Before the appearance of platforms that are now known as the best AI image generators, people who needed custom photos for their posters, video thumbnails, or even something like memes, needed to hire a graphic designer to create them. However, in recent years, everything has changed, and the whole process has become a lot simpler and more affordable.
There is one thing that you should know about if you want to use AI-driven platforms to generate images. The majority of the applications require different levels of prompt engineering. Simply put, it means that you should know the basic structure of how to tailor your sentence to receive the highest quality output.
Moreover, if you need assistance generating or rephrasing new prompts, Writesonic and Quillbot are applications I would consider using for this task. In addition, both aforementioned platforms offer a free plan.
That being said, here is the list of the applications we will be reviewing:
Lastly, for this to-the-point review to be useful, it’s important that we address the evaluation criteria that we’ll be using to determine what is the best AI image generator.
What to Look for When Searching for the Best AI Image Generator?
For the application to be considered truly AI-powered, it should utilize a text-to-image model, which uses my previously mentioned prompts to provide the user with an output. Therefore, I have personally checked and picked the platform that utilizes this photo creation method.
Additionally, to make this review even more useful, most of the chapters will contain a quick rundown of the prompt engineering specifics. Simply put, I will provide a quick example and explain how to structure your sentences.
Naturally, another key aspect that the best AI image generator must have is top-notch services. It’s crucial that the application offers a great variety of styles without sacrificing the overall quality of the photos. At the same time, they should provide a wide array of customization tools to address any minor details that need to be fixed.
Furthermore, even though the majority of the platforms on this list have a similar generation speed, in certain chapters, I will pinpoint and address issues that some applications might have or methods to make the overall process of creating photos quicker.
Then there is also the topic of user interface. This criterion is important since everyone wants a platform that is easy to use and navigate, no matter if they are experienced users or complete novices. Having a simple layout of the tools and a beginner-friendly interface greatly increases the overall user experience.
Lastly, the pricing of each platform is also crucial to overview. Hence, you will find a quick summary of the offered subscriptions. This article will also contain some of the best AI image generators free of charge for people who are not interested in purchasing plans and would prefer to only test and play around with this kind of software.
1. DALL-E - The Leader in the AI Image Generator Space
Ranks #1 out of 7 AI Platforms
- + Outputs can be customized
- + Closely follows prompts
- + Beginner-friendly
- + Ability to write text inside images
- - Usage cap
- - Overloaded servers
If you were searching the web for the best AI image generator, there’s a high probability that you came across the name DALL-E 3. In case you haven’t heard of this platform, it was created by one of the most well-known companies in the space - OpenAI.
The great thing about this application is that it has significantly improved when compared to the previous iterations. DALL-E 3 is now capable of understanding more nuance and details, allowing you to easily transform your ideas into surprisingly good and accurate photos.
Typically, modern text-to-image generators tend to ignore certain words or descriptions, which results in users spending a lot of time learning how to engineer prompts effectively. However, DALL-E 3 is built natively on ChatGPT, allowing it to be used as a brainstorming tool to refine inputs. A similar application to this one is Writesonic, which can also generate images and help with prompt engineering as it is mainly designed to act as a writing assistant.
This application is one of the best text-to-image AI tools available. It automatically generates tailored, detailed prompts for creating photos and allows you to request tweaks directly via the chat window. Moreover, text-to-image AI is said to significantly enhance human creative productivity by 25%[1].
That said, at the time of writing, there is a slight issue regarding the speed of DALL-E 3 that needs to be addressed. For the past few months, it has experienced outages due to overloaded servers. Therefore, while the problem may not recur, it is important to note that it could cause some slight frustration and inconvenience.
Additionally, some users recently started complaining that the overall quality of images produced by OpenAI's DALL-E 3 model has been subpar. Hence, I tried out the generator myself, and I can’t say I was disappointed with the results. Actually, they were pretty amazing.
To help users receive the best output possible, DALL-E 3 has even added a new feature that allows you to select specific parts of the photo to edit by entering a new prompt with the instructions.
