The 10 Most Powerful AI Image Generators with 4 Sample Images Each
A Comparative Study
Introduction
I have always been a big fan of AI art.
I played with Wombo.AI when it first came out and even shared some of the pictures on my social media.
How far the world of digital art has come!
Today’s AI image generators are so advanced that it can be difficult to distinguish between reality and art.
I always use AI-generated art for my articles, and thus, I am a keen aficionado of AI art and how to get the best results for my work.
If you want to learn my secrets, read till the end.
I promise to teach you how to enhance your prompts so that you always get a fantastic image from the AI Image Generator.
But at the end of the article!
And I promise you, this will be a great read and a great guide for everyone who wants to produce top-quality digital art.
Choice of AI Text-to-Image Generators
I have used the following AI image generators for this comparative article.
I rejected a few because the output quality was poor, so only the best made it to this list!
Comment below if you have used other image generators that are not covered in this article so that we can all benefit!
Meta AI: https://www.meta.ai/
Flux Schnell: https://fluximagegenerator.ai/
Midjourney Free: https://www.midjourneyfree.ai/
You, the reader, can pick and choose which one is the best, in your opinion.
Because I have created 4 images from each generator, trying to cover a wide range of use cases.
But also make sure you have a good look at your budget!
However, I am glad to say that AI image generation is so competitive that everything in this article was done with the free plan for every tool!
I have also provided my personal review and the pricing for every AI tool below.
The Top Ten AI Text-to-Image Generator Tools
1. Ideogram
"The Best AI Image Generator Online"
"A Scuba Diver Looking Down at a vibrantly colored coral reef"
"The most beautiful sunrise ever seen with the sun visible fully, with mountains, Bright colors, vivid hues, amazing picture, water and trees, multicolored sky, an awesome, awe-inspiringly beautiful image."
"A Chinese Christian Wedding. Luxurious settings. Beautiful picture, bride, groom, and parents and family on both sides, both young and old. Photorealistic. Choir with an orchestra of instruments. Panoramic Picture."
Ideogram is a decent tool and it always gets text elements captured perfectly.
That in itself is a win because many image generators do a bad job of reproducing text.
You can actually see that for yourself in some of the images from the other image generators below.
There is a huge amount of customization available even for free users.
Ideogram is useful in many use cases. It is best, though, if you can AI-enhance the prompt.
Ideogram offers a Free plan allowing up to 40 images daily with limited features. Paid tiers include Basic ($8/month) for 400 images, Plus ($20/month) for 1,000 images, and Pro ($48/month) for 12,000 fast images, all with additional features like private generation and image uploads
2. Bing Image Creator
"The Best AI Image Generator Online"
"A scuba driver looking down at a vibrantly colored coral reef"
"The most beautiful sunrise ever seen with the sun visible fully, with mountains, Bright colors, vivid hues, amazing picture, water and trees, multicolored sky, an awesome, awe-inspiringly beautiful image."
"A Chinese Christian Wedding. Luxurious settings. Beautiful picture, bride, groom, and parents and family on both sides, both young and old. Photorealistic. Choir with an orchestra of instruments. Panoramic Picture."
Bing Image Creator, now part of Microsoft Designer, is a free AI-powered image generation tool that utilizes OpenAI's DALL-E 3 model.
I have used this tool extensively for my articles.
It generates images based on detailed text prompts for various applications.
Users start with 100 boosts (credits) to generate images without cost.
Boosts refill to the tune of 10 boosts every day.
While some of the outputs can be more fantastic than realistic, some are spectacular, as you can see in the wedding photo above.
It is completely free and generates four images for every prompt/boost.
However, there are no customization options.
Bing Image Creator is entirely free, requiring only a Microsoft account to access. Users start with 25 boosts for faster image generation, which replenishes weekly. For frequent users, 10 boots are provided every day. And since one boost provides 4 pictures, you always have enough. I still use this tool sometimes because of its high quality and zero cost. I used this extensively over the last year before switching to another tool.
3. Leonardo.ai
"The Best AI Image Generator Online"
"A scuba driver looking down at a vibrantly colored coral reef"
"The most beautiful sunrise ever seen with the sun visible fully, with mountains, Bright colors, vivid hues, amazing picture, water and trees, multicolored sky, an awesome, awe-inspiringly beautiful image."
"A Chinese Christian Wedding. Luxurious settings. Beautiful picture, bride, groom, and parents and family on both sides, both young and old. Photorealistic. Choir with an orchestra of instruments. Panoramic Picture."
Leonardo.ai is a unique tool in that it allows AI generation at scale.
The platform allows you to create 150 free images a day, a feature unmatched by any tool on this list
Ideal for creating unique artwork, illustrations, and concept designs.
The customization offered here is immense; there are many options for you to tinker with
A pricing calculator helps manage credits and optimize usage effectively.
