The best AI art generators of 2024

AI image generators have been causing quite a stir for nearly two years. If you’ve been on social media, watched prime-time news, or flipped through a magazine, you’ve likely encountered AI-generated images—they’re ubiquitous. The reason is clear: the tools needed to create them have improved significantly and are now accessible to the public. If you want to join the excitement or incorporate AI-powered features into your business workflows, the apps on this list will provide what you need. In this article, we will explore some of the best AI art generators available. We’ll discuss their features, benefits, and drawbacks to help you determine which one suits your needs.

Whether you’re a creative professional seeking a new tool to enhance your work or a hobbyist looking to experiment with AI art, we’ll guide you in finding the best AI art generator for you.

The Best AI Image Generators

• DALL·E 3: Ideal for an easy-to-use AI image generator.
• Midjourney: Delivers the best AI image results.
• Stable Diffusion: Perfect for customization and control of your AI images.
• Adobe Firefly: Great for integrating AI-generated images into photos.
• Generative AI by Getty: Provides usable, commercially safe images.

How Do Best AI Art Generators Function?

AI image generators transform text prompts into matching images, opening up endless creative possibilities. Your prompts can range from “a surrealist painting of a robot playing chess with a giant octopus” to “a watercolor of a medieval castle floating in the sky above a bustling city” or “a photograph of a giraffe wearing sunglasses at the beach.”

Indeed, the primary constraints are your creativity, the AI image generator’s capacity to interpret your prompt, and the content filters designed to prevent plagiarism, copyright violations, and the proliferation of AI-generated violence or other inappropriate material on the internet.

Most AI image generators operate in a similar fashion. They are trained on millions or billions of image-text pairs, using a neural network—a sophisticated computer algorithm inspired by the human brain. By processing an immense number of images, the AI learns to recognize various objects, colors, and styles, such as cats, the color blue, or Picassos. This extensive training enables the AI to interpret a wide range of prompts. However, there is an art to crafting prompts in a way that ensures the AI produces accurate and desired results.

The next step is to actually render the AI-generated image. The latest generation of AI image generators do this using a process called diffusion. Essentially, they start with a random field of noise and then refine it in a series of steps to match their interpretation of the prompt. It’s akin to gazing at a cloudy sky, spotting a cloud that vaguely resembles a dragon, and then being able to snap your fingers to gradually transform it into a more and more dragon-like shape.

Before we proceed: It is important to set realistic expectations. While these text-to-image generators are highly impressive, they may not completely eliminate the need for traditional product photoshoots. They are beneficial for creating unique or unconventional images. However, for highly specific requirements, hiring a professional photographer or licensing the exact image remains advisable. Additionally, creating a blog post header image with these generators might be more time-consuming than sourcing one from a stock photo site. While the result may not be as customized, it will likely be free of anomalies such as incorrect finger counts.

Features of best AI Art Generators

The best AI image generator typically excels in several key areas:

1. Accuracy: It accurately interprets text prompts and generates corresponding images that closely match the intended concepts.
2. Versatility: It can handle a wide range of prompts, from simple to complex, and produce high-quality images across various styles and subjects.
3. Customization: It offers options for customization, allowing users to adjust parameters or styles to tailor the output to their preferences.
4. Efficiency: It generates images quickly and efficiently, minimizing waiting times for users.
5. Accessibility: It is user-friendly and accessible to a wide range of users, including artists, designers, and hobbyists.
6. Integration: It seamlessly integrates with other platforms or tools, enabling users to incorporate AI-generated images into their workflows or projects.
7. Consistency: It consistently delivers high-quality results, ensuring reliability and trustworthiness for users.

Overall, the best AI image generator combines advanced technology with user-friendly features to provide an exceptional image generation experience.

The surge in popularity of AI image generators over the past two years can be attributed to significant advancements in technology. Prior to this period, the output of these generators was generally subpar. While the underlying technology was fascinating to research scientists, the generated images often fell short of expectations. Even the initial version of DALL·E, upon its launch in 2021, was perceived more as a novelty than a groundbreaking innovation.

Due to their recent emergence and substantial computing resource requirements, the selection of reliable AI image generators is limited. Predominantly, three major players dominate the field: DALL·E 3, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, alongside models from industry giants such as Google, Meta, Adobe, and NVIDIA. This selection was made based on strict criteria.

The focus was on platforms enabling AI image generation from textual prompts, as opposed to those relying on user-uploaded photos to generate AI-based portraits. While tools like NightCafe facilitate the use of models like Stable Diffusion, DALL·E 3 API, and others, they were excluded from this list as they did not meet the specified criteria.

Additional factors considered included user-friendliness, customization features, pricing structures, and most importantly, the quality of results. With a decade-long background in photography and art, and extensive experience with text-to-image generators since the inception of DALL·E, a comprehensive understanding of these tools’ functionalities, strengths, and weaknesses was leveraged.

It’s important to acknowledge that all mentioned tools are currently in beta, a status likely to persist for some time. Despite the continuous advancements, AI image generators still face challenges in consistently producing high-quality results and integrating seamlessly into commercial workflows. Unfortunately, these tools no longer offer free trials, reflecting the significant computational demands associated with AI image generation.

