Midjourney has established itself as the premier AI image generation tool for users who prioritize visual quality above all else. Its output has a distinctive aesthetic that competitors have struggled to replicate, producing images that look polished and intentional rather than obviously AI-generated.

We have used Midjourney extensively for marketing materials, social media content, concept art, and editorial illustrations. Here is our honest assessment.

Image Quality

The quality of Midjourney's output is its defining advantage. The latest model produces images with exceptional detail, coherent compositions, and a natural aesthetic sensibility. Skin textures look realistic, lighting is physically plausible, and compositions feel intentionally designed rather than randomly assembled.

What sets Midjourney apart is not just technical quality but artistic quality. The default output has a certain polish that makes images look like they were created by a skilled designer rather than generated by an algorithm. This matters enormously for professional use cases where the output needs to look premium.

The Discord Workflow

Midjourney's biggest weakness is its interface. The primary way to use the tool is through Discord, which means generating images in chat channels alongside other users. While a web interface has been introduced for subscribers, the workflow still feels less polished than dedicated creative tools.

The upside of the Discord approach is community. You can see what other users are creating, learn from their prompts, and discover techniques you would not have found on your own. For some users, this community aspect adds genuine value.

Features and Capabilities

Style Control

Midjourney offers extensive style control through parameters and keywords. You can specify aspect ratios, stylization levels, chaos values, and reference images to guide the output. The style tuner feature lets you create personalized style preferences that apply to all your generations.

Upscaling and Variations

After generating an initial set of images, you can upscale your favorites to higher resolution and generate variations that explore different interpretations of your prompt. This iterative workflow lets you converge on exactly the image you want.

Image Blending and Remixing

The ability to blend multiple source images and remix existing generations adds creative flexibility. You can combine elements from different images, adjust specific aspects of a generation, and build on previous work in ways that feel genuinely creative rather than purely mechanical.

Pricing

The Basic plan at $10/month provides approximately 200 image generations per month, which is enough for casual users. The Standard plan at $30/month offers unlimited relaxed-mode generations and is the sweet spot for regular users. The Pro plan at $60/month adds stealth mode and more concurrent fast-mode generations.

All paid plans include commercial usage rights, which is essential for professional use.

Use Cases Where Midjourney Excels

Marketing and Advertising: The premium visual quality makes Midjourney output suitable for real advertising campaigns, social media, and marketing collateral without additional editing.

Concept Art: Game designers, film producers, and creative directors use Midjourney to rapidly visualize concepts before investing in full production.

Editorial Illustration: The artistic quality makes Midjourney output appropriate for blog headers, magazine illustrations, and editorial content where a stock photo would feel generic.

Social Media Content: The ability to quickly generate eye-catching visuals makes Midjourney valuable for social media managers and content creators.

Limitations

No Text Rendering

Midjourney still struggles with text within images. If you need generated images with readable text, DALL-E 3 or Ideogram are better choices. This is a meaningful limitation for designers working on graphics, posters, or any content that includes text.

Inconsistent Hands and Anatomy

While dramatically improved from earlier versions, Midjourney still occasionally produces anatomical errors, particularly with hands and fingers. Professional users need to check output carefully and may need to regenerate or edit manually.

Limited Precision Control

Unlike Stable Diffusion with ControlNet, Midjourney offers limited ability to specify exact compositions, poses, or spatial arrangements. You can guide the output through prompts and parameters, but you cannot achieve pixel-level control.

Pros and Cons Summary

Pros:

Best overall image quality of any AI generator
Distinctive artistic aesthetic
Strong community and inspiration
Reasonable pricing with commercial rights
Powerful style control and customization

Cons:

Discord-based workflow is not ideal
Weak text rendering in images
Occasional anatomical errors
Less precise control than Stable Diffusion
No open-source option or local execution

The Verdict

Midjourney earns a 4.6/5 for producing the most visually appealing AI-generated images available. The Discord workflow and occasional quality inconsistencies prevent a higher score, but for users who prioritize output quality, nothing else comes close. For a broader look at the alternatives, see our [INTERNAL:/blog/top-ai-image-generators].

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Midjourney free?

No, Midjourney no longer offers a free trial for new users. The lowest-cost plan starts at $10/month. All paid plans include commercial usage rights.

Can I use Midjourney images commercially?

Yes, all paid plans include commercial usage rights. You own the images you generate and can use them for any commercial purpose.

How does Midjourney compare to DALL-E 3?

Midjourney generally produces more aesthetically pleasing images, while DALL-E 3 excels at prompt comprehension and text rendering. For most creative applications, Midjourney output looks more polished. For images that need to include text, DALL-E 3 is the better choice.

Do I need Discord to use Midjourney?

Discord is the primary interface, but Midjourney now offers a web interface for subscribers. The web interface is still more limited than the Discord experience but provides a more traditional workflow for users who prefer not to use Discord.

Midjourney Review