Use the provided Prompt Enhancer For Best Results.
Leonardo.ai offers a Free plan, allowing users to generate up to 150 images per day.
Paid options include:
Apprentice Plan: $10/month for 8,500 images.
Artisan Plan: $24/month for 25,000 images.
Maestro Plan: $48/month for 60,000 images.
API plans start at $9/month for 3,500 credits, scaling up based on usage needs.
4. Meta.ai
"The Best AI Image Generator Online"
"A Scuba Diver Looking Down at a vibrantly colored coral reef"
"The most beautiful sunrise ever seen with the sun visible fully, with mountains, Bright colors, vivid hues, amazing picture, water and trees, multicolored sky, an awesome, awe-inspiringly beautiful image."
"A Chinese Christian Wedding. Luxurious settings. Beautiful picture, bride, groom, and parents and family on both sides, both young and old. Photorealistic. Choir with an orchestra of instruments. Panoramic Picture."
Meta.ai's image generation capabilities are integrated across various platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.
I did not even know that this feature existed, but it works with Meta AI across apps, platforms, and devices.
Ideal for content creators looking to produce unique visuals for social media posts, stories, and profile pictures.
Accessible on WhatsApp, Instagram DMs, Facebook feeds, and Messenger.
Highly detailed prompts deliver best results.
Daily limit of 25 image generations per user.
While the AI is powerful, it may not always produce perfect results and can sometimes misinterpret prompts.
Using the /imagine tag, users can customize the image in real time.
Meta.ai Image Creation offers a Free Plan that allows users to generate images with limited features.
Paid options include:
Basic Plan: $7/month (billed annually) for 400 fast images.
Plus Plan: $16/month (billed annually) for 1,000 fast images.
Pro Plan: $48/month (billed annually) for 12,000 fast images.
Each tier provides varying levels of access and image generation speed.
5. Microsoft Designer Image Creator
"The Best AI Image Generator Online" (Enhanced Prompt)
"A Scuba Diver Looking Down at a vibrantly colored coral reef"
"The most beautiful sunrise ever seen with the sun visible fully, with mountains, Bright colors, vivid hues, amazing picture, water and trees, multicolored sky, an awesome, awe-inspiringly beautiful image."
"A Chinese Christian Wedding. Luxurious settings. Beautiful picture, bride, groom, and parents and family on both sides, both young and old. Photorealistic. Choir with an orchestra of instruments. Panoramic Picture."
Microsoft Designer's image generation feature is a game-changer.
It has perhaps the second highest quality in all the ten tools provided here because I always use the Enhance with AI option.
Users can refine images using the "Customize" option to adjust styles or elements, of which there are many
Free users receive 10 boosts per day for image generation; Copilot Pro subscribers get 100 boosts for faster access.
Like Bing Image Creator, 1 boost provides four images per prompt.
The Designer is accessible via Microsoft Edge and integrated within Microsoft apps like Word and PowerPoint
Make sure you use the prompt enhancer feature because it really makes a big difference!
I use this tool for my articles now, and the main reason is the zero cost and the customization.
The improvement over Bing Image Creator with AI-enhanced prompts is immense.
Microsoft Designer Image Creator offers a free plan with basic features, allowing unlimited image creation. Users can also access boosts for faster generation; initially, each user gets 25 boosts, which replenish weekly. There are no paidtiers available, making it entirely free to use. As mentioned earlier, 10 boosts are provided every day.
6. Flux Schnell
"The Best AI Image Generator Online"
"A Scuba Diver Looking Down at a vibrantly colored coral reef" (Prompt Enhanced)
"The most beautiful sunrise ever seen with the sun visible fully, with mountains, Bright colors, vivid hues, amazing picture, water and trees, multicolored sky, an awesome, awe-inspiringly beautiful image."
"A Chinese Christian Wedding. Luxurious settings. Beautiful picture, bride, groom, and parents and family on both sides, both young and old. Photorealistic. Choir with an orchestra of instruments. Panoramic Picture."
Flux Schnell is a text-to-image generation model developed by Black Forest Labs.
Did I mention that it is also open-source?
I used it for a short time before discovering AI-enhanced prompting.
Schnell assists writers and creators in visualizing narratives with illustrative images.
Enhances websites with unique, dynamically generated visuals.
Useful for experimental AI research in text-to-image generation.
Released under the Apache-2.0 license, allowing personal, scientific, and commercial use.
However, the prompts need to be very specific.
The use of an AI prompt enhancer always comes in very handy.
The main reason I stopped using Flux was the amount of detail required in the prompts.
However, some platforms offer 100s of customization options for Flux Models (Anakin.ai).
Flux Schnell provides a free plan for image generation, allowing users to create images at no cost.
Paid options operate on a credit system with one-time purchases:
Basic Plan: 1 credit/image for FLUX.1 [Schnell].
