Midjourney vs Stable Diffusion | Which AI Tool Is the Best?
Today, we discuss some of the most powerful AI tools, Midjourney vs Stable Diffusion, uncovering the underlying layers of these and addressing some of the most asked questions.
With the AI hype created in the past years, it is no wonder that most of us could be a bit confused, excited, and cautious about the future of artificial intelligence. As such, we wonder, in the digital realm, what the best AI image generators are, how to choose them, what the benefits are, and how to use them.
Today, we discuss some of the most powerful AI tools, Midjourney vs Stable Diffusion, uncovering the underlying layers of these and addressing some of the most asked questions.
So, if you’re looking for the right tool to get you started and help you generate high-resolution images, please feel free to read further. Also, have fun with these AI art generators and create beautifully crafted images that will steal the hearts of many AI enthusiasts.
What Are AI Image Generators and How Do They Work?
Simply put, AI image generators are software programs that use Artificial Intelligence to produce high-quality images from text prompts. They aren’t just tools used for generating ideas; they are disruptors of the digital art industry that offer a chance for everyone to be part of this bright, vibrant, and rich landscape.
Until now, there are two types of tools in the AI image generator market: text-to-image generators, which take a text description as input and generate an image that matches the description, and image-to-image generators, which take an existing image as input and generate a new image that is similar to the input image.
But how do they work, you may wonder. Well, there are many techniques and types of such tools, the most well-known being:
- Generative adversarial networks (GANs);
- Diffusion models;
- Transformer models;
But could you allow us the time to explain this in more depth to understand the Midjourney vs. Stable Diffusion better?
GANs integrate two competing networks: the generator, which creates realistic images, and the discriminator, which learns to distinguish the generator’s fake data from accurate data.
Midjourney is a generative adversarial network (GAN) that uses proprietary machine learning and generative models.
As you can see in the picture below, as the training progresses, the discriminator has difficulty differentiating the generated data from the fake one.
On the other hand, diffusion models are a neural network that generates new data based on their training data to match the text prompts.
From this category, stable diffusion takes part, as the name says. This AI image generator has been built on top of the latent diffusion model and U-Net architecture, and it can convert the training data into a continuous representation of the image that captures its essence while reducing its dimensionality.
Last, transformer models learn the context of words and track the relationship from the sequential data or the words from that sentence.
Now that we’ve learned more about the different types of AI art generators, by default, Midjourney vs Stable Diffusion, it is time to learn more about each other. As such, we’ll delve into the specifics and see why these two AI tools are considered some of the best AI image generators.
What is Midjourney?
Launched in July 2022, the open beta Midjourney became one of the best AI art generators on the market, and in 2023, it opened its waitlist for the large public. As a result, this AI tool has a user base of over 16.45 million users.
Moreover, this engine for the imagination is a closed-source model that uses a magic mix of diffusion models and large language models (LLMs) to generate images creatively. Given that it has been trained on a large dataset, including text and images, this model manages to go into greater control and detail to generate high-resolution and realistic-looking images.
What is Stable Diffusion?
Considered among the best AI image generators on the market, Stable Diffusion focuses on quickly creating photorealistic images based on its image synthesis model and diffusion process that outperforms other GAN-based image generation models.
Launched in August 2022, this open-source code model was built using a latent diffusion model (LDM) that adds Gaussian noise to the training data set to disrupt them. It then reverses the process, sharpening the image and reducing artifacts.
As a result, this diffusion process generates high-quality images and unique visuals based on the text prompt. It is considered one of the most customizable AI image generators that offers greater control.
Midjourney vs Stable Diffusion: What’s the Difference?
Midjourney
Accessibility: Through a Discord account.
Speed: Fast mode available.
Customization: Filter style, zoom, and orientation options are available. Also, you can generate high-quality images or edit existing images.
Ease of use: The process can be complex, yet it is much easier than installing Stable Diffusion into your computer.
Negative prompt: Yes.
License: Restrictive.
Stable Diffusion
Accessibility: Direct access through web, Android, and IOS apps.
Speed: Slower.
Customization: Filter styles available.
Ease of use: The tool can be used either in a web form or implemented with other AI frameworks and tools, making the process more complex.
Negative prompt: Yes.
License: Permissive.
Midjourney vs Stable Diffusion Strengths & Weaknesses
Given that we have two powerful AI image generator tools, it’s time to explore their strengths and weaknesses in greater detail, leaving you to make an informed decision regarding the Midjourney vs Stable Diffusion longstanding battle.
Midjourney Features at a Glance
- Progressive refinement, meaning that Midjourney image quality improves as the model progresses.
- Flexibility in generating different art styles, especially when it offers excellent levels of control over the attributes, like colors, textures, object placement, aspect ratio, and more.
- Interactive control allows users to manipulate the final output quality throughout the image generation process by providing different inputs, thus influencing other parameters.
- The active community also plays a vital role in the greater adoption of such a powerful tool.
- Midjourney offers a fast mode. Therefore, it can speed up the process of generating images.
- With Midjourney, you can upload your own images and produce images based on the original image.
Midjourney Limitations
- First, Midjourney has a closed-source code, meaning that the code is not publicly available. This comes with good and bad – when there’s an open-source medium, there is the risk of vulnerabilities being exploited, unlike a closed-source code that is less flexible. Thus, users cannot tailor the software to their specific needs.
