Tools that generate and edit images from prompts. Compare free allowances, how each plan meters generations, and who may use or sell what you create.
Image AI tools create pictures from text prompts or reference images and edit them with fill, expand and upscale tools. Canva drops the result straight into templated designs, Adobe Firefly hands it to Photoshop and Express, and Midjourney and Leonardo.Ai are standalone generators. Canva, Firefly and Leonardo.Ai have free plans; Midjourney has no free trial and starts at USD 10 a month. Usage is metered as AI uses, generative credits, GPU minutes or tokens.
4 tools
Clear filtersLeonardo.Ai is a web and mobile platform for generating, editing and upscaling AI images and short videos, with a token allowance that refreshes daily on the Free plan.
Midjourney is a paid AI image and short-video generator, used on the web or in Discord, that meters work in GPU time instead of credits.
Suited to designers and marketers already in Photoshop, Premiere or Express who want AI images, video and audio on one credit balance.
Suited to people who want AI images and drafts to land straight in a template, with a working free plan and per-person paid plans.
Start with where the image ends up. Canva's AI Image Generator and Magic Layers work inside a template editor, so a generated picture becomes a social post, flyer or presentation without leaving the app, and the design exports as JPG, PNG, SVG, PDF, PPTX, GIF or MP4. Adobe Firefly generates with Adobe models and partner models from Google, OpenAI and others, then opens the result in Photoshop, Premiere or Adobe Express. Midjourney and Leonardo.Ai are generators first: Midjourney returns four images per prompt on midjourney.com or through its Discord bot, and Leonardo.Ai adds reference-guided editing, a Pro Upscaler up to 105 megapixels and style models trained from 10 or more of your own images.
Then turn each allowance into images. Canva Pro estimates up to 200 simple Premium uses a month, about 7 a day. Firefly Pro's 4,000 generative credits cover about 400 Firefly Image 5 generations at 10 credits each, while standard image features such as Generative Fill stay unlimited on paid plans. Midjourney Basic's 200 Fast minutes cover about 200 prompts, or about 800 images at four per prompt, while Standard keeps generating in Relax mode after its Fast hours are gone. Leonardo.Ai Free gives 150 tokens a day that do not carry over, and Essential's 8,500 monthly tokens roll into a bank capped at three months' worth. Video drains every pool much faster: Firefly charges 100 credits per second of 1080p video.
Finally, check rights and visibility before client work. Leonardo.Ai allows commercial use on every plan, including Free, but free generations appear in a public feed where others can remix them. Midjourney says you own what you create, yet a business grossing more than USD 1,000,000 a year needs Pro or Mega, and only those plans have Stealth mode to keep images off the public Explore page. Adobe bases Firefly's commercial-use statement on models trained on licensed Adobe Stock and public domain content and attaches Content Credentials to fully generated images; output from partner models is the user's responsibility. Canva allows commercial use but warns that output may not be unique, and notes that many jurisdictions, including the US, do not give copyright protection to AI-created works.
Read the Canva profile for AI images placed into templated designs, the Adobe Firefly profile for generation tied to Photoshop and Express, the Midjourney profile for prompt-led concept art and short image-to-video clips, and the Leonardo.Ai profile for a daily free allowance and custom style models. Midjourney vs Adobe Firefly sets GPU time against generative credits and compares the usage terms. For moving images, continue to video tools; for slides built around your visuals, see presentation tools.
Our editorial judgement about what matters in this category, based on the plan structures we documented while building these profiles.
Some are. Canva Free includes up to 20 AI uses a month, Leonardo.Ai Free gives 150 tokens a day, about 4,500 in a 30-day month if used daily, and Adobe Firefly Free allows limited daily generations on select models. Midjourney has no free trial; Basic costs USD 10 a month, or USD 8 a month billed annually.
Usually, with conditions. Leonardo.Ai permits commercial use on Free, and Canva allows it while warning that output may resemble existing designs. Midjourney lets you keep ownership after cancelling, but a company grossing more than USD 1,000,000 a year needs Pro or Mega. Adobe's statement covers Firefly models; partner model output is your responsibility.
Monthly entry prices are USD 10 for Midjourney Basic, USD 12 for Leonardo.Ai Essential (USD 10 billed yearly), EUR 10.98 for Firefly Standard and EUR 12 for Canva Pro. At USD 30, Midjourney Standard and Leonardo.Ai Premium both add unlimited relaxed image generation, on selected models for Leonardo.Ai, for people who can wait in a slower queue.
Not as one login. Canva Pro is for one person, while Business costs EUR 17 per person a month with a separate AI allowance for each member. Leonardo.Ai Teams starts at 3 seats at USD 24 or USD 48 per seat. Firefly gives each team user a separate credit allocation, and Midjourney accounts are single-user, so every designer subscribes separately.
Not the right category? Browse every tool in the directory, put two options side by side, or read how we check and correct these profiles.
