Original data, free to cite
AI Image Generator Pricing Index: what 6 tools cost in 2026
The cheapest paid plan of 5 AI image generators, plus one free model, copied from each vendor’s own pricing page. Allowances are quoted in each vendor’s own unit. No quotes, no estimates, no reseller pages.
Every price checked on November 2, 2026. Download the CSV.
Key findings
- The cheapest paid plan of the 5 subscription tools here runs from $8 a month (ChatGPT Go) to $20 (Ideogram Plus), billed month to month.
- Paying yearly cuts Midjourney Basic by 20% ($8 a month) and Ideogram Plus by 25% ($15 a month).
- Each vendor meters use in its own unit: generative credits (Adobe Firefly), Fast GPU hours (Midjourney), fast tokens (Leonardo.Ai), priority credits (Ideogram), so the allowances cannot be compared one to one.
- 4 of the 5 subscription tools also offer a free way to generate (ChatGPT, Adobe Firefly, Leonardo.Ai, Ideogram), and Stability AI's Stable Diffusion models are free to self-host for organizations under $1M in annual revenue.
- Commercial terms change at $1M in annual revenue: Midjourney then requires its Pro or Mega plan, and Stability AI requires an enterprise license.
Cheapest paid plan, by monthly price
List prices before tax, promotions or add-on credits. “Billed yearly” is the per-month price when you pay for a year up front.
| Tool and plan | Month to month | Billed yearly | Monthly allowance | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPTGo | $8 | Not listed | "More image creation" than Free; OpenAI publishes no number | Free plan includes limited image creation |
| Adobe FireflyStandard | $9.99 | Not listed | 2,000 generative credits a month | Free daily generations without a plan |
| MidjourneyBasic | $10 | $8 | 3.3 Fast GPU hours a month (200 minutes) | None listed; every plan is a subscription |
| Leonardo.AiEssential | $12 | $12 | 8,500 fast tokens a month | Free plan with 150 fast tokens a day |
| IdeogramPlus | $20 | $15 | 2,400 priority credits a month, plus unlimited slow credits | Free: 30 credits a week with a Google, Apple or Microsoft sign-in (Ideogram plan docs); pay as you go at 1 cent a credit |
| Stability AIStable Diffusion core models | $0 | Not applicable | Self-hosted; limited by your own hardware | Free under $1M annual revenue |
Higher plans, and where each price came from
ChatGPT Go: $8 a month
Higher plans: Plus $20 a month for more complex image creation; Pro from $100 with unlimited image creation.
Source: chatgpt.com/pricing, checked 2026-11-02.
Adobe Firefly Standard: $9.99 a month
Higher plans: Pro $19.99 (4,000 credits), Pro Plus $49.99 (10,000), Premium $199.99 (50,000).
Source: www.adobe.com/products/firefly/plans.html, checked 2026-11-02.
Midjourney Basic: $10 a month
Higher plans: Standard $30 (15 Fast hours, unlimited Relax images), Pro $60, Mega $120. Companies above $1M gross revenue a year need Pro or Mega.
Source: docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/27870484040333-Comparing-Midjourney-Plans, checked 2026-11-02.
Leonardo.Ai Essential: $12 a month
Higher plans: Premium $30 (25,000 tokens), Ultimate $60 (60,000); yearly billing shows $29 and $58.
Source: leonardo.ai/pricing, checked 2026-11-02.
Ideogram Plus: $20 a month
Higher plans: Pro $60 ($42 billed yearly) with 7,500 priority credits.
Source: ideogram.ai/pricing, checked 2026-11-02.
Stability AI Stable Diffusion core models: free to self-host
Free to download and self-host under the Community License for organizations with less than $1M in annual revenue; above that, an enterprise license is required. You run it on your own hardware.
Source: stability.ai/license, checked 2026-11-02.
Method
- Each tool’s cheapest paid plan for individuals that can generate images, at its regular US price. Higher plans are listed for context.
- Figures are read on the vendor’s own pricing page in a web browser, never taken from a quote or a third party.
- Allowances stay in the vendor’s own unit. Credits per image change with the model and quality setting, so we do not convert them to a cost per image.
- We re-check every price on the vendor’s site before we change it, and the date on each row moves with it.
- Some vendors here may pay us a commission through links elsewhere on this site. That never changes these figures, which are each vendor’s own published prices. How we make money.
How to cite this index
The data is free to use under CC BY 4.0: republish it, chart it or quote it, with a credit and a link back.
AI Stack Kit, "AI Image Generator Pricing Index," checked November 2, 2026, https://www.stackaikit.com/data/ai-image-generator-pricing-index
Spot a price that has changed? Tell us with the vendor page and we will re-check it.
AI image generator pricing FAQ
How much does an AI image generator cost?
The cheapest paid plan of the 5 subscription tools in this index costs $8 to $20 a month at list price, checked on November 2, 2026. Stable Diffusion's core models are free to self-host for organizations under $1M in annual revenue.
Why is there no cost per image?
Each vendor meters use differently, in GPU hours, tokens or credits, and the credits one image uses change with the model and quality setting. A single cost-per-image figure would be false precision, so the table quotes each allowance in the vendor's own words.
Where do these prices come from?
Every figure was read on the vendor's own pricing page, linked in the table, or in the vendor's own plan documentation where the table says so, on the date shown. We do not use reseller pages, quotes or third-party price lists.
Can I use this data?
Yes. The data is free to use and republish under CC BY 4.0 with a credit and a link to this page. Download the CSV at https://www.stackaikit.com/data/ai-image-generator-pricing-index.csv.