Overall, the software is one of the best AI image generators because it uses an advanced neural network capable of creating highly detailed and contextually relevant pictures with the help of textual descriptions.
Lastly, the user interface is also great, offering friendly navigation and an intuitive display of all the tools. Moreover, since all of the generation processes are done through a chat window, it simplifies the whole task tenfold.
What is the Pricing of DALL-E 3?
The pricing of DALL-E 3 is pretty straightforward. There are two main ways to use this software. The first one is through OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform via the chat feature. However, you will need to purchase a subscription that costs $20/month if you want to access its image generation tool.
That said, the second option is accessing DALL-E 3 through the Microsoft Copilot application. On the other hand, you would lose the option to manually customize the image.
2. Midjourney - One of the Most Unique Image Generators
Ranks #2 out of 7 AI Platforms
- + High-quality outputs
- + Fine-tuning features
- + Wide variety of tools
- - Accessible only through Discord
- - Requires prompt engineering
If you are wondering what is the best AI image generator, Midjourney definitely stands among the greatest. The application employs a diffusion process, which means that it relies on machine learning and generative AI technologies to provide its outputs.
Midjourney was trained on existing image samples, including art from various sources, to create new photos utilizing advanced techniques to convert prompts into visuals. Its peculiar interface makes it stand out from other applications. If you have heard the name Midjourney before, you most likely know what I am talking about.
That said, for those who are becoming acquainted with this platform as they read, let me explain how it’s different from any other application. Interestingly, at least for now, Midjourney does not have a browser interface and is accessed through Discord.
It does have an alpha version, which is designed to be accessible through the web, but only a few selected people have access to it, at least for the time being.
What's particularly impressive about Midjourney is that it's not only regarded as one of the best text-to-image AI generators, but it also allows users to add a reference photo to their prompts. Additionally, the platform offers a feature called "Multi Prompts", which can blend multiple concepts. You can also merge two different photos without the need to write any descriptions.
It’s important to note that if you want to write prompts in the Midjourney application, it's crucial to use simple, short phrases or image URLs that accurately describe the desired visuals. You will also be presented with the option to specify parameters at the end for finer control over the output.
Overall, the platform revolves around creating high-quality and detailed photos by breaking down the words and phrases into smaller pieces, called tokens, which can then be compared to its training data, used to generate the results.
The speed is also great, but perhaps not as fast as DALL-E 3. However, Midjourney does offer an additional feature for quicker generation called “Fast GPU Time”. The way that it works is if you choose to create your images in the fast mode option, the application will try to give you access to a GPU instantly this way, speeding up the whole process.
Furthermore, you can also customize the photos using Midjourney’s Vary Region editor which allows users to select and regenerate specific areas of an upscaled output. Once the specific spot is highlighted, the tool will process it and display new variations based on your input.
Lastly, even though the interface can look strange to some people, it’s definitely easy to use. You can either download the Discord application itself or use it through a browser - there is no difference between them.
Afterward, all you will need to do is create an account and join their server. On the other hand, writing prompts can require some tinkering and more experience. Hence, if you need help with this part, you can utilize the Writesonic platform, which can help you generate them in high-quality under the provided instructions.
What is the Pricing of Midjourney?
Previously, Midjourney used to offer free trials for new users to test the waters, unfortunately, they have stopped providing this option as there were too many people wanting to use it. Therefore, if you’d like to utilize this tool, you will need to purchase one of the following subscriptions:
- Basic - $10/month and $96/annual;
- Standard - $30/month and $288/annual;
- Pro - $60/month and $576/annual;
- Mega - $120/month and $1152/annual.
Naturally, more expensive plans provide better features and overall services, like more monthly hours for fast GPU time, which generates images faster, or stealth mode, which hides your created artwork from everyone else.
3. Adobe Firefly - A Great Creative Tool for Professionals
Ranks #3 out of 7 AI Platforms
- + Fine-tune tools
- + Great generation speed
- + Top-notch artwork
- + Seamless tool integration
- + Intuitive navigation
- - Doesn't work well with complex prompts
Adobe Firefly is one of the best AI image generators you will find on this list. It’s a standalone web application that is a natural extension of the technology that Adobe has developed over the past 40 years and, as they state, driven by the belief that people should be empowered to bring their ideas into the world precisely as they imagine them.
