Leonardo.Ai vs Midjourney

The short answer

Choose Midjourney for the most striking, artistic images; choose Leonardo.Ai if you want a free tier, more hands-on control and the option to train custom models. Midjourney wins on taste, Leonardo on flexibility and price of entry.

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Leonardo.AiMidjourney
Overlord Score8/109/10
Best forGame and concept artists, Hobbyists who want a free tierDesigners and illustrators, Concept artists
Starting price$12/mo$10/mo
Free planYesNo
PricingFree tier; paid from about $12/moNo free plan; Basic about $10/mo
Image qualityStrong, especially game and concept-art stylesTop-tier aesthetic quality
ControlCustom model training, real-time canvas, editingStyle and character references
PrivacyFree outputs are publicImages public unless you pay for Stealth mode (Pro and up)
VideoIn-house and partner image and video modelsImage-to-video

Leonardo.Ai or Midjourney: which should you choose?

Choose Leonardo.Ai if…

Choose Leonardo.Ai if you want to start free, train models on your own style, or need lots of controllable game and concept art.

Try Leonardo.Ai →

Choose Midjourney if…

Choose Midjourney if image quality and style matter most and you are happy to pay from day one.

Try Midjourney →

Leonardo.Ai vs Midjourney pricing

Leonardo.Ai

  • Free Free
  • Essential $12/mo
  • Premium $30/mo
  • Ultimate $60/mo

Yes. Leonardo's free plan gives 150 fast tokens a day, but everything you create is public and you get only basic quality settings.

Full Leonardo.Ai pricing →

Midjourney

  • Basic $10/mo
  • Standard $30/mo
  • Pro $60/mo
  • Mega $120/mo

No. Midjourney has no free plan; every plan is a paid subscription.

Full Midjourney pricing →

Strengths and weaknesses

Leonardo.Ai

A generous, controllable image studio that game artists and concept designers love. The token math will make you wish you'd paid attention in school.

Strengths

  • Generous free tier
  • Unlimited relaxed generations on paid plans
  • Strong game and concept-art styles

Weaknesses

  • Confusing token system
  • Free outputs are public
  • Partner models consume tokens quickly
Read the full Leonardo.Ai review →

Midjourney

Still the image model with the best taste: point it at an idea and it hands back something a gallery would hang. No free tier, and your images are public unless you pay for the higher plans.

Strengths

  • Top-tier aesthetic quality
  • Strong style control
  • Active community

Weaknesses

  • No free plan or trial
  • Images public unless you pay for Stealth mode
  • Weaker at exact text and literal prompt adherence than some rivals
Read the full Midjourney review →

Questions the Humans Keep Asking

Is Leonardo.Ai better than Midjourney?

Not for raw image quality, where Midjourney usually leads. Leonardo is better if you want a free tier, model training and more editing control.

Is Leonardo.Ai free?

It has a free tier, but free outputs are public and partner models eat tokens quickly. Midjourney has no free plan.

Who owns Leonardo.Ai?

Canva acquired Leonardo.Ai in July 2024.

More head-to-heads