Leonardo.ai vs Midjourney (2026): Pricing, Features and Which to Choose

Leonardo.ai suits people who want a free starting point and one account for images, video, editing and upscaling, while Midjourney suits people happy to pay from the start for its image and video models. Leonardo.ai has a Free plan with 150 fast tokens a day; Midjourney's own guide says you need to subscribe to a plan before you create, with Basic at $10 a month.

By PowerfulAI.tools Editorial Team · Checked against each official site on 27 October 2026

This guide compares the two using only what each company says on its own website. Where an official page did not say something, we left it out rather than guess.

Quick comparison

Leonardo.ai: what it is and what it costs

Leonardo.ai calls itself "the creator-first generative AI platform". Its homepage groups the product into four jobs: creating images from prompts or custom models, turning still images into video, editing images and video while keeping characters and composition intact, and upscaling for print and high-resolution screens. There is also a developer API.

Features listed on the official site. The AI image generator page lists text-to-image, image-to-image, image-to-video, Omni editing (editing parts of an image with a text prompt), background removal, image guidance, consistent characters and styles, upscaling tools and Blueprints, which it describes as pre-designed templates for common workflows. It describes a four-step process: prompt or upload, pick a style (or choose Auto to let Leonardo match a model), refine, then upscale and download. The pricing page also lists Realtime Canvas, Flow State, Leo Agent (paid plans only) and personal AI model training.

Free plan. The Free plan costs $0 a month and gives 150 fast tokens per day. It is limited to the Auto model, your creations are public, you get one personal collection, and features such as Blueprints, Ultra Quality, Realtime Canvas and Elements are marked "Limited". Third-party models and Leo Agent are not included.

Paid plans for individuals. Prices are shown per month, excluding tax. Paying yearly gives "up to 20% off".

• Essential: $12 a month billed monthly, or $10 a month billed yearly. 8,500 fast tokens a month, a 25,500-token rollover bank, 80+ models, private creations, 10 personal AI models and 2 simultaneous generations.
• Premium: $30 a month billed monthly, or $24 a month billed yearly. 25,000 fast tokens a month, a 75,000-token bank, 20 personal AI models, 3 simultaneous generations and unlimited relaxed image generation on selected models.
• Ultimate: $60 a month billed monthly, or $48 a month billed yearly. 60,000 fast tokens a month, a 180,000-token bank, 50 personal AI models, 6 simultaneous generations, and unlimited relaxed image and video generation on selected models.

The pricing page notes that "unlimited" relaxed generation only covers a named list of models, and that it may be slowed at busy times. Team plans start with Starter at $24 per seat per month and Growth at $48 per seat per month (the page shows $72 and $144 for three seats), with a custom plan through sales. The API has a pay-as-you-go option with no commitment and credit that does not expire.

Try Leonardo.ai · See Leonardo.ai alternatives

Midjourney: what it is and what it costs

Midjourney describes itself on its homepage as "a community-funded research lab of 60 people". Its product turns text prompts into images and videos. According to its Getting Started Guide, you type a prompt into the Imagine bar on the Create page at midjourney.com and Midjourney returns a set of four images.

Features listed in the official documentation. The Getting Started Guide covers upscalers, variations, zoom out, pan and the Editor for refining images; turning your own images or Midjourney images into video; Personalization profiles and moodboards to match your style; image prompts, style references and a Starting Frame for video; and an Edit model that changes images using plain text instructions. Settings include aspect ratio, Raw, Version, Draft Mode, Stylize, Weird, Variety, GPU speed, Stealth, video resolution and video batch size. An Organize page lets you download, sort and filter your work into folders. Community and support happen in Midjourney's Discord server.

Free option. We did not find a free plan on Midjourney's official site. The Getting Started Guide says that before making your first image "you'll need to subscribe to one of our plans".

Paid plans. Midjourney's Comparing Midjourney Plans page lists four subscriptions that renew monthly or yearly until you cancel. Committing to a yearly plan, paid upfront, gives a 20% discount.

• Basic: $10 a month, or $96 a year. 3.3 hours (200 minutes) of Fast GPU time a month, SD video and no unlimited Relax mode.
• Standard: $30 a month, or $288 a year. 15 hours of Fast GPU time, unlimited image generation in Relax mode, and SD and HD video.
• Pro: $60 a month, or $576 a year. 30 hours of Fast GPU time, unlimited images and SD video in Relax mode, and Stealth Mode to keep your work private.
• Mega: $120 a month, or $1,152 a year. 60 hours of Fast GPU time, with the same Relax and Stealth features as Pro and higher limits on concurrent jobs.

Extra Fast GPU time costs $4 an hour on every plan. All plans come with Midjourney's General Commercial Terms, but the plans page says companies with more than $1,000,000 USD in gross yearly revenue must buy Pro or Mega.

Try Midjourney · See Midjourney alternatives

Which one suits you?

• You want to try AI images without paying: Leonardo.ai is the one with a Free plan. Keep in mind that free creations are public and you can only use the Auto model.
• You want your work kept private: Leonardo.ai makes creations private from Essential ($12 a month). On Midjourney, Stealth Mode is only on Pro ($60 a month) and Mega.
• You want to make a lot of images on a fixed budget: both offer unlimited slower generation on mid-range plans. Midjourney's Relax mode covers images from Standard ($30 a month). Leonardo.ai's relaxed generation starts on Premium ($30 a month) but only for a listed set of models.
• You also want video: both make video. Midjourney's unlimited Relax video starts at Pro; Leonardo.ai's unlimited relaxed video is on Ultimate for selected video models.
• You want to choose between many models: Leonardo.ai lists 80+ models on paid plans, including third-party ones. Midjourney uses its own model versions.
• You run a business: Leonardo.ai has team plans and an API. Midjourney requires companies earning more than $1,000,000 USD a year to be on Pro or Mega.

How we compared them

On 27 October 2026 we read Leonardo.ai's homepage, pricing page (with both the monthly and yearly toggle) and AI image generator feature page, plus Midjourney's homepage, its Comparing Midjourney Plans page and its Getting Started Guide. Both sites show prices with a dollar sign; Leonardo.ai's prices exclude tax. We used no review sites, ratings or user numbers. We have not tested image quality or speed. Prices and plan limits change, so check each official pricing page before you buy.

Frequently asked questions

Is Leonardo.ai free?

Yes. Leonardo.ai has a Free plan at $0 a month with 150 fast tokens per day. It is limited to the Auto model, and creations on the Free plan are public.

Is Midjourney free?

We found no free plan on Midjourney's official site. Its Getting Started Guide says you need to subscribe before you create. The cheapest plan is Basic at $10 a month, or $96 a year.

Is Leonardo.ai cheaper than Midjourney?

At the entry level, no: Leonardo.ai Essential is $12 a month billed monthly against Midjourney Basic at $10. Paid yearly, Leonardo.ai Essential works out at $10 a month and Midjourney Basic at $8. The plans measure usage differently (tokens versus GPU hours), so compare what you expect to make each month.

Is Leonardo.ai better than Midjourney for private work?

For cheaper private work, yes on paper: every paid Leonardo.ai plan includes private creations, while Midjourney's Stealth Mode is limited to Pro and Mega.