AI image generators help you create professional visuals using nothing more than text prompts. 

I started testing Midjourney and other tools as soon as they rolled out. And I’ve been experimenting with them ever since.

In this guide, I’ll share the 8 best AI image generators for every need and occasion—based on my firsthand use of each tool.

Midjourney is a powerful AI image generator for creating vibrant images with great textures, colors, and accurate depictions. 

It has one of the most consistent picture finishings, with humans and real-world objects looking more natural than elsewhere. 

Midjourney was even the first AI to (controversially) win an art competition. 

The platform lets you choose different styles, improve image quality, blend images, and adjust settings to customize your results.

But here’s the catch: Midjourney works via Discord—an instant messaging platform. And you need to specify all image requirements (like dimensions and style) directly in the prompt.

Here's what it looks like:

At the same time, you get access to a supportive community where you can learn from others and be inspired.

For example, there's an option to join voice chats to get tips and guidance from other community members.

You can also explore other creators' work and the text prompts they used to create images.

But what Midjourney does best is create hyper-realistic visuals.  It’s one of the top choices if you’re looking for professional-quality images.

For example:

Prompt:

The result:

Midjourney also works exceptionally well with advanced requests and detailed text prompts.

I compared it with DreamStudio (another popular AI image generator), and Midjourney produced a better result from the first attempt. Check it out:

The Midjourney prompt:

The DreamStudio prompt:

Style: Photographic

Size: 16:9

The Midjourney result:

The DreamStudio result:

As you can see, Midjourney produced a more highly detailed, photorealistic image than its rival.

DreamStudio’s image is distorted and looks more like an illustration than a photo.

Leonardo AI is a modern AI image generator for professional designers and marketers who want high-quality visuals.

It combines an art generator, an image editor, and even lets you create one-click AI videos from your image output.

Leonardo AI produces art in various styles, from photorealism to anime and 3D illustrations.

It also offers a range of preset filters that add an effect (read: art style) to your AI art or an uploaded image. 

Here’s an example: I created an image using the Leonardo lightning XL model, the Leonardo lightning preset, and the “lifelike vision” preset.

Here’s the prompt I used:

Then, with a single click, I was able to change the preset to Anime:

Leonardo also helps you create better images by enhancing your original prompt.

For example, here’s the original prompt I used for another image:

“A hyper-realistic image of a woman wearing a black cyber punk costume.”

And here’s the improved version:

“In a stunningly detailed cyber-punk-themed image, a woman is portrayed with flawless precision. She is clad in a sleek black costume, exuding an aura of technological sophistication. The hyper-realistic image, likely a digital painting, showcases every intricate detail of her futuristic attire, from glowing neon accents to intricate mechanical components. The image quality is exceptional, with vibrant colors and intricate textures bringing the scene to life.”

Here’s the result. It’s very impressive and could definitely compete with Midjourney.

Adobe has long incorporated AI tools into its apps.

In 2023, it introduced its first text-to-image generator: Adobe Firefly.

The AI model is trained on Adobe stock images and has impressive image creation features. 

You can generate images with unique text effects, recolor vector artwork, and integrate other AI-generated elements into your pictures.

However, the quality of images generated by the tool can vary.

That said, its integration with Adobe products elevates the experience and makes it an essential tool for digital designers.

Using the simple interface, you can set the image’s style, ratio, color, tone, lighting, and more.

Here’s the prompt I used:

And here’s the result. Not bad!

I also experimented with creating 3D illustrations. I uploaded a reference image and chose the relevant image styles.

Here’s the prompt:

Here’s the result:

ContentShake AI is an intelligent writing tool that generates ready-to-rank blog content. 

The best part?

It features an integrated AI image generator you can use without leaving the blog editor.  

Briefly describe the image you want to add, and the tool will generate it for free:

You can add them directly to your article and then publish it to WordPress.

Let’s look at an example. I used this prompt to create another image of a flying cat:

And here’s the result:

DALL-E is a pioneer among picture generators, launched by OpenAI (the team behind ChatGPT) in 2022.

But with the release of other advanced tools like Midjourney, it gradually fell behind. 

That is, until the latest version was released. 

DALL-E 3 is currently available on the ChatGPT Plus plan. 

You can also use it via Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Designer, and Bing Image Creator.

It lets you create all types of images using simple text inputs and automatically optimizes your prompts. 

For example, I created an image with a flying cat using a simple prompt via ChatGPT:

But here’s the actual prompt used by ChatGPT:

You can also easily add changes and create different iterations of your AI image using the chat interface.

For instance, I asked DALL-E to draw wings for our cat. 

It changed the original image, but the result is still close to what I was looking for.

And here’s what it looks like in Microsoft Copilot:

Let’s look at another sample image I generated with DALL-E 3.

This was the prompt:

And the result:

Overall, DALL-E 3 consistently delivers high-quality, customized images. 

However, be prepared to add changes and write more prompts, as it might sometimes hallucinate. 

DreamStudio by Stability AI uses the Stable Diffusion image generation model.

As an open-source tool, anyone with technical skills can download it and run it on their own computer. 

This also means you can train the model and fine-tune it (adjust the pre-trained model to better fit your data) for specific purposes. 

You can access the AI image generator for free via the DreamStudio web interface. Here’s what it looks like:

And here’s a sample prompt I gave it:

I also chose the “Photographic” style and the 3:2 image size.

The result was quite impressive:

You can also try the Stable Assistant, which comes at an extra cost. It has a chatbot interface that lets you create image, video, audio, and even 3D content.

I tested this prompt to create an image: 

And here’s the result:

As you can see, it turned out quite realistic.

Poe is a helpful AI created by Quora. It gives you access to various AI apps and models—including GPT, Claude, and others—for the price of one.

You can use it for text generation, editing, and all sorts of other tasks. This time, I decided to test it for image generation.

Poe lets you access DALL-E 3, Ideogram, Stable Diffusion, FLUX, Playground, and more. 

The best way to use Poe is to practice with different models to see which fits your needs. I gave this prompt:

Here’s the result I got from the FLUX-dev model:

Meanwhile, StableDiffusionXL generated this image from the same prompt:

You can enhance the images using an upscale, animate them, and compare them to other models available. 

I’d encourage everyone starting out with image generation to try out Poe to improve their prompting skills. 

Canva is an amazing tool for those with minimal design experience. 

It lets you create everything from online invitations to digital banners and brochures.

The platform’s AI technology gives layout suggestions, font pairings, and image adjustments.

And you can now generate AI images directly in Canva. 

This makes it perfect if you’re designing several assets and want to generate something quick without leaving the tool.

For example, imagine you want to promote an ice cream shop. I used this prompt to generate an image for our flyer:

The tool generated several visuals. I picked one and added text via Canva’s image editor. Here’s the result:

Finally, I’ve also created a short list of AI image generators that fit more niche image creation needs. Check it out:

The best AI image generators offer various features for creating unique art with just a couple of clicks.

They let anyone—even those without design skills—produce all sorts of images, from illustrations in different art styles to hyper-realistic photos.

Each tool brings unique strengths to the table—whether you’re looking to create complex AI art from scratch or quickly design social media graphics.

I hope my review helped you choose a tool that fits your unique needs. Here’s a quick recap:

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