January 28, 2026

AI Image Generation Pricing Compared: Why Pay Per Use Beats Subscriptions

A blunt cost comparison of Midjourney, DALL-E, Leonardo, Ideogram, and Myjourney for casual creators who only generate a few images per week.

Myjourney Team3 min read

#pricing #ai image generation #midjourney #dall-e #leonardo #ideogram #pay per use

AI Image Generation Pricing Compared: Why Pay Per Use Beats Subscriptions

If you generate a handful of images each week, subscriptions are a tax. They are great for power users who live inside the tool every day. Everyone else gets stuck paying for capacity they do not use.

Below is a straight comparison of the biggest names in 2026 and what they actually cost a casual creator who generates 5 to 10 images per week.

Quick Comparison Table

Tool	Pricing Model	Monthly Cost	Notes for Casual Users	Effective Cost at 20 to 40 images/month
Midjourney	Subscription	$30/month (Standard)	No free tier, pay even if you are idle	$0.75 to $1.50 per image
DALL-E (ChatGPT Plus)	Subscription	$20/month	Includes GPT access, image limits are opaque	$0.50 to $1.00 per image
Leonardo	Freemium	Free tier, paid from $12/month	Free tokens are limited and reset daily	$0 if you stay under limits, $0.30 to $0.60+ when paid
Ideogram	Freemium	Free tier, paid from $8 to $20/month	Free tier is fine for hobby use	$0 if free, $0.20 to $1.00+ when paid
Myjourney	Pay per use	From about $0.03 per image	Only pay for what you generate	$0.60 to $2.00 total

Numbers are approximate because some services hide usage limits. For casual users, the pattern is obvious: subscriptions cost 10 to 30x more than pay per use if you generate a few images per week.

The Cost Math for 5 to 10 Images Per Week

Let’s do simple math for 20 to 40 images per month.

Midjourney at $30/month: $30 / 20 = $1.50 per image, $30 / 40 = $0.75 per image
ChatGPT Plus at $20/month: $20 / 20 = $1.00 per image, $20 / 40 = $0.50 per image
Myjourney at $0.03 per image: 20 images = $0.60, 40 images = $1.20

Even if you assume $0.05 per image, you are still under $2.00 for the month. The difference is not subtle.

When Subscriptions Actually Make Sense

Subscriptions win when you generate hundreds of images per month or you need unlimited experimentation. If you are a professional illustrator, a daily content creator, or you run a team that needs unlimited volume, the flat fee can be convenient.

But most people do not create like that. They have a job, a side project, and a handful of use cases. For them, the math favors pay per use every time.

What About Freemium Tools

Freemium looks cheap on paper, but it is unreliable for real work:

Free tiers often throttle speed or quality
Tokens reset daily, which kills larger batch projects
Commercial usage is sometimes restricted

If you only need a few images here and there, free tiers are fine. The moment you need predictable output, you end up on a paid plan anyway.

Why Myjourney Wins for Casual Creators

Myjourney is designed around real usage patterns. You generate when you need to, and you stop paying when you do not. There is no cancellation dance, no unused seats, no hidden limits.

Try it on a real project and you will feel the difference:

Explore inspiration on /explore
See exact pricing on /pricing
Compare with our deep dive on Myjourney vs Midjourney

The Bottom Line

If you are generating 5 to 10 images a week, subscription pricing is a bad deal. Pay per use is the honest model for casual creators, and it is why more people are switching in 2026.

If you want a clean test, run the same prompt in your current tool and in Myjourney, then compare the actual cost. The numbers tend to speak for themselves.