Midjourney Pricing Plans Explained

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Hey there! AI image generation is an exciting new technology, and Midjourney is one of the most popular options available today. As an AI expert, I‘ve been experimenting with it myself and wanted to share everything you need to know about Midjourney‘s pricing and subscription plans. I‘ll provide plenty of details so you can decide which plan may be best for your needs. Let‘s get started!

Midjourney‘s Popularity is Exploding

Before we dive into the pricing, it‘s worth understanding why Midjourney is gaining so much attention lately.

Since launching in 2021, Midjourney has seen tremendous growth. Here are some stats that showcase its meteoric rise:

  • Over 1 million users have signed up as of August 2022 [1].
  • Monthly active users doubled between April and July 2022 [2].
  • It hit 4 million Discord users in November 2022, up from 1 million in July [3].
  • Midjourney‘s AI models have seen a 10x increase in parameters since launch [1].

This exponential growth shows that generative AI is going mainstream. People are realizing it can unlock new forms of creativity and content creation.

Midjourney makes it easy for anyone to tap into the power of AI to imagine anything and create visually stunning images. No wonder it has caught on like wildfire!

Overview of Midjourney‘s Pricing Plans

Midjourney wants to make AI accessible to everyone. So they offer a free trial and three paid subscription plans:

  • Free Trial
  • Basic
  • Standard
  • Pro

Let‘s look at what each pricing tier includes:

The Free Trial

When you first sign up for Midjourney, you get access to a free trial with the following:

  • 25 free images – Enough to test out the capabilities.
  • 0.4 fast GPU hours – Equivalent to generating about 25 images.
  • No access to unlimited Relaxed Mode. More on this later.
  • 3 concurrent jobs and 10 queued jobs allowed.
  • Usage rights under CC BY-NC 4.0. You can use for noncommercial purposes only.

The free trial lets you kick the tires and see if Midjourney is for you. But 25 images goes by quickly, so you‘ll need a paid plan for anything more.

Midjourney Basic – $10 per month

If you‘re impressed and want to use Midjourney regularly, the Basic plan gives you:

  • 200 image generations per month.
  • Around 3 hours of fast GPU time.
  • No access to unlimited Relaxed Mode.
  • 3 concurrent jobs and 10 in queue allowed.
  • Usage rights under General Commercial Terms. You can use commercially.
  • Access to the Midjourney member gallery.
  • Ability to top up extra credits.

For only $10/month, the Basic plan lets you generate up to 200 images per month. This is great for experiencing Midjourney more, but the limited images mean it may not work for power users.

Still, if you just need occasional mid-volume usage, Basic is a cost-effective starting point!

Midjourney Standard – $30 per month

This plan opens up more possibilities, with:

  • Unlimited images via Relaxed Mode! More on this later.
  • 15 fast GPU hours per month – Around 900 fast images.
  • 3 concurrent jobs and 10 queue jobs.
  • Usage rights under General Commercial Terms.
  • Access to member gallery and ability to top up credits.

The big unlock here is unlimited generation through Relaxed Mode for only $30/month. This makes Standard an ideal plan for many mid-level users.

You still get 15 fast hours to generate 900 images quickly. Plus unlimited potential through Relaxed Mode. We‘ll dig into the details later on.

Midjourney Pro – $60 per month

This is the top tier plan aimed at power users:

  • Unlimited images through Relaxed Mode.
  • 30 fast GPU hours per month – 1800 fast images.
  • 12 concurrent fast jobs, 3 relaxed jobs.
  • Usage rights under General Commercial Terms.
  • Access to member gallery and ability to top up.
  • Access to Stealth Mode to keep images private.

For $60/month, the Pro plan is for users generating very high volumes of images. With 30 fast hours and unlimited Relaxed Mode, your creative potential is endless!

The increased concurrency speeds up your workflow. And Stealth Mode lets you keep those amazing images private if you choose.

This plan is overkill for most, but the right fit for high-volume users and professionals.

Diving Deeper Into Fast vs Relaxed Modes

You may be wondering – what‘s the difference between Fast and Relaxed modes? And why does it matter?

When you generate images with Midjourney, it leverages a big network of servers with powerful GPUs. Here‘s how the two modes compare:

Fast Mode

  • Uses higher priority on GPUs to return images quickly.
  • Typically takes around 1 minute per image.
  • Plan tiers limit how many fast images you can generate per month.

Fast Mode gets you images rapidly so you can iterate quickly. But your plan limits how many fast generations you get.

Once you hit that limit, you have to upgrade your plan or switch to Relaxed Mode.

Relaxed Mode

  • Uses lower priority on GPUs, so takes more time.
  • Can take 5 minutes or longer per image.
  • Unlimited generations, but you wait in a dynamic queue.

Relaxed Mode is great because it allows unlimited generations. But you sacrifice speed and have to wait in a virtual queue.

The wait time increases dynamically based on demand. At peak times, it may take 15-30 minutes per image.

So Relaxed Mode gives you unlimited potential but requires more patience!

Only Standard and Pro plans unlock Relaxed Mode. Basic and Free plans stop at their fast image limit.

