Side-by-side comparison · Image, Logo & Design
Adobe Express vs Leonardo AI vs Midjourney
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Small businesses and marketers who want Canva-style design for less, especially anyone who already pays for Adobe.
Pick it if: Creators, small studios and marketers who want a free starting point and a way to keep a consistent style or character.
Pick it if: Marketers, founders and creators who want imagery that doesn't look like generic stock.
Midjourney scores highest overall, but Adobe Express gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | Adobe Express | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Adobe's answer to Canva: templates, quick edits and Firefly AI, cheaper than Canva Pro. | Canva-owned image and video generator with free daily tokens and custom style training. | Type a description and get striking, artful images that look nothing like stock photos. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | $9.99/mo | $12/mo | See website |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Adobe Express | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.1Winner |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers the job it's built for, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 5.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Adobe Express | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | – | No | No |
| Browser extension | Yes | No | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | No |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | No |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | No |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | No | No |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | No | No |
| Capabilities score | 13/ 17 | 11/ 17 | 5/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Adobe Express | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Occasional posts and trying it. | Free Free Trying it and occasional images. | Basic See website Trying it out and light monthly use. |
PremiumOur pick $9.99/mo One person making marketing content each week. | Essential $12/mo, about $10/mo billed yearly Hobbyists making images most weeks. | StandardOur pick See website Most marketers and creators. | |
Teams $7.99/licence/mo, billed yearly Small teams sharing a brand. | PremiumOur pick $30/mo, about $24/mo billed yearly Creators and marketers who generate a lot. | Pro See website Agencies and anyone doing client work. | |
Enterprise Custom Large organisations on Adobe. | Ultimate $60/mo, about $48/mo billed yearly Heavy daily image and video work. | Mega See website Heavy daily production. | |
Team From $24/seat/mo Small teams sharing a token pool. | |||
API Pay as you go Developers and automations. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Check whether your Creative Cloud or Firefly plan already includes Express Premium before paying. If not, Premium at $9.99 a month is cheaper than Canva Pro and enough for one person. Teams is good value for two or more people who need locked brand templates. | Use Free to learn it, but remember everything you make is public. Premium is the plan to buy if you generate often, because relaxed mode means you never hit a hard stop on Leonardo's own image models. Essential is too tight once you touch video or partner models. | Standard is the sweet spot because relax mode means you never run out. Go to Pro if you make images for clients, since Basic and Standard publish everything you make to the public gallery. Yearly billing takes a chunk off every plan. |
Key features
| Attribute | Adobe Express | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Adobe Express | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Adobe Express | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Adobe Express, Leonardo AI or Midjourney?
Midjourney scores highest overall in our ratings (Adobe Express 4.0/5, Leonardo AI 3.8/5 and Midjourney 4.1/5). Adobe Express is best for social posts and flyers from templates and adobe and Creative Cloud users. Leonardo AI is best for game art and illustration in a fixed style and consistent characters across many images. Midjourney is best for hero images for websites and brand and campaign visuals.
Which is cheaper, Adobe Express, Leonardo AI or Midjourney?
Adobe Express: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $9.99/mo. Leonardo AI: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $12/mo. Midjourney: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote.
Which is easier to use, Adobe Express, Leonardo AI or Midjourney?
Adobe Express rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small businesses and marketers who want Canva-style design for less, especially anyone who already pays for Adobe.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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