Adobe's commercially-safe generative AI (Firefly) plus Express design app, integrated with Creative Cloud.
Leonardo.ai vs Midjourney
Features, pricing, strengths and trade-offs — and which one fits your situation.
The verdict
Summary
Leonardo.ai is best for game art, concept art and consistent characters with fine-tuned models, while Midjourney is best for highly aesthetic, artistic images and concept art. Only Leonardo.ai offers background removal and aPI. Leonardo.ai has a free plan, while Midjourney has no free plan.
Which should you choose?
Choose Leonardo.ai if…
- You need game art, concept art and consistent characters with fine-tuned models
- Background removal matters to you
- API matters to you
- You're one of: game developers and concept artists, creators needing consistent characters, developers building on an image api
- You want a free plan (Midjourney doesn't have one)
Choose Midjourney if…
- You need highly aesthetic, artistic images and concept art
- You're one of: artists and illustrators, art directors and concept designers, creators wanting distinctive visuals
- Output quality and aesthetics are among the best available
At a glance
| Leonardo.ai | Midjourney | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Game art, concept art and consistent characters with fine-tuned models | Highly aesthetic, artistic images and concept art |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Starting price | From $12/mo | From $10/mo |
| Learning curve | Medium | Medium |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, API | Web, Discord |
| Ideal for | Game developers and concept artists, Creators needing consistent characters, Developers building on an image API | Artists and illustrators, Art directors and concept designers, Creators wanting distinctive visuals |
Feature comparison
| Leonardo.ai | Midjourney | |
|---|---|---|
| Text-to-image | Yes | Yes |
| AI editing / inpainting | Yes | Yes |
| Background removal | Yes | No |
| Upscaling / enhancement | Yes | Yes |
| Image-to-video | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use allowed | Paid plans | Paid plans |
| Design templates | No | No |
| API | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | — |
IncludedLimited / higher plansNot available— Not confirmed
Security & enterprise
| Leonardo.ai | Midjourney | |
|---|---|---|
| Business / enterprise plan | Yes | No |
| SSO (SAML / OIDC) | — | No |
| SCIM user provisioning | — | — |
| SOC 2 | — | — |
| ISO 27001 | — | — |
| HIPAA (BAA available) | — | — |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | — |
| Data residency options | — | — |
| No training on your data | — | — |
| Audit logs | — | — |
| Admin controls | Teams plan | No |
| Deployment | Cloud, API | Cloud |
From each vendor's security documentation. "—" = not confirmed. What to ask vendors · Compare all tools
What each tool does
Leonardo.ai
Leonardo.ai is an AI image and video generation platform owned by Canva, offering its own models (Phoenix, Lucid Origin, Lucid Realism) alongside FLUX and other third-party models. It includes a real-time Canvas for inpainting and outpainting, Motion for image- and text-to-video, a Universal Upscaler, and training of custom models and Elements on your own images. It is used by game developers, concept artists, marketers and hobbyists.
Key features- Leonardo models (Phoenix, Lucid Origin, Lucid Realism) plus FLUX
- Real-time Canvas for inpainting, outpainting and compositing
- Motion video from images or text with camera controls
- Universal Upscaler up to 8K
- Custom model and Element training
- Production API with pay-as-you-go pricing
Midjourney
Midjourney is a subscription text-to-image generator known for stylised, high-quality output, used through its web app and Discord. The V8 model family adds 2K output, better prompt adherence and an Edit Model for instruction-based editing, inpainting and outpainting, alongside style references, moodboards and image-to-video clips extendable to about 21 seconds. It is popular with artists, designers, art directors and hobbyists.
Key features- Text-to-image with V8 models and HD output
- Edit Model for instruction-based editing, inpainting and outpainting
- Style references, moodboards and personalization profiles
- Image-to-video with extendable clips
- Upscaling and variations
- Web app and Discord bot
Pricing
Leonardo.ai
Free plan (daily tokens); Apprentice ~$12/mo ($10/mo annual)
Midjourney
No free plan; Basic $10/mo ($8/mo annual); Standard $30, Pro $60, Mega $120
Prices last checked September 2026. Plans change often — confirm on each vendor's site.
Pros and cons
Leonardo.ai
Strengths- Fine control over models, styles and character consistency
- Free plan with daily tokens
- Web, iOS and Android apps
- Well-documented API for developers
- Token system is confusing and premium models use tokens quickly
- Free plan images are public and lack some features
- Many settings make it harder for beginners than Canva or Ideogram
- No layout templates for finished marketing designs
Not ideal for: People who want ready-made social templates or simple one-click designs will find Canva easier.
Midjourney
Strengths- Output quality and aesthetics are among the best available
- Strong style controls and consistency tools
- Active community and public gallery for inspiration
- Video generation included in subscriptions
- No free plan
- No public API
- Images are public unless you pay for Stealth mode on higher plans
- No templates, text layout or design tools for finished graphics
Not ideal for: Businesses needing an API, private-by-default output on a budget, or accurate text in images should consider Ideogram, Leonardo or Adobe Firefly.
Integrations
Leonardo.ai
Midjourney
FAQ
What is the main difference between Leonardo.ai and Midjourney?
Leonardo.ai is built for game art, concept art and consistent characters with fine-tuned models; Midjourney is built for highly aesthetic, artistic images and concept art. Key differences: Leonardo.ai offers background removal and aPI.
Is Leonardo.ai or Midjourney cheaper?
Leonardo.ai starts from $12/mo and Midjourney starts from $10/mo (as of September 2026). On entry price, Midjourney is cheaper — but compare what each plan includes, since limits differ. Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Do Leonardo.ai and Midjourney have free plans?
Leonardo.ai has a free plan, while Midjourney has no free plan.
Which is easier to use, Leonardo.ai or Midjourney?
Both have a medium learning curve.
What are good alternatives to Leonardo.ai and Midjourney?
Other image & design tools worth comparing include Adobe Firefly / Adobe Express, Photoroom and Magnific.
Alternatives