Hope this explains the difference between the modes! Understanding this is key to picking your plan.

Which Plan is Right For You?

With the pricing and modes covered, which Midjourney plan should you choose? It depends on your usage needs:

Light and occasional use – Free or Basic plan

If you just want to try out Midjourney and generate some images casually, the free trial or Basic plan are good fits.

You can wow your friends with 25 free images, or generate up to 200 images per month on Basic. The speed is fast enough for light use.

But you‘ll hit limits quickly. So keep your expectations modest.

Medium use cases – Standard plan

For users who want to take advantage of Midjourney more extensively, the Standard plan unlocks the most potential for the money.

Unlimited Relaxed Mode allows you to generate as needed. The 15 fast hours per month provide reasonable speed for prototyping and iterating.

The Standard plan works great for:

  • Artists and creatives working on projects.
  • Startups and businesses testing concepts.
  • Writers illustrating scenes or characters.
  • Medium-volume social media managers and content creators.

You get tremendous value without overspending. For $30/month, Standard satisfies many common use cases.

High-volume and professional use – Pro plan

Power users who need to generate images rapidly and in high volumes should go with the Pro plan.

30 fast hours and unlimited Relaxed Mode enable you to produce an immense amount of content.

The increased concurrency also speeds up your workflow.

Common Pro plan users:

  • Digital artists and graphic designers.
  • Game developers.
  • VR/AR creators.
  • Advertising agencies.
  • High-volume social media managers.

For professionals, the Pro plan‘s higher costs pay for themselves in productivity. It removes limits and unlocks Midjourney‘s full potential.

Think through your use cases and needs, and pick the plan that fits best! Don‘t overspend, but make sure to get enough capacity.

Managing Your Midjourney Costs

Since you pay a monthly subscription for Midjourney, it‘s worth understanding how to manage your costs. Here are tips to use it efficiently while saving money:

  • Start with the Standard plan first – It satisfies most common needs for only $30/month. Only upgrade to Pro if you consistently hit limits.
  • Use Relaxed Mode strategically – Save fast generations for your best ideas. Use Relaxed Mode for iterations or filler content.
  • Take advantage of free trials – Midjourney sometimes offers 1 or 2 week free trials for Standard/Pro plans. Use these to test if you need the higher tiers.
  • Top up with credits only when needed – Don‘t overbuy credits. Only top up near your month‘s end if you need extra fast hours.
  • Compare to bundled services – Platforms like Discord Nitro bundle Midjourney benefits. See if any services you use already include perks.
  • Use it for paid work – If using Midjourney professionally, factor the subscription cost into your project fees. It‘s a business expense that pays for itself.

With some planning, you can keep your Midjourney costs under control. And the unlock in creativity is well worth the monthly spend!

Limitations to Be Aware Of

While Midjourney is an amazing tool, it‘s good to be aware of some key limitations:

  • Requires an internet connection – Midjourney runs in the cloud. You need an active internet connection to use it.
  • Not real-time – Unlike tools like DALL-E 2, images take 1 minute at minimum. Can‘t generate instantly.
  • Limited image resolution – 1024×1024 pixels is the maximum resolution currently. Not good for very large prints.
  • Steep learning curve – Mastering prompts to get your desired output takes practice and learning.
  • Can struggle with some requests – While amazing, Midjourney can still fail on niche or highly-detailed prompts. The AI has limitations.

These aren‘t dealbreakers but important to factor if using Midjourney professionally. Be ready to work around them as needed.

How Midjourney Compares to Competition

Midjourney isn‘t the only generative AI game in town. DALL-E 2 and Stable Diffusion are leading competitors.

DALL-E 2 has a waitlist currently, but here‘s how its (expected) paid tier may compare:

  • No free plan, only paid subscriptions.
  • $15/month for 50 images, $30/month for 200 images.
  • Potentially higher image quality and resolution than Midjourney.
  • Faster generation times – can be nearly real-time.

Stable Diffusion is open source, so you can run it yourself. But it requires more technical setup vs Midjourney‘s ease of use.

Overall, Midjourney strikes a great balance of capabilities, quality, and affordability. But competition is heating up in this space!

Signing Up is Easy

If you‘re ready to dive in, signing up for Midjourney is simple:

  1. Go to their website and click "Sign in with Discord". Create a Discord account if you don‘t have one.
  2. In Discord, find the Midjourney bot and click "Manage Subscription".
  3. Select the plan you want. Provide your payment information.
  4. You‘re all set! Start creating amazing images.

The whole process takes just a few minutes. Midjourney‘s integration with Discord makes it super smooth to get started.

Putting AI Artistry in Your Hands

I hope this guide gives you a good overview of Midjourney‘s pricing tiers and helps you find the right plan for your needs. With a mix of free trial, Basic, Standard, and Pro offerings, Midjourney makes AI image generation accessible to everyone.

Standard unlocks a ton of value for only $30/month. But you can always upgrade to Pro down the line if you need more capacity and speed.

The possibilities are endless once these AI tools are in your hands. Whatever your use case is, have fun with Midjourney and let your creativity flourish!

Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy imagining!

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