Use AI Art Generators at work

Here are some practical applications of AI image generation in professional settings:

1. Crafting captivating hero images for blog posts.
2. Designing engaging social media posts.
3. Generating visually appealing slide decks and storyboards.
4. Personalizing images for customer communications and interactions.

Quick overview of the best AI Art generators

The most user-friendly AI Art generator – DALLE·3

The leading AI image generator renowned for its user-friendly interface is DALL·E 3. This platform stands out for its simplicity and accessibility, making it an ideal choice for users seeking convenience and efficiency in generating AI-powered images.

DALL·E 3 pros

DALL·E 3 has several advantages:

• Remarkably user-friendly interface
• Included with ChatGPT Plus subscription, providing significant value

DALL·E 3 cons

However, there are some drawbacks to consider:

• Inconsistencies with ChatGPT controls may occur
• Monthly cost of $20 might be considered high for those not interested in ChatGPT

DALL·E 3 stands out as one of the leading AI image generators in the industry. Its predecessor, DALL·E 2, marked a significant milestone as the first widely accessible AI-powered image generator capable of producing captivating and diverse images.

The introduction of DALL·E 3 represents a notable enhancement. With each prompt, it consistently delivers more intriguing and realistic results. This advancement has propelled OpenAI back into the forefront of the AI image generation landscape.

One of DALL·E 3’s most compelling features is its intuitive usability. Users simply articulate their desired image to ChatGPT or Microsoft Bing, and within moments, they receive several AI-generated options to choose from. Leveraging the language comprehension capabilities of GPT-4, each output is distinct, ensuring a diverse range of results for every prompt.

While OpenAI no longer provides a free trial for DALL·E 3, Microsoft offers access through Copilot. Although Copilot may appear slightly less user-friendly compared to ChatGPT, its affordability is a significant advantage.

The optimal method of utilizing DALL·E 3 is through ChatGPT. Subscribers to ChatGPT Plus enjoy unlimited access, albeit subject to GPT-4’s message limit of 40 every three hours.

DALL·E 3 offers two primary methods for image editing: users can prompt ChatGPT to incorporate changes, or utilize a selection tool to modify specific image components. While the former often yields impressive results, there are instances where it may deviate from user expectations, resembling an enthusiastic yet inexperienced intern.

In addition to the ChatGPT interface and DALL·E 2 web app, OpenAI provides an API for developers seeking to integrate DALL·E capabilities into their applications.

Regarding pricing, DALL·E 3 is accessible as part of the ChatGPT Plus subscription for $20 per month. Alternatively, it can be accessed for free through Microsoft Copilot. DALL·E 2 operates on a credit-based system, priced at $15 for 115 image credits. API pricing varies, starting from $0.016 per image.

The best AI Art generators with the best results – Midjourney

Midjourney’s Advantages

• Consistently delivers superior AI-generated images in terms of aesthetics.
• The community serves as an excellent source of inspiration.

Midjourney’s Disadvantages

• Limited to Discord usage, which may seem unconventional.
• Generated images are public by default.
• Free trials are presently suspended.

Midjourney consistently produces superior outcomes compared to other AI image generators listed here. Its generated images exhibit enhanced coherence, texture, and color fidelity, making them visually captivating and intriguing. Notably, depictions of people and real-world objects appear more lifelike and natural, showcasing advancements in realism. Midjourney even tackles intricate details like hands with notable accuracy, a commendable feat underscored by its recent accolade as the first AI image generator to win an art competition.

Currently, Midjourney’s primary drawback is its reliance on Discord for access. Upon joining the Midjourney Discord server or adding the Midjourney bot to a designated server, users can submit prompts using the “/imagine” command. The bot subsequently generates four variations of the prompt, available for download, upscaling, and further editing. Fortunately, a forthcoming web app is in alpha testing, promising broader accessibility. Although Discord support will persist, some idiosyncrasies may endure.

A notable feature of Midjourney is its communal aspect, whereby all generated images are publicly visible within the Discord community and on user profiles. While fostering community engagement, this transparency may deter those seeking privacy for business-oriented usage.

Navigating Midjourney’s functionalities may seem daunting initially, but comprehensive help documentation simplifies the process. Users can explore advanced features like different model versions, image upscaling, blending, and parameter customization. Once acclimated, the potential for remarkable outcomes becomes evident.

Although free trials are currently unavailable due to overwhelming demand, periodic reinstatements offer opportunities for exploration. Subsequently, the Basic Plan, starting at $10/month, provides approximately 200 images monthly, along with commercial usage rights and the option to purchase additional GPU time.

Midjourney Pricing: Basic Plan begins at $10/month, offering around 200 images/month and commercial usage rights.

Best AI Art generators for customization and control – Stable Diffusion

Stable Diffusion advantages

• DreamStudio (Stable Diffusion’s web app) is the only major AI picture generator that still provides free credits.
• The app is highly affordable and customizable, offering powerful features with generally excellent results.

Stable Diffusion drawbacks

• It has a steeper learning curve compared to some other AI art generators.
• The editing tools in DreamStudio may not be as intuitive as desired.