It’s important to note that Adobe Firefly has some unique text and font creation uses. As a result, it could mean that someone like a graphic designer would not need to extensively learn how to use 3D software to create three-dimensional text effects for prints and animations.
Furthermore, let’s quickly run through the specifics of how to correctly enter prompts in this text-to-image platform, seeing as text description plays a crucial role in guiding Adobe’s AI behavior and influencing the quality and relevance of its outputs.
To write effective inputs in this application, ensure they are specific, descriptive, original, and empathetic. Additionally, make sure that you focus on clarity and imagination to guide the artificial intelligence software in producing tailored results.
An example of such a prompt would look something like this: “Create an image of a small, fluffy kitten with soft gray fur and big blue eyes, sitting playfully in a sunlit garden surrounded by colorful spring flowers”.
That being said, even if you don’t master how to write perfect descriptions, Adobe Firefly is still pretty accurate from simple instructions. Therefore, you don’t necessarily need to follow the structure for the prompts, as it will still provide a high-quality image, but it can take a few tries, depending on your needs.
Additionally, the platform offers excellent editing tools, underscoring why it is considered one of the best text-to-image AI generators. Adobe Firefly provides users with the “Generative Fill” feature, which is great for customizing since it uses prompts to add or remove content from any photo. You can also click and drag beyond the image border to expand and fill the canvas.
All in all, the platform is trained on Adobe Stock photos, openly licensed content, and public domain images. This means that the application is designed to be safe for commercial use.
Moreover, to ensure that creators can benefit from generative AI, they have developed a compensation model for Adobe Stock contributors whose content is used in the dataset to retrain Firefly models.
Lastly, the interface is also great not only for beginners but also for experienced users or graphics designers who use platforms like Photoshop, Illustrator, or Express since you can directly integrate it within those applications.
What is the Pricing of Adobe Firefly?
If you are looking for a platform that doesn’t charge for its services, Adobe Firefly is definitely one of the best AI image generators for free. However, you will have limited features if you don’t purchase one of these plans:
- Premium Adobe Firefly - $4.99/month;
- Premium Adobe Express - $9.99/month.
The free plan will provide you with 25 monthly credits that are used to access the platform's tools. That said, if you’re not planning to utilize Adobe Firefly regularly, the monthly amount will most likely suffice.
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4. DreamStudio - A Beginner-Friendly Application
Ranks #4 out of 7 AI Platforms
- + Doesn't require prompt engineering
- + Layer feature for more advanced editing
- + Upscaling tool
- + Seamless integration
- + Wide selection of styles
- - Poor selection of editing tools
DreamStudio is one of the best AI photo generators on the market, which uses a text-to-image model called Stable Diffusion. The application itself can be used by a wide variety of people, including artists, designers, photographers, game developers, marketers, or just AI enthusiasts.
Moreover, it’s worth noting that Stable Diffusion excels in controllability and precision, more accurately meeting user-defined criteria during the generation process[2].
What’s great about DreamStudio is that it does not require any expert-level knowledge for engineering prompts. To write effective instructions, you would need to describe the scene or character you envision and include specific details such as lightning, mood, and perspective. This is all that you need to receive high-quality outputs from the DreamStudio application.
There are also many key features and benefits that this platform offers. A few examples are the ability to work with layers for more advanced picture editing workflows. It also has an upscaling tool that enhances image resolutions and quality or even inpainting and outpainting, which replaces or adds new elements to photos.
Additionally, you can integrate DreamStudio with popular platforms such as Photoshop, ClipStudio, and more, providing great versatility and efficiency.
The overall quality also doesn’t dissapoint, as it can output pictures in various styles, starting with photographic, fantasy art, and neon punk to something such as craft clay. However, there is a but. Even though DreamStudio is considered to be one of the best AI image generators, it doesn’t really offer any editing tools, which is quite a disadvantage.
