AI Image Generator Pricing (2026): Midjourney, Firefly, Leonardo and More

AI image generators have more complicated pricing than chat assistants. Instead of message limits, they use GPU hours, tokens or credits, and the same subscription can produce a few hundred or many thousands of images depending on settings. This page puts every plan side by side so you can compare like for like.

Prices are US list prices before tax, drawn from the same data as our pricing tracker. Several image vendors’ pricing pages couldn’t be read directly by our tools on the verification date, so we cross-checked those figures against multiple recent sources; they’re marked in the tracker.

Entry prices at a glance

Every plan compared

USD, excluding tax; "Annual" is the per-month rate when billed yearly. Last verified November 3, 2026. Full list in the pricing tracker.

How the usage models compare

• Midjourney: GPU hours. Basic includes about 3.3 fast GPU hours (roughly 200 images, according to Midjourney’s plan comparison). From Standard ($30) up you get unlimited Relax mode, which queues images more slowly but doesn’t consume fast hours. That makes Standard the practical choice for regular users.
• Adobe Firefly: credits. Standard includes 2,000 monthly credits and Pro 4,000, and every paid plan includes unlimited standard image generations. Different features (images, video, audio) consume different amounts, so check Adobe’s credit tables for your workflow.
• Leonardo: tokens. The free plan’s 150 daily tokens refresh every day. Paid plans give a monthly pool: 8,500 (Essential), 25,000 (Premium) and 60,000 (Ultimate).
• Ideogram: priority credits. Paid plans include monthly priority credits; free users get a small weekly allowance of slow credits.

Privacy and commercial use

Terms change; always read the vendor’s current license before using images in paid campaigns.

Which plan should you choose?

For artistic and concept work: Midjourney Standard ($30/mo). Unlimited Relax mode is what makes Midjourney practical for regular use. Basic’s fast hours run out quickly.

For commercial and brand work: Adobe Firefly Pro ($19.99/mo). The commercially-safe positioning and integration with Photoshop and Illustrator make it the default for agencies and in-house design teams.

For free daily use and fine control: Leonardo. 150 free tokens every day is the most generous ongoing free allowance here, and paid plans add private generations and more control.

For text-heavy graphics: Ideogram. If your images need readable words, such as posters, YouTube thumbnails or social graphics, Ideogram is the specialist.

For non-designers: Canva Pro or your chat assistant. If you need a social graphic rather than a standalone artwork, Canva’s AI inside templates is faster. ChatGPT’s built-in image generation is enough for many people who already pay for Plus.

What changed in 2026

• Midjourney pricing has been stable, with annual billing saving 20%.
• Adobe sells Firefly as Standard, Pro and Premium plans, each with its own monthly credit pool.
• Ideogram has reshuffled plan names and credit counts; some sources list a Basic tier that may no longer be sold to new users, so check before buying.
• Canva owns Leonardo.Ai, though both are still sold separately.

Bottom line

For most regular users, the best-value paid plans are Midjourney Standard for art, Firefly Pro for commercial work, and Leonardo Essential for flexible, budget-friendly generation. If you only make occasional images, start with the free plans from Leonardo, Ideogram, Firefly or your chat assistant.

See every image plan in the pricing tracker, and read How We Review for how we verify prices.