Verdict
Midjourney still makes some of the best-looking stylised art, and CNET calls it the most creative option it tested. It costs at least $10 a month with no free tier, images are public unless on the $60 plan, and it does not follow detailed prompts as closely as ChatGPT or Gemini. Disney, Universal and Warner Bros are suing it over images of their characters.
Privacy note. Images public by default, privacy only on $60+ plans, perpetual licence to user content, no training opt-out (Midjourney ToS May 2026); three studio lawsuits and the Andersen artists' case unresolved
Best for
Hobbyists who want artistic, stylised pictures and will pay
Skip if
Wanting free images, private work on a budget, or posters with exact text
Key facts
- Category
- Images, art & design
- Made by
- Midjourney, Inc.
- Based in
- United States
- Launched
- 2022
- Works on
- Web
- In the UK
- Yes
- Price from
- $10 a month
- Free plan
- none (no free trial on the website; a limited trial exists only in the separate niji·journey anime app)
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $10 | month |
| Basic (annual) | $96 | year |
| Standard | $30 | month |
| Standard (annual) | $288 | year |
| Pro | $60 | month |
| Pro (annual) | $576 | year |
| Mega | $120 | month |
| Mega (annual) | $1152 | year |
What it does
- generates images from text prompts on the web or in Discord
- turns an image into a 5-second video
- edits images with inpainting, outpainting, pan and zoom out
- learns a personal style from liked images (Personalization) and moodboards
- copies the style of reference images
- keeps images private with Stealth Mode on Pro and Mega plans
Ratings
What people say
individual reviewers still praise its look and style tools (moodboards, style references) but several say ChatGPT and Gemini now follow prompts better and are cancelling or downgrading. Trustpilot is poor (1.7 from 373, 76% one-star), driven by billing and ban complaints, which matches some user posts.
“For me, Midjourney still has two clear advantages: the artistic aesthetic and --sref. It can still produce very beautiful, stylish images with less effort. But when it comes to actually following a prompt, Midjourney is still weak.”
Individual user review, 30 May 2026 · source
“If you want inspiration and get awesome results when everything goes right, yes. This would happen 1 of 10 times approx.”
Individual user review, 30 May 2026 · source
“The artists I follow lean heavily into Midjourney. Moodboards are really powerful.”
Individual user review, 30 May 2026 · source
“Came back to Midjourney after a while, bought Standard, got banned a few hours later. … generating SFW anime characters for some personal cover art”
Individual user review, 17 August 2026 · source
“I love Midjourney 8.1 so much”
Post on X, 15 April 2026 · source
Press reviews
- CNET 2026-07-17
6.5/10. 'Midjourney is the most creative option', good for brainstorming, but not for stock-photo realism; images are public unless in stealth mode.
- Zapier 2026-08-03
Picked for artistic results; other apps have surpassed it on prompt adherence, but it still makes some of the most visually appealing images.
- PCMag 2026-06-24
Left off its best list because it performs well but 'not consistently at the level of top models' and suits artistic over realistic work.
Privacy
- Trains on your data
- yes; prompts, uploads and outputs are used to maintain and improve the service and its models, and the policy covers data 'collected through the process of training Midjourney machine learning algorithms'
- Opt-out
- no training opt-out stated; Stealth mode (Pro $60 and Mega $120 only) stops images being published to the public gallery
- Retention
- kept 'only for as long as is necessary'; no fixed period; account and data deletion via midjourney.com/account; users grant a perpetual, irrevocable licence to inputs and outputs
- Incidents
- Disney and Universal sued in June 2025 and Warner Bros Discovery in Sep 2025 over images of their characters (cases consolidated Nov 2025, in discovery May 2026; Midjourney argues fair use). Midjourney is also a defendant in the artists' class action Andersen v. Stability AI over training on scraped art; summary judgment hearing set for 17 Feb 2027. No data breaches found in searches of news and Hacker News.
- Age limit
- 13+ (parent or guardian must agree for teens); no age verification described
Official videos
- Midjourney's New Edit Model 2026-09-24
- Start Here: Making your First Image 2025-09-25
FAQ
Is Midjourney free?
No. There is no free trial on the website. The cheapest plan is $10 a month, or $8 a month billed yearly.
Is there a Midjourney app?
Not for Midjourney itself. It runs in a web browser (including on phones) and on Discord. The niji·journey app is an anime-style spin-off, and other 'Midjourney' apps in the stores are unofficial clones.
Are my Midjourney images private?
No, by default every image appears in a public gallery others can see and remix. Stealth mode keeps them private but only comes with the $60 Pro or $120 Mega plans.
Can Midjourney images be used commercially?
Paying subscribers own their images under Midjourney's terms, but companies earning over $1 million a year must be on Pro or Mega. Studios are suing Midjourney over copyrighted characters, so copying famous characters carries risk.
Midjourney vs ChatGPT for images?
Reviewers and individual reviewers say Midjourney makes more artistic, stylish pictures, while ChatGPT follows detailed instructions and text more reliably and has a free tier.
Scores are based on published evidence, not lab tests. How we score.
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