Pro Plan: 10 credits/image for FLUX.1 [dev].
Hobby Plan: 20 credits/image for FLUX.1 [pro].
Credits expire after 30 days, and commercial usage rights are included in paid plans but not in the free plan.
7. Flux Dev
"The Best AI Image Generator Online"
"A Scuba Diver Looking Down at a vibrantly colored coral reef" (Prompt Enhanced)
"The most beautiful sunrise ever seen with the sun visible fully, with mountains, Bright colors, vivid hues, amazing picture, water and trees, multicolored sky, an awesome, awe-inspiringly beautiful image."
"A Chinese Christian Wedding. Luxurious settings. Beautiful picture, bride, groom, and parents and family on both sides, both young and old. Photorealistic. Choir with an orchestra of instruments. Panoramic Picture."
Flux Dev is focusing on generating high-quality images from text prompts, suitable for developers and professionals.
I have used it, but again, I find the need to provide a detailed prompt laborious.
Flux Dev is capable of generating a wide range of artistic styles, from photorealism to abstract art.
Generates images with resolutions up to 2.0 megapixels, catering to various professional needs.
Effectively incorporates clear and legible text within images, which is a major plus.
Useful in fields like architecture, product design, and concept art creation.
While powerful, it may still face challenges with certain complex prompts or specific artistic requests.
Where Flux Schnell and Flux Dev shine is the ability for customization.
There are over 500 options to customize the output of Flux Models on Anakin.ai.
Flux Dev offers a free plan that allows users to generate images without cost.
Paid options include:
Basic Yearly: $120/year for 1,200 credits/month and 60 FLUX.1 [Pro] generation.
Pro Yearly: $480/year for 4,000 credits/month and 200 FLUX.1 [Pro] generation.
Premium Yearly: $1,200/year for 10,000 credits/month and 500 FLUX.1 [Pro] generation.
One-time purchase options like the Hobby Plan (500 credits) and Starter Plan (1,200 credits) are also available, with varying access and expiration terms.
8. Midjourney Free
Prompt: "The Best AI Image Generator Online"
"A Scuba Diver Looking Down at a vibrantly colored coral reef"
"The most beautiful sunrise ever seen with the sun visible fully, with mountains, Bright colors, vivid hues, amazing picture, water and trees, multicolored sky, an awesome, awe-inspiringly beautiful image."
"A Chinese Christian Wedding. Luxurious settings. Beautiful picture, bride, groom, and parents and family on both sides, both young and old. Photorealistic. Choir with an orchestra of instruments. Panoramic Picture."
Midjourney is supposed to be the king of AI Generator Tools
However, its emphasis on not providing free options has rankled with many, including me.
Users provide a brief description of the desired image, including styles and keywords.
After submitting the prompt, the AI processes the text and generates an image within seconds.
Offers a wide range of styles and customization options based on user input.
Quality is very good, and there is an increase in the effectiveness of each image.
However, it can be expensive, which puts off many users.
Midjourney offers four subscription tiers:
Basic Plan: $10/month ($96/year), includes 3.3 hours of Fast GPU time.
Standard Plan: $30/month ($288/year), includes 15 hours of Fast GPU time and unlimited Relax GPU time.
Pro Plan: $60/month ($576/year), includes 30 hours of Fast GPU time and Stealth Mode.
Mega Plan: $120/month ($1,152/year), includes 60 hours of Fast GPU time and additional features.
There is no free tier available, but all plans come with commercial usage rights and access to the Discord community
9. Stable Diffusion 3
"The Best AI Image Generator Online"
"A Scuba Diver Looking Down at a vibrantly colored coral reef"
"The most beautiful sunrise ever seen with the sun visible fully, with mountains, Bright colors, vivid hues, amazing picture, water and trees, multicolored sky, an awesome, awe-inspiringly beautiful image."
"A Chinese Christian Wedding. Luxurious settings. Beautiful picture, bride, groom, and parents and family on both sides, both young and old. Photorealistic. Choir with an orchestra of instruments. Panoramic Picture."
SD3 generates high-resolution, photorealistic images and excels in handling complex prompts.
Allows fine-tuning for unique image creation based on specific user inputs.
Improved stability and consistency in outputs reduces artifacts and inconsistencies.
Stable Diffusion 3 is a huge improvement over previous models, but it can vary in quality.
SD3 is an open-source model allowing for community contributions and enhancements.
It is a good choice if you want to try out image generators and learn the basics.
As you can see, it performed well on the given prompts.
And there are many customization features available.
Stable Diffusion 3 (SD3) is primarily accessible through a credit-based system for commercial use. Users can generate images at a cost of 1 credit per image, with credits priced at $0.01 each. This means generating an image costs approximately $0.08 for the ultra model.
For non-commercial use, SD3 is available for free, allowing users to explore its capabilities without financial commitment.