That being said, if you are a beginner looking for a platform that provides top-notch services and a user-friendly interface, don’t hesitate to try DreamStudio. Although it doesn't offer advanced customization tools, the output is already high-quality, so most likely, you won’t need to change anything.
What is the Pricing of DreamStudio?
DreamStudio also offers somewhat of a free trial by giving new users a certain amount of credits when they initially register. That said, after they end, in order to keep using the application, you would need to purchase more.
Each dollar is equivalent to 100 credits. For reference, with 1,000 credits, you should be able to generate approximately 5,000 images.
5. Getty Images AI - A Perfect Application for Commercial Use
Ranks #5 out of 7 AI Platforms
- + Supports over 70 different languages
- + Easy to use
- + Powered by Nvidia Picasso
- + Generated images are legally protected
- - No free trial
The Getty Images platform is one of the best AI image generators, which is especially effective in creating stock-like photos. The Generative AI application is powered by NVIDIA Picasso designed to be an artificial intelligence foundry for software developers and service providers to build and deploy top-notch models for visual content.
Additionally, since this platform is trained exclusively on the Getty library and data, it enhances the creativity and efficiency of your outputs and ensures your photos are legally protected.
When it comes to the structure of your prompt, it’s safe to say that it is nothing complex. All you will need to do is tell the Getty generator who or what is the focus of the image, what is happening in the scene, where the action is taking place, and define the mood or visual style.
That said, you are not required to follow this prompt structure, but it is advisable to do so if you’d like to receive the highest-quality outputs.
Furthermore, the application developed by Getty Images also offers customization tools to refine the generated results. If you’d like to further tailor the picture, this feature lets you add or remove specific elements.
Moreover, you can also expand your images by using the platform’s “Expand” feature to make room for copy and new elements, reveal more of the scene, or create the right size for your needs. The process is straightforward, you will need to choose a new aspect ratio or use the Freeform tool to drag the picture edges to your desired dimensions.
If you’re searching for the best AI photo generator that is multilingual, consider Getty’s application, which supports prompts in an impressive 75 different languages. This feature highlights its accessibility and user-friendliness, especially for beginners. Additionally, the platform boasts an easy-to-use and navigate interface, further underscoring its appeal.
What is the Pricing of Generative AI by Getty Images?
Unfortunately, if you’re searching for the best AI image generator free of charge, you’ll need to skip the Getty application, as it doesn’t even offer a free trial. However, if you’re still interested in trying out this platform and exploring its features, the pricing structure is straightforward. Instead of a subscription-based model, you will be charged up to $14.99 for 100 generations.
6. Craiyon - One of the Best Image Generator Completely for Free
Ranks #6 out of 7 AI Platforms
- + Free of charge
- + Beginner-friendly interface
- + Unlimited generation
- + No watermark
- - Low quality
- - A lot of ads
If you were browsing the internet and asking Google about the best AI image generator for free, you most likely came across the name Craiyon. This platform uses a deep learning model called DALL-E 2 to output photos from prompts. Craiyon's software was trained on millions of text-image pairs to learn associations between words and visual concepts.
The application is quite simple and doesn't offer many extensive features or tools. However, it allows users to select different styles for generating images, such as art, photo, drawing, or none. Craiyon does not require any specific prompt structure, but it does encourage users to experiment with crazy concepts, as stated on their website.
Furthermore, to enhance the overall output quality, Craiyon offers a feature called “Negative Words”. This tool allows you to specify concepts that you want to exclude from your image, such as “shoes” or “hats”.
That said, since we touched on the topic of quality, let me tell you about Craiyon's performance. As it is a free generator, it’s natural that the overall output may not be top-notch compared to some premium services. Nonetheless, if you are looking for a platform that you could play around with, Craiyon will definitely do the job.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that the application doesn’t really offer any editing tools except for background removal. Therefore, it might not be the best AI photo generator, but if the overall output doesn’t satisfy your needs, you can always change up the prompt and try again until you get your perfect results.
Furthermore, when it comes to speed, you may need to wait a few minutes before receiving your image, which mainly depends on the platform's current load. You can expedite this process by purchasing a subscription, a topic we will discuss shortly.
