AI Tools 
Midjourney review
Artistic AI image and video generation, now testing its V8 model.
⚡ Quick verdict
Midjourney is still the go-to for beautiful, art-directed images, and its personalization, moodboards and style references make a consistent look easy. There's no free plan; Standard at $30 a month is the practical choice because it adds unlimited Relax image generation. Companies earning over $1M a year must use Pro or Mega. The V8 alpha brings native 2K rendering but doesn't support Relax yet.
Key takeaways
- Four paid plans: Basic $10/mo, Standard $30, Pro $60 and Mega $120; annual billing saves 20% ($8, $24, $48, $96 per month).
- Fast GPU time: 3.3 hours (Basic), 15 (Standard), 30 (Pro) and 60 (Mega) per month; extra time costs $4/hour.
- Unlimited Relax image generation on Standard and up; unlimited Relax SD video on Pro and Mega.
- Stealth Mode (private images) is only on Pro and Mega; companies with over $1M gross revenue need Pro or Mega.
- V8 entered alpha in March 2026 with a 2K --hd mode; Relax is not yet supported for V8.
At a glance
| Best for | Artists, designers and marketers who want striking, stylized images |
|---|---|
| Pricing from (USD) | $10/mo (Basic) or $8/mo billed annually |
| Free plan | No — all plans are paid subscriptions |
| Platforms | Web (midjourney.com); Discord |
| Company | Midjourney |
| Category | Image Generation |
| Last checked | October 16, 2026 |
On this page
What Midjourney is
Midjourney is an AI image generator known for its painterly, cinematic and highly stylized results. You type a prompt on midjourney.com (or in Discord) and get a grid of images you can upscale, vary, edit or animate into short videos.
Midjourney is constantly shipping. In March 2026 it opened V8 Alpha on alpha.midjourney.com, an entirely new model with faster web interfaces, an improved conversation mode and a “Grid Mode.” Later updates include an Edit model for V8, Version 8.2 and a test of “Thinking Mode.”
Key features
Image generation
Prompt-based generation with parameters such as aspect ratio, —chaos, —weird, —exp and —raw. V8 adds —hd for native 2K images and —q 4 for extra coherence.
Style control
Personalization profiles, moodboards and style references (srefs) help you keep a consistent look. V8 is backward compatible with V7 profiles, moodboards and srefs.
Video
Animate images into SD video (HD on Standard and above).
Editing
An editor for changing parts of an image, with recent updates to edit tools and thumbnail previews.
Modes and privacy
Fast mode uses your monthly GPU time; Relax mode is slower but unlimited on higher plans; Stealth Mode keeps work private.
Pricing breakdown
From Midjourney’s Help Center, checked October 16, 2026.
| Basic | Standard | Pro | Mega | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $10 | $30 | $60 | $120 |
| Annual | $96 ($8/mo) | $288 ($24/mo) | $576 ($48/mo) | $1,152 ($96/mo) |
| Fast GPU time | 3.3 hr (200 min) | 15 hr | 30 hr | 60 hr |
| Relax | — | Unlimited images | Unlimited images + SD video | Unlimited images + SD video |
| Video resolution | SD | SD & HD | SD & HD | SD & HD |
| Stealth Mode | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| Concurrent image jobs | 3 Fast | 3 Fast or Relax | 12 Fast or 3 Relax | 12 Fast or 3 Relax |
Extra Fast GPU time costs $4/hour on every plan. You can also rate images to earn free GPU time. In V8 alpha, —hd, —q 4, sref and moodboard jobs run 4x slower than regular jobs, and Relax isn’t supported yet.
Best use cases
- Concept artists: explore characters and environments quickly.
- Marketers: create campaign visuals and social imagery.
- Authors and musicians: draft cover art.
- Designers: build moodboards and style explorations.
How to get started
- Go to midjourney.com and sign in.
- Pick a plan (Standard if you’ll generate often).
- Write a descriptive prompt and add an aspect ratio.
- Vary and upscale the best result.
- Save a style with a moodboard or sref for future work.
Tips and tricks
- Describe light, lens and mood, not just the subject.
- Use —raw for more literal results.
- Use Relax mode for exploration to save Fast hours.
- Rate images to improve personalization and earn GPU time.
Example prompt:
A lighthouse on a basalt cliff at blue hour, crashing waves, long-exposure mist, muted teal and amber palette, cinematic wide shot —ar 16:9 —raw
Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Distinctive, high-quality aesthetics
- Unlimited Relax generations from Standard
- Strong style-consistency tools
- Video generation included
- Commercial use on all plans (with revenue rules)
👎 Cons
- No free plan
- Images are public unless you pay for Pro or Mega
- Less precise text and layout control than some rivals
- V8 is still alpha and lacks Relax mode
Who should (and shouldn't) use Midjourney
✅ A good fit if you…
- Want art-directed, stylized imagery
- Generate many variations (Relax mode)
- Build consistent visual styles with srefs
⛔ Look elsewhere if you…
- Need a free image generator (consider Leonardo or Ideogram)
- Need accurate text in images (consider Ideogram)
- Need brand-safe stock licensing (consider Adobe Firefly)
Midjourney alternatives
- Ideogram — AI image generator known for accurate text in images, with editing, characters, batch generation and an API. (from $15/mo billed yearly (Plus); $20 monthly)
- Leonardo.Ai — AI image and video generation platform with personal model training, Realtime Canvas and team plans, now part of Canva. (from $12/mo (Essential, monthly))
- FLUX (Black Forest Labs) — Black Forest Labs' FLUX models for image, video and audio generation via API, playground and open weights. (from From $0.008 per image (FLUX 3 Klein, 768×768); no subscription)
- Adobe Firefly — Adobe's generative AI app for images, video, audio and vectors, with partner models and commercially safe Firefly models. (from $9.99/mo (Firefly Standard))
- Magnific (formerly Freepik AI) — An all-in-one AI creative suite for images, video, audio and 3D, plus a 250M+ stock library. (from See pricing page (shown to us in CAD: CA$20/mo billed annually for Premium))
FAQ
Is Midjourney free?
No. All Midjourney plans are paid subscriptions that renew monthly or yearly. Basic starts at $10 per month.
How much does Midjourney cost?
Basic is $10/month, Standard $30, Pro $60 and Mega $120. Paying annually saves 20%: $96, $288, $576 and $1,152 per year respectively.
What is the difference between Fast and Relax mode?
Fast GPU time is a monthly allowance (from 3.3 hours on Basic to 60 hours on Mega). Relax mode queues jobs at lower priority but is unlimited for images on Standard, Pro and Mega, and for SD video on Pro and Mega.
Can I keep my images private?
Yes, with Stealth Mode, which is available only on the Pro and Mega plans.
Can I use Midjourney images commercially?
Subscribers can use images and videos in nearly any way under Midjourney's terms, but companies with more than $1,000,000 in gross annual revenue must subscribe to Pro or Mega.
What's new in Midjourney V8?
V8 entered alpha on alpha.midjourney.com in March 2026 with a native 2K --hd mode, --q 4, and backward compatibility with V7 personalization profiles, moodboards and srefs. Relax mode isn't supported for V8 yet.
Sources
This is an editorial review based on research of official Midjourney pages and documentation, not hands-on benchmark testing. Prices are in USD and were checked on October 16, 2026; vendors change plans often, so confirm on the official pricing page before buying.
