Best AI Image Generators (2025)

Most AI image generators allow commercial use of generated images, but with varying terms and conditions. Tools like Midjourney, DALL-E, and Leonardo.ai offer commercial licensing for paid users. However, it's important to review each platform's specific terms, as some may have restrictions on certain industries or require attribution. Additionally, be cautious about generating images of recognizable people, brands, or copyrighted characters, as these may still create legal issues regardless of the tool's general licensing terms.

As of 2025, Midjourney v6 and DALL-E 3 generally produce the most photorealistic images. Midjourney excels at creating beautiful, artistic photorealism with impressive lighting and detail, while DALL-E 3 often produces more accurate representations of specific concepts or scenes described in prompts. For specialized photorealism, tools like Leonardo.ai with its Photoreal model or Stable Diffusion with the right custom models (like SDXL or Realistic Vision) can also achieve excellent results. The definition of "realistic" can vary depending on your specific needs—whether you prioritize physical accuracy, lighting quality, or compositional realism.

Several AI image generators offer free tiers or options, but with limitations:

• Stable Diffusion is free if you self-host it (requires technical knowledge and suitable hardware)
• DALL-E 3 is available through the free tier of ChatGPT with limited daily generations
• Leonardo.ai offers a free tier with 150 generations per month
• Bing Image Creator (powered by DALL-E) is free with a Microsoft account
• Many tools offer free trials with limited images or features

For professional or high-volume use, paid subscriptions typically range from $10-30 per month and provide higher quality outputs, more generations, faster processing, and commercial usage rights.

Creating effective prompts is key to getting the best results from AI image generators:

• Be specific and detailed about what you want to see, including subject, setting, lighting, style, and perspective
• Use artistic references such as "in the style of [artist]" or "like [art movement]"
• Include technical parameters like "high resolution," "detailed," "photorealistic," or "cinematic lighting"
• Specify what you don't want using negative prompts (especially important in Midjourney and Stable Diffusion)
• Experiment with prompt structure - different tools respond better to different prompt formats

Each platform has its own "prompt language" that works best. For example, Midjourney responds well to simple, descriptive phrases, while DALL-E 3 handles more natural language and complex instructions. Most tools offer prompt guides to help you learn their specific preferences.

Custom models and LoRAs (Low-Rank Adaptations) are ways to fine-tune AI image generators for specific styles, subjects, or concepts:

• Custom models are full fine-tuned versions of base models like Stable Diffusion that are trained on specific datasets to excel at particular styles or content types
• LoRAs are smaller, more efficient fine-tuning addons that can be applied to base models to teach them specific concepts, characters, or styles

Platforms like Leonardo.ai and Stable Diffusion allow users to create custom LoRAs by uploading 10-20 reference images of a specific subject or style. These tools are particularly valuable for ensuring consistency across multiple generations or for creating images in highly specific styles that the base models might not handle well.