- Another downside of Midjourney is that it is only available through the Discord server.
- Not to mention that Midjourney doesn’t have a free version; instead, there is a paid subscription with prices from $10 per month to $120 monthly for the Mega Plan.
Stable Diffusion: Features at a Glance
- Unlike other AI image generators with strict censorship policies, there are no text prompt restrictions. It allows its users to create images based on various text prompts, descriptions, and ideas.
- With Stable Diffusion, you can benefit from a photo restoration of an original image or enjoy the many editing features, like color saturation, brightness adjustments, and other enhancement controls.
- This AI image generator is open source, meaning that it allows users to customize the software based on their needs.
- Moreover, Stable Diffusion is free and offers better accessibility since it can be accessed through different compatible AI frameworks and has API integration.
Stable Diffusion Limitations
- The first important aspect is that by simply searching Stable Diffusion within the search engines, you are prompted with multiple results based on the name, yet it is hard to identify the official app. Maybe this is part of their strategy since their code can be used and integrated into other applications.
- Moreover, Stable Diffusion can be used either in a browser or by downloading and installing the software into your computer. Yet, it could require technical expertise, high computational power, and a powerful graphic card to sustain the image generation process and ensure you generate high-quality images.
- If it were to draw a line, we could say that running Stable Diffusion requires expertise and technical knowledge.
Midjourney vs Stable Diffusion Use Cases
When it comes to use cases, both Midjourney and Stable Diffusion offer a great sense of use cases, from content marketing visuals to product design deliverables, from virtual environments to computer graphics and animation, concept art, and more.
For example, you can use Midjourney for content creation, like advertising campaigns and digital media. Also, on the product design side, Midjourney can create photorealistic images that help designers and stakeholders visualize the whole product before production starts.
The AI-generated images can be applied to various mediums, like creating immersive landscapes for gaming, VR, and AR applications.
On the other hand, Stable Diffusion is a helpful tool that can conceptualize complex ideas and turn them into stunning generated images. Also, on the output images side, Stable Diffusion gives you image editing features that could help any digital creator, designer, and AI enthusiast.
So, since both AI generation tools are powerful and can create variations, they can generate artwork from one image; we cannot say which offers higher-quality images.
It all comes down to your preferences, specific applications, and mediums, as the image generation process is subjective and depends on the individual’s perception of art.
How Do You Access Stable Diffusion and Midjourney?
As said, both AI art generators have the same complexity level. For example, you can use Midjourney directly on Discord, as there, you can access different channels for technical and billing support, official announcements, offering feedback, and discussions.
On the other hand, to run Stable Diffusion, you can use the HuggingFace diffusers library, try DreamStudio, or download the official Stable Diffusion code. Also, to analyze the code and learn more about the repositories, check their library documentation.
Midjourney vs Stable Diffusion Pricing Options
When it comes to pricing an AI image generation tool, there is a difference between these two powerful image generation tools, especially since Scalability.AI’s Stable Diffusion is on a credit-based pricing plan, and Midjourney has a paid subscription-based type.
Midjourney Pricing Plans
Basic Plan – $10/month
- Limited generations (~200 / month);
- General commercial terms;
- Access to member gallery;
- Optional credit top-ups;
- Three concurrent fast jobs;
Standard Plan – $30/month
- 15h Fast generations;
- Unlimited Relaxed generations;
- General commercial terms;
- Access to member gallery;
- Optional credit top-ups;
- Three concurrent fast jobs;
Pro Plan – $60/month
- 30h Fast generations;
- Unlimited Relaxed generations;
- General commercial terms;
- Access to member gallery;
- Optional credit top-ups;
- Stealth image generation;
- 12 concurrent fast jobs;
Mega Plan – $120/month
- 60h Fast generations;
- Unlimited Relaxed generations;
- General commercial terms;
- Access to member gallery;
- Optional credit top-ups;
- Stealth image generation;
- 12 concurrent fast jobs;
Stable Diffusion Pricing Plans
However, since Scalabilty.AI made its code available for anyone, it also offers a paid deployed version, and some apps that integrate the AI model are paid.
Yet, the official website advises that credits are priced at $10 per 1,000, but it all depends on the chosen model.
Which is better, Stable Diffusion vs Midjourney?
Now that we’ve reached the end of our article, it’s time to conclude the clash of the titans: Stable Diffusion vs Midjourney. As such, we can acknowledge that these tools offer a new and improved way to enjoy the images, designs, and illustrations compared to most of the AI image generators on the market.
However, it all depends on your preferences and usage, yet most users advise us that they are equally good. Some find that Midjourney has a more user-friendly interface, but as you play with them, you’ll learn which tool is right for you.
FAQ to Get You Started
Do I own images made with Stable Diffusion and Midjourney?
The ownership issues are up for debate since both Stable Diffusion and Midjourney are trained on datasets of images that are either public domain or licensed under a Creative Commons license. So, even though the photos are not copyrighted, the AI models are. Check each platform’s terms and conditions before commercializing the generated images.
What’s Better, Stable Diffusion vs Midjourney?
We can say that both AI tools are powerful and offer a new way for artists, designers, marketers, and AI enthusiasts to unleash their creativity. As such, this is a subjective choice and heavily depends on each interpretation of art.
Is Midjourney the Best AI Art Generator?
Midjourney is a comprehensive tool that offