Midjourney

What is Midjourney?

Midjourney is a prompt-to-image (and, on higher plans, video) tool known for a detailed, painterly look that still reads differently from more photographic models. There is no free tier.

Official plan comparison lists four subscriptions: Basic $10/month ($96/year) with 3.3 Fast GPU hours; Standard $30 ($288/year) with 15 Fast hours and unlimited Relax image generation; Pro $60 ($576/year) with 30 Fast hours, Stealth Mode, and unlimited Relax SD video; Mega $120 ($1,152/year) with 60 Fast hours. Annual billing is about 20% off, paid up front.

Extra Fast time is commonly listed at $4/hour. Generation runs on the web app or the original Discord bot.

Companies over $1M in yearly revenue need Pro or Mega for commercial use under Midjourney's terms.

A concrete walkthrough: a 12-image mood board without burning Fast hours

On Standard ($30/month), start in Fast mode for the first two or three prompts so you can read the model's current look, then switch to Relax for the rest of the board. Relax is unlimited for stills on Standard and above, so a 12-image exploration does not have to eat the 15 Fast hours.

Basic cannot do this — once its 3.3 Fast hours are gone, generation stops until next month or you buy extra time. If the frames are for a client who cannot appear in Midjourney's public gallery, you need Pro or Mega for Stealth Mode; Standard images are not private.

For readable poster text, Ideogram is usually the better first try; for an editable SVG logo, Recraft; for a commercially safer Adobe stack, Firefly.

Key features

• Text-to-image with style and character references for series consistency
• Web app plus Discord /imagine workflow
• Fast GPU hours on every plan; unlimited Relax images from Standard up
• Stealth Mode (private generations) on Pro and Mega only
• Video: Relax SD video unlimited on Pro/Mega; HD video in Fast mode from Standard up
• Upscale, vary, and Remix to iterate without rewriting the whole prompt
• No free tier — Basic at $10 is the cheapest way to generate a first image

How to get started

1. Subscribe on midjourney.com — there is no free trial
2. Generate from the web app or Discord with /imagine
3. Write subject, style, lighting, and composition; add a style or character reference if you need a series
4. Upscale or vary the grid you like; Remix to change one part of the prompt
5. If Fast hours run out on Standard or above, keep going in Relax (slower queue) or buy extra Fast time

Midjourney pricing

Official comparison (publicly listed September 2026): Basic $10/month or $96/year (3.3 Fast hours, no Relax); Standard $30 or $288/year (15 Fast hours, unlimited Relax images); Pro $60 or $576/year (30 Fast hours, Stealth, unlimited Relax SD video); Mega $120 or $1,152/year (60 Fast hours). Extra Fast GPU time is typically $4/hour.

No free plan. Midjourney's own docs page was behind a bot check at rewrite time; figures match the published Comparing Midjourney Plans table.

Our take: Standard is the first plan that does not dead-end when Fast hours run out. Skip Basic unless you only want a one-month look. Buy Pro when generations must stay private or your company crosses Midjourney's $1M-revenue commercial-use line.

Prices verified 2026-09. Plans change often — confirm on the official site above before you buy.

Use cases

• Concept art and mood boards for games and film
• Editorial and blog illustration
• Brand and marketing stills (Stealth on Pro+ if they cannot sit in the public gallery)
• Rapid visual exploration before hiring a designer
• Short video generations on Pro/Mega Relax or Standard+ Fast HD

Strengths and tradeoffs

Midjourney alternatives

• Ideogram: Ideogram is stronger when the image needs to include readable, correctly spelled text.
• Recraft: Recraft outputs editable vector graphics, which Midjourney can't produce at all.
• Adobe Firefly: Firefly has an explicit commercial-safe license and plugs directly into Photoshop and Illustrator.
• Leonardo.Ai: Leonardo has a genuinely usable free tier, useful if you want to test a project before paying anything.
• Stable Diffusion: Stable Diffusion is open-weight, so you can self-host and fine-tune it instead of renting access.
• OpenArt: OpenArt bundles several underlying models in one interface, useful for comparing styles without switching tools.

Use Midjourney when the look is the product and you can pay at least Standard. Use Ideogram when the image must contain correct spelling.

Use Recraft for vectors you will edit in Figma. Use Firefly when legal/commercial-safe training data and Photoshop integration matter more than style.

Use Leonardo if you need a usable free tier first.

FAQ

Is Midjourney free to use?

Midjourney's plans: Paid plans only — Basic $10, Standard $30, Pro $60, Mega $120. Pricing and free-tier limits change over time, so check the official site above for the latest details.

What is Midjourney used for?

Subscription image (and now video) generation with a distinctive painterly look, metered by Fast GPU hours.

Who is Midjourney best for?

Midjourney is a good fit for concept art and mood boards for games and film, or editorial and blog illustration.

What are the alternatives to Midjourney?

Commonly compared alternatives include Ideogram, Recraft, and Adobe Firefly, see the comparison above for how they differ.

How much does Midjourney cost?

Midjourney has no free tier. Basic is $10 a month (3.3 Fast hours), Standard $30 (15 Fast hours plus unlimited Relax images), Pro $60, Mega $120. Paying a year up front is about 20% less. Extra Fast time is commonly $4 per hour.

What's the best Midjourney alternative?

Ideogram is the most commonly recommended swap: ideogram is stronger when the image needs to include readable, correctly spelled text. Which one is actually best depends on which of those tradeoffs matters more for what you're doing.

Does Midjourney have a free plan in 2026?

No. Midjourney dropped a standard free trial years ago. The cheapest official plan is Basic at $10/month, and it has no Relax fallback when Fast hours run out.

Which plan do I need for private / client work?

Stealth Mode is only on Pro ($60/month) and Mega. Standard and Basic generations can appear in Midjourney's public gallery. Companies with more than $1,000,000 in yearly gross revenue must be on Pro or Mega for commercial use under Midjourney's terms.