game designers, digital artists, illustrators and creative entrepreneurs.
Leonardo
NightCafe
NightCafe is one of the pioneers in the field of image generation using artificial intelligence. Less flashy than Midjourney or Leonardo, this tool is seductive for its flexibility, its openness to several AI models and its active community. Accessible via a simple web interface, it is aimed at beginners as well as more seasoned designers looking for a place to experiment visually.
✅ One of NightCafe's great assets is the variety of AI engines available. With just a few clicks, you can choose between Stable Diffusion, DALL-E 2, CLIP-Guided Diffusion or other open source models to adapt the style, precision and rendering to suit the project. This makes it a highly flexible alternative to Midjourney, ideal for testing different types of rendering without changing platforms.
NightCafe is particularly appreciated for its ability to :
- offer a real diversity of visual styles, from photorealistic to abstract ;
- work with an easy-to-understand system of credits (free and paid);
- store and organise your creations in a personal gallery;
- incorporate a social dimension with shares, likes, challenges and rankings.
❌ NightCafe doesn't offer the most sophisticated renderings on the market, but it makes up for it with its accessibility, lively community and unlimited creative potential. For an entrepreneur wanting to test visuals, a designer looking for inspiration, or a casual user, it's a reliable tool that's fun to use and quite playful.
NightCafe
Stable Diffusion
Stable Diffusion is one of the most influential open source artificial intelligence models in the field of generating images from text. Unlike Midjourney, which operates like a black box in a closed environment, Stable Diffusion is free, modifiable and entirely customisable. It's an ideal playground (and production environment) for developers, technical designers, makers and digital artists.
✅ Stable Diffusion's strength lies in its extreme modularity. It can be run locally on a computer, hosted via platforms such as Hugging Face or Runway ML, or integrated with tools such as Automatic1111, InvokeAI or DiffusionBee. This model makes it possible to generate consistent visuals in a wide variety of styles, while offering a level of control that is inaccessible on closed platforms.
What sets Stable Diffusion apart is its ability to :
- generate high-definition images with total control over parameters (guidance scale, sampling, etc.) ;
- use custom templates: anime, realistic portraits, painting style, pixel art, etc. ;
- apply powerful extensions such as inpainting, outpainting and animation;
- train your own style or character, with LoRAs or DreamBooth.
❌ Of course, this power comes at a price: Stable Diffusion is more technical to master. You sometimes have to install dependencies, understand prompt engineering or manipulate template files. But for those who want to push creative AI to its limits, it's the best alternative to Midjourney.
Stable Diffusion
How do I choose an alternative to midjourney?
Summary table of our selection
| AI tool | Price (basic) | Visual quality | Type of rendering | Ideal for... |
| Adobe Firefly | From €11.08 / month | ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ | Realistic / Graphic | Adobe designers, print pros |
| Bing Image Creator | Free | ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ | Varied (via DALL-E 3) | Consumer use |
| BlueWillow | On request | ⭐⭐⭐☆ | Artistic | Conceptual art, fantasy |
| Canva Magic Media | From €110 / year | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Marketing, illustration | Entrepreneurs, social media |
| ChatGPT 4o (DALL-E) | From €23 / month | ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ | Versatile | Creators + prompt accuracy |
| Craiyon | Free | ⭐⭐☆ | Basic / cartoon | Quick, fun ideas |
| Flux Pro (Mistral) | From €6.85 / month | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Stylised / creative | Graphic designers, stylish worlds |
| Ideogram.ai | Free offer | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Stylised text + image | Branding, typography IA |
| Leonardo.Ai | Free offer | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Illustrative + photorealistic | Professional designers, NFT, games |
| NightCafe | Free offer | ⭐⭐⭐☆ | Various AI models | Exploration, varied style |
| Stable Diffusion | Free offer | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Flexible / tech | Devs, makers, customisation |
Our advice for the best choice
1. Clarify your objective
Before generating your first image, ask yourself: what for?
- For marketing content or social networking visuals: opt for simple, fast, integrated tools like Canva Magic Media or Bing Image Creator;
- for artistic or illustrated creation: opt for more expressive tools such as Leonardo.Ai, Flux Pro or BlueWillow;
- for images with legible text (logos, slogans, posters): Ideogram.ai is designed for this;
- for personalised, consistent or reusable visuals: think ChatGPT 4o (DALL-E) or Stable Diffusion, which allow greater creative continuity.
2. Don't underestimate the interface
A good tool is also a good user experience. If Discord makes you break out in a cold sweat, forget Midjourney or BlueWillow.
If you prefer a clear graphical interface, try ChatGPT, Canva or Leonardo instead.
And if you like getting your hands dirty, Stable Diffusion will let you control everything.
3. Check usage rights
Some platforms generate images that you can use freely for commercial purposes, others do not:
- Adobe Firefly guarantees training on royalty-free content: great for professional use;
- Midjourney and DALL-E allow commercial use... but only under certain conditions;
- Stable Diffusion leaves you free, but beware of downloaded customised templates.
Before publishing a visual on an advert or landing page, it's best to take a look at the conditions of use.
4. Test, test, test
The good news is that most of the alternatives to Midjourney offer a free version or trial credits. Take advantage of this to test several options before committing yourself. Ergonomics, rendering quality and generation time vary enormously from one tool to another.
Midjourney is no longer alone: it's up to you!
Image generation using artificial intelligence has reached a new level. What was once an experiment is now a real strategic tool for creators, entrepreneurs and designers. And while Midjourney remains a benchmark, it is clearly no longer the only serious option on the market.
Between free solutions like Bing Image Creator, overpowering platforms like Leonardo.Ai and creative, specialised alternatives like Ideogram.ai or Flux Pro, everyone can find the tool that suits their style, content needs and budget.
So, whether you're looking to create a marketing image, generate an artistic visual, or simply test the power of visual AI... all you have to do is choose, test and create. The era of prompt-to-poster has begun, and you have all the tools you need to make the most of it.
Article translated from French