All things considered, Craiyon is a great application that offers the services entirely for free and does not even require you to register to use its tools. The interface is also great for beginners, with an easy navigation layout and overall a great experience for all users.
What is the Pricing of Craiyon?
As mentioned before, Craiyon is completely free to use for everyone, but if you’d like to support the developers and, in exchange, get a bit better services, you can purchase one of the following plans:
- Supporter - $6/month and $60/annually;
- Professional - $24/month and $240/annually;
- Custom - contact the sales team.
These subscriptions provide users with a higher priority, speeding up the platform's image generation, removing watermarks, and eliminating ads from the web application.
7. Runway - A Versatile Platform That Can Be Used for Creating Images and Videos
Ranks #7 out of 7 AI Platforms
- + Image-to-video generator
- + Background remover feature
- + Available free version
- + Wide use cases
- + Supports both desktop and mobile devices
- - Requires prompt engineering
- - Not particularly beginner-friendly
Runway is mainly known for generating high-quality videos. However, it’s also a great platform to use if you’d like to create images. The application is not limited to only working as a text-to-image model, but it can also be used for image-to-image generation. The latter can effortlessly transform any existing photo into a modified picture with the help of AI.
This tool is designed to adjust the image’s style, tweak the subject, or create a new mood. Using the image-to-image model is quite straightforward. You would need to upload a photo you’d like to customize or transform. Then, write a prompt describing the visuals, including any adjustments or edits you’re looking to make. Lastly, press the generate button.
To use Runway's text-to-image model, begin by crafting a detailed prompt describing your desired photo. Then, customize the settings to specify resolution and style. Finally, choose how many images you want to output and click "Generate" to create your photos.
That said, Runway has a lot more tools to offer, ranging from background remover, image expansion, and upscaling to face blurring, removing unwanted audio, and creating 3D textures with prompts.
Additionally, the platform features an exceptional tool that deserves a brief overview. Named "Train your own Generator", it allows users to train the AI model to create their own characters, styles, or objects. Users can upload pictures to teach artificial intelligence and make it provide outputs with certain details and aspects that you require, taking customization to another level.
The overall quality of Runway is great, it might not be the best AI photo generator you can use, but it definitely deserves to be on the list as one.
Lastly, although the interface may not be as user-friendly for video creation, it is fairly straightforward for image generation, requiring no expert knowledge to navigate the tools. The platform's versatility is enhanced by its compatibility with both desktop and mobile devices, and it offers tutorials for most features.
What is the Pricing of Runway?
Runway is one of the best AI image generators for free, but it does have a monthly number of credits that can be used. If you are interested in Runway’s subscription, here they are:
- Standard - $15/month and $144/annual;
- Pro - $35/month and $336;
- Unlimited - $95/month and $912;
- Enterprise - contact the sales team.
Naturally, you will also receive more perks if you have a plan, like no queue time, better quality, or watermark removal.
Conclusions
Answering the question, "What is the best AI image generator?" is complex due to the rapid development of new platforms, one being better than the other. Hence, seeing that there are a lot of different applications to choose from, it's essential to clearly define your priorities, with a particular focus on quality and user interface.
Moreover, don’t hesitate to spend some time testing the applications listed as the best AI image generators, as most of them offer a free trial, which you can use to try out the tools and all of the features, especially since most of the chapters include short but straightforward instructions on how to correctly write prompts.
Lastly, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, if you require help with writing new creative and detailed prompts or rephrasing your old ones, you can use the Writesonic and Quillbot applications, which execute these tasks at a high level.
The content published on this website is not aimed to give any kind of financial, investment, trading, or any other form of advice. BitDegree.org does not endorse or suggest you to buy or use any kind of AI tool. Before making financial investment decisions, do consult your financial advisor.
Scientific References
1. E. Zhou., D. Lee.: 'Generative artificial intelligence, human creativity, and art';
2. X. Wang., Z. He., X. Peng.: 'Artificial-Intelligence-Generated Content with Diffusion Models: A Literature Review'.