Unlike DALL·E and Midjourney, Stable Diffusion is open source, allowing individuals with the necessary technical expertise to download and run it locally on their computers. This flexibility enables users to train and fine-tune the model for specific purposes. Many services that utilize AI for generating artistic portraits, historical portraits, architectural renders, and more rely on Stable Diffusion in this manner. Additionally, Stable Diffusion offers an API and a service called Clipdrop, which provides a suite of tools based on its capabilities.

The public app DreamStudio, developed by Stability AI, provides extensive control over various aspects of the image generation process. Users can adjust parameters such as the final image size, fidelity to the input prompt, number of diffusion steps, and quantity of generated images. Furthermore, users can select the algorithm version and even specify a seed for reproducible results. DreamStudio also features inpainting and outpainting functionalities.

DreamStudio operates on a credit system, with users receiving 25 free credits upon registration. These credits allow for approximately 30 prompts or 120 images under default settings. However, more resource-intensive tasks, such as utilizing a more advanced model or generating larger images, may deplete credits at a faster rate. Additional credits can be purchased starting at $10 for 1,000 credits.

In summary, DreamStudio and Stable Diffusion offer unparalleled customization and control over AI image generation, empowering users to delve as deeply into AI as desired, even enabling the development of custom AI services. Users who exhaust their free trial may also explore Stable Diffusion models through Clipdrop, albeit with watermarked results and reduced control.

DreamStudio pricing: Free for 25 credits, with additional credits available from $10 onwards for 1,000 credits.

Best AI Art generators for seamless integration of AI-generated images into photographs – Adobe Firefly

Adobe has integrated AI functionalities into its suite of applications for over 15 years, making it unsurprising that it offers one of the most robust text-to-image generators, particularly in terms of its integration capabilities with other tools. Firefly, its AI model, can be tested for free on the web or through Adobe Express, but it truly shines when used within the latest version of Photoshop.

Firefly boasts several features beyond traditional text-to-image generation. Alongside its ability to generate images from detailed text descriptions, it can also create text effects based on written prompts, recolor vector artwork, and incorporate AI-generated elements into existing images. While all these features are available in the web app, it’s Firefly’s integration with Photoshop that sets it apart.

When evaluating Firefly solely as a text-to-image generator, its results can vary. While it can surpass DALL·E or Stable Diffusion for certain prompts, its performance can be inconsistent for others. However, its integration with Photoshop elevates its utility to another level.

One standout feature is Generative Fill, which allows users to select an area within an image using Photoshop’s regular tools and seamlessly replace it with another element simply by typing a prompt and clicking a button. Notably, Generative Fill intelligently understands the context of the image, ensuring cohesive results.

While DALL·E and Stable Diffusion have sparked discussions surrounding image-generating AI, Adobe’s Firefly represents the first implementation of an AI photo generator that offers a glimpse into the future. It’s not merely a novelty but a practical tool accessible to the millions of professionals who rely on Adobe applications daily.

Regarding pricing, Firefly offers a free trial with 25 credits and subscription plans starting from $4.99 per month for 100 credits. Photoshop can be accessed from $19.99 per month as part of the Creative Cloud Photography Plan, which includes 500 generative credits.

The best AI Art generator for commercially viable and copyright-safe – Getty Images

Getty’s Generative AI offers several advantages, including its capability to generate stock-like photos effectively and its indemnification against legal claims arising from image use.

On the downside, it may lack the creative appeal and overall quality of competitors like Midjourney, DALL·E 3, or Stable Diffusion.

Despite the controversy surrounding AI image generators, Getty’s platform provides a solution for businesses concerned about legal implications.

Generative AI by Getty, accessible through iStock, demonstrates proficiency, especially in generating stock-like photos. However, it may struggle with more creative prompts due to its training data, primarily sourced from Getty’s stock image catalog. While this approach ensures compliance with intellectual property laws, it may limit flexibility and creativity.

Generative AI’s pricing starts at $14.99 for 100 AI generations through iStock.

The legal and ethical ramifications associated with AI-generated images

The proliferation of AI-generated images prompts critical inquiries into their appropriate usage and ethical considerations.

Despite their ubiquity, the legal landscape surrounding AI-generated images remains murky. The U.S. Copyright Office’s stance on the copyright protection of such content, coupled with the absence of regulations safeguarding artists whose creations serve as training data, underscores this ambiguity. For instance, while Firefly’s training was conducted exclusively on licensed and public domain material, the legality of scraping for AI training remains contentious, as evidenced by ongoing lawsuits involving Stability AI, Getty Images, and individual artists.

Engaging with AI-generated images for occasional social media posts or blog visuals may not pose immediate legal risks. However, relying on AI-generated art as a central component of one’s creative strategy carries inherent uncertainties due to the absence of clear legal guidelines.

Furthermore, the issue of bias in AI-generated content demands scrutiny. Presently, AI models inherit human biases, potentially perpetuating stereotypes and harmful content. While some platforms actively address bias by incorporating diversity into their image outputs, the responsibility ultimately falls on human users to mitigate bias through conscientious review and refined prompts.