Side-by-side comparison · Image, Logo & Design
ChatGPT Images vs FLUX vs Leonardo AI
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: Anyone who already uses ChatGPT and wants quick, accurate images without learning another tool.
Pick it if: Developers, designers and hands-on marketers who want precise, cheap image generation and editing without a subscription.
Pick it if: Creators, small studios and marketers who want a free starting point and a way to keep a consistent style or character.
ChatGPT Images scores highest overall, but FLUX gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | ChatGPT Images | FLUX | Leonardo AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Make and edit images inside ChatGPT by describing what you want, words included. | Black Forest Labs' image models: pay per image in the browser or run them free yourself. | Canva-owned image and video generator with free daily tokens and custom style training. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | Free | From $0.041 per image | $12/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | ChatGPT Images | FLUX | Leonardo AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.2Winner | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | ChatGPT Images | FLUX | Leonardo AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | No | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | No | No |
| Browser extension | Yes | No | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | Yes | 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 | Yes | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | No | No |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | No | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | No |
| Capabilities score | 16/ 17 | 10/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | ChatGPT Images | FLUX | Leonardo AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free A few images a day. | Open weights Free Developers and hobbyists with a decent graphics card. | Free Free Trying it and occasional images. |
Go See website Light users who hit the free limits. | Playground and APIOur pick From $0.041 per image Anyone who wants the best FLUX models without a subscription. | Essential $12/mo, about $10/mo billed yearly Hobbyists making images most weeks. | |
PlusOur pick See website Most marketers and business owners. | Self-hosting licence Custom Companies running FLUX on their own servers. | PremiumOur pick $30/mo, about $24/mo billed yearly Creators and marketers who generate a lot. | |
Pro See website Heavy daily users. | Ultimate $60/mo, about $48/mo billed yearly Heavy daily image and video work. | ||
Business See website Teams who need shared workspaces and admin. | Team From $24/seat/mo Small teams sharing a token pool. | ||
API Pay as you go Developers and automations. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Free is enough to find out if the quality suits you. Plus is the one to buy if you make images most days, because the limits stop getting in the way and you get the whole assistant too. Pro is only for people living in ChatGPT all day. | Top up $10 to $20 of Playground credits and you will get a couple of hundred standard images. If you already pay for Krea, Magnific or Leonardo, try FLUX there first. Only look at open weights or a self-hosting licence if you have a developer and a reason to run it yourself. | 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. |
Key features
| Attribute | ChatGPT Images | FLUX | Leonardo AI |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | ChatGPT Images | FLUX | Leonardo AI |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | ChatGPT Images | FLUX | Leonardo AI |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, ChatGPT Images, FLUX or Leonardo AI?
ChatGPT Images scores highest overall in our ratings (ChatGPT Images 4.2/5, FLUX 4.0/5 and Leonardo AI 3.8/5). ChatGPT Images is best for mockups and signage with real text and editing an image by describing changes. FLUX is best for precise layouts with elements placed where you want and editing one part of a photo and keeping the rest. Leonardo AI is best for game art and illustration in a fixed style and consistent characters across many images.
Which is cheaper, ChatGPT Images, FLUX or Leonardo AI?
ChatGPT Images: It's free to use. FLUX: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at From $0.041 per image. Leonardo AI: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $12/mo.
Which is easier to use, ChatGPT Images, FLUX or Leonardo AI?
ChatGPT Images rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who already uses ChatGPT and wants quick, accurate images without learning another tool.
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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