10. StockLibrary.AI
"The Best AI Image Generator Online"
"A Scuba Diver Looking Down at a vibrantly colored coral reef"
"The most beautiful sunrise ever seen with the sun visible fully, with mountains, Bright colors, vivid hues, amazing picture, water and trees, multicolored sky, an awesome, awe-inspiringly beautiful image."
"A Chinese Christian Wedding. Luxurious settings. Beautiful picture, bride, groom, and parents and family on both sides, both young and old. Photorealistic. Choir with an orchestra of instruments. Panoramic Picture."
This tool could replace Pexels, Unsplash, Pixabay, Getty Images, and Shutterstock.
StockLibrary.ai is an AI-powered platform for generating customized stock images.
They excel in realism, digital photo-quality detail, and high picture quality as well.
Supports people from different countries (diverse demographics) with culturally accurate representations.
There are a huge amount of customization options, which is perfect for content writers for brands.
Users can input brand-specific details (colors, themes) to ensure alignment with their identity.
Each downloaded image comes with royalty-free licensing, which is extremely important for commercial content.
All plans allow users to retain ownership of generated images, even post-subscription.
A full refund policy is in place for unsatisfactory experiences.
This is the best option in this entire list for professional content writers who need to customize images for their brand.
This is also the best option for worldwide brands that cater to countries in Asia, Africa, & South America.
Pictures can be customized to even specific countries to cater to varying demographics, as mentioned earlier.
Changes like lighting, camera angles, and photographer-specific options can be easily customized.
This is a startup and not very well known, but it has immense potential.
Stocklibrary.ai offers four subscription tiers:
Basic Plan: $9/month, for 15 images a month.
Pro Plan: $29/month, for 50 images a month.
Business Plan: $89/month, for 200 images a month.
Unlimited Plan: $499/month for 1000 images a month.
The Free Plan offers 5 images a month.
All paid plans offer full royalty licensing options.
Stocklibrary.ai is not very well known, but its image quality is incredible.
I just felt called to share some of the images in their gallery—because of the incredible quality they have achieved.
These images do not look AI-generated, but they are.
I can see this startup replacing all the existing stock photo websites because their AI model-generated photos look better than real life!
And every picture above can be customized to suit the country/locality/culture of your choice.
This is the future of stock photography for blogs and diverse demographics.
Professional commercial content writers can now generate the images they want with text!
As Promised: AI-Enhanced Prompts
Suppose you had the following prompt to enhance for [AI-Image Generator]:
“A cosmic picture of the entire universe, with an emphasis on wonder and beauty, from a human Earth-centric viewpoint. An awesome, fantastic, awe-inspiring, beautiful, unbelievable picture.”
This prompt is already quite specific.
But ChatGPT or any other LLM can always make it better.
To demonstrate, see the results of the plain prompt in Microsoft Designer:
This is great!
Now let’s enhance it:
Prompt to ChatGPT:
“You are a Microsoft Designer AI Generator expert. Create a prompt to make the following prompt far more effective for a Microsoft Designer image generation. Focus on beauty and wonder. The prompt is: “A cosmic picture of the entire universe, with an emphasis on wonder and beauty, from a human Earth-centric viewpoint. An awesome, fantastic, awe-inspiring, beautiful, unbelievable picture.”
Resulting Microsoft Designer Prompt:
"An awe-inspiring cosmic panorama of the universe, viewed from Earth's perspective. The scene captures the boundless beauty and wonder of the cosmos—glittering stars, swirling galaxies, and nebulae glowing in vivid, dreamlike colors. The Milky Way arcs majestically across the sky, while distant galaxies twinkle like jewels in the infinite expanse. The image conveys a profound sense of awe, with delicate hues of purple, blue, and pink blending into the dark void of space. The cosmic spectacle evokes both wonder and beauty, offering a breathtaking glimpse of the universe's grandeur."
Feeding it to Microsoft Designer:
This might seem like a minor improvement over the last prompt.
But when used correctly, AI-Enhanced Image Generator prompts can work wonders.
When possible, use the AI-Enhancement Tool on the site of the Image Generator itself.
I shifted from Bing Image Creator to Microsoft Designer because of the effectiveness of the AI-Enhancer on the Microsoft Designer Image Creation website.
And That’s A Wrap!
I hope you had fun seeing what the AI Image Generators can do.
I certainly did!
And that last startup’s library of images—available at the link below—just blew me away.
We live in, I guess, the greatest time to be alive—ever.
The Internet has brought wonders into our lives.
I hope we will all take equal advantage of the ever-expanding vast possibilities available to us.
To shape our lives.
To shape our futures.
To even change the world—for the better.
May the wonder of life today never leave you.
May the joy of pure creativity never fail to enthrall you.
All the best—wherever and whatever you may be doing.
All the best!
Once again, from StockLibrary.ai. Their collection blew me away!