Side-by-side comparison · Image, Logo & Design
FLUX 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: 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.
Pick it if: Marketers, founders and creators who want imagery that doesn't look like generic stock.
Midjourney scores highest overall, but FLUX gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | FLUX | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | 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. | Type a description and get striking, artful images that look nothing like stock photos. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | From $0.041 per image | $12/mo | See website |
| Free plan | No | 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 | FLUX | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.1Winner |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| 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 | 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. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | FLUX | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | No | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | No | 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 | Yes | 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 | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | No | No |
| Capabilities score | 10/ 17 | 11/ 17 | 5/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | FLUX | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Open weights Free Developers and hobbyists with a decent graphics card. | Free Free Trying it and occasional images. | Basic See website Trying it out and light monthly use. |
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. | StandardOur pick See website Most marketers and creators. | |
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 Agencies and anyone doing client work. | |
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 | 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. | 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 | FLUX | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
|
|
|
Pros and cons
| Attribute | FLUX | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
|
Who each one is for
| Attribute | FLUX | Leonardo AI | Midjourney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for |
|
|
|
| You'll find it used by |
|
|
|
Questions people ask
Which is better, FLUX, Leonardo AI or Midjourney?
Midjourney scores highest overall in our ratings (FLUX 4.0/5, Leonardo AI 3.8/5 and Midjourney 4.1/5). 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. Midjourney is best for hero images for websites and brand and campaign visuals.
Which is cheaper, FLUX, Leonardo AI or Midjourney?
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. Midjourney: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote.
Which is easier to use, FLUX, Leonardo AI or Midjourney?
Leonardo AI rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Creators, small studios and marketers who want a free starting point and a way to keep a consistent style or character.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
Swap in another tool
More tools from Image, Logo & Design in the library.
