Head-to-head · profiles checked Sep 30, 2026
Midjourney fits creators who want a flat subscription, unlimited Relax images from $30/mo, a web Editor and clips up to 21 seconds. Leonardo AI fits people who want to test free, pay less to start or use a separate API. Midjourney starts at $10/mo with no free trial; Leonardo AI has 150 free tokens a day and Essential at $12/mo.
We wrote this from our own verified profiles of Midjourney (checked September 30) and Leonardo AI (checked September 29); we ran no benchmark for this pair, and it uses no third-party benchmarks or vendor payments.
Pick Midjourney if you want a flat subscription with unlimited Relax images from the $30 plan, a built-in image editor and clips up to 21 seconds. Pick Leonardo AI if you want a free plan to test first, a cheaper $12 entry plan, team plans with shared tokens or a pay-as-you-go API. Midjourney has no free trial and no official API. Leonardo AI documents token allowances, but its profile does not state the amounts for paid plans.
Based on our profiles of Midjourney (verified September 30) and Leonardo AI (verified September 29) from official pages; Leonardo AI paid token amounts and privacy terms were not confirmed, and no benchmark was run.
If you only want the answer, this is the table. Everything below is the evidence from the two documented profiles.
| You want to | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Make an image from a text description | Either | Midjourney and Leonardo AI both generate images from prompts; Midjourney also takes reference images and Leonardo AI takes an optional reference image. |
| Try an image generator for free | Leonardo.Ai | Leonardo AI has a Free plan with 150 tokens per day; Midjourney has no free trial on web or Discord. |
| Generate lots of images for a flat price | Midjourney | Midjourney gives unlimited Relax images from Standard at $30/mo; Leonardo AI Relaxed generation covers selected models only. |
| Turn a picture into a short video | Either | Midjourney makes 5-second clips extendable to 21 seconds; Leonardo AI lists short video from prompts or images. |
| Fix or extend part of an image | Midjourney | Midjourney has a web Editor with inpainting, outpainting, pan, zoom out and layers; Leonardo AI lists editing but details are not verified. |
| Keep a consistent character or style across images | Either | Midjourney has personalization and style references; Leonardo AI lists editing that keeps characters and style. |
| Make images for print | Either | Midjourney makes native 2K HD images; Leonardo AI lists upscaling for print, with token cost not verified. |
| Make private images for a client | Either | Midjourney needs Pro or Mega for Stealth mode; Leonardo AI paid plans offer private generations. |
| Share one image budget across a team | Leonardo.Ai | Leonardo AI Team plans share a token pool; Midjourney has no seat management. |
| Connect image generation to my own app | Leonardo.Ai | Leonardo AI sells a pay-as-you-go API; Midjourney has no official API. |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midjourney Basic | Midjourney | $10/mo ($96/yr paid upfront) | 200 Fast GPU minutes per month; no Relax; SD video only |
| Midjourney Standard | Midjourney | $30/mo ($288/yr paid upfront) | 15 hr Fast GPU time per month; unlimited Relax images |
| Midjourney Pro | Midjourney | $60/mo ($576/yr paid upfront) | 30 hr Fast GPU time per month; unlimited Relax images and SD video; Stealth mode |
| Midjourney Mega | Midjourney | $120/mo ($1,152/yr paid upfront) | 60 hr Fast GPU time per month; unlimited Relax images and SD video; Stealth mode |
| Midjourney Bulk billing (50+ yearly Pro or Mega plans) | Midjourney | Standard yearly Pro or Mega pricing | No seat or admin management, no SSO |
| Leonardo AI Free | Leonardo.Ai | $0 | 150 tokens per day |
| Leonardo AI Essential | Leonardo.Ai | $12/mo (billing period not stated) | Monthly token allowance, amount not stated |
| Leonardo AI Premium | Leonardo.Ai | $30/mo (billing period not stated) | Larger monthly token allowance, amount not stated |
| Leonardo AI Ultimate | Leonardo.Ai | $60/mo (billing period not stated) | Largest solo token allowance, amount not stated |
| Leonardo AI Team Starter | Leonardo.Ai | $24/seat/mo (billing period not stated) | Shared token pool |
| Leonardo AI Team Growth | Leonardo.Ai | $48/seat/mo (billing period not stated) | Shared token pool |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Sep 30, 2026. Midjourney pricing in full · Leonardo.Ai pricing in full
| Midjourney | Leonardo.Ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Generation limits | GPU-time budget: 200 Fast minutes on Basic up to 60 hr on Mega; Relax images unlimited from Standard | Token allowances: 150 per day on Free; paid amounts not stated; Relaxed generation on selected models only |
| Concurrent jobs | 3 concurrent Fast image prompts on Basic and Standard, 12 on Pro and Mega; max 10 queued jobs | Not stated |
| Video length and resolution | 5-second clips extendable to 21 s; 480p and 720p only | Not stated |
| Seats / team | No seat or admin management; bulk billing for 50+ yearly Pro or Mega plans | Team Starter and Team Growth with a shared token pool |
| Going past the limit | Extra Fast GPU time at $4/hr, expires 60 days after purchase | Not stated |
| Feature | Midjourney | Leonardo.Ai |
|---|---|---|
| Image generation | Yes | Yes |
| Video | Yes, up to 21 s | Yes, short clips |
| Image editing | Yes, web Editor with Edit Model | Yes, details not verified |
| Custom or personalized models | Personalization and style references | Personally trained custom models |
| Upscaling | Native 2K HD images | Yes, token cost not verified |
| Private generations | Pro and Mega only (Stealth mode) | Paid plans |
| API | No | Yes, sold separately |
| Platforms | Web and Discord | Not stated |
| Midjourney | Leonardo.Ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Privacy policy says personal data may be collected through training; Terms grant a perpetual, irrevocable license to inputs and assets; no training opt-out documented | Not stated |
| Retention | Kept as long as necessary; account deletion completed within 30 days with a 7-day reversal window | Not stated |
| Business controls | Data export and deletion in Account Settings; no SSO or admin management | Team workspace on Team plans; other controls not stated |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
Subscription-based AI image and video generator known for stylized, artistic results.
Watch out: No free trial on web or Discord, no official API, and every generation draws on a GPU-time budget, so heavy u…
Verified midjourney.com (opens Midjourney website in a new tab)
From $10/mo US · checked Sep 30
AI image, video and design generator with a free daily token plan, paid tiers, team plans and a pay-as-you-go API.
Free stops at: 150 tokens per day
Verified leonardo.ai (opens Leonardo.Ai website in a new tab)
Free · paid from $12/mo US · checked Sep 29
Leonardo AI has the lower entry: a free plan with 150 tokens per day and Essential at $12/mo. Midjourney starts at Basic for $10/mo with no free trial. Leonardo AI lists no billing period for its prices, so compare with care.
Leonardo AI does: 150 tokens per day, with public generations. Midjourney has no free trial on web or Discord. Its help center says a limited trial exists only in the separate niji journey mobile app.
Leonardo AI sells an API separately from its app plans, pay-as-you-go or custom. Midjourney has no public API except rare granted exceptions, and its guidelines prohibit automation.
On Midjourney, Stealth mode needs Pro ($60/mo) or Mega ($120/mo). On Leonardo AI, free plan generations are public and paid plans offer private generations. Leonardo AI's training and retention terms are not stated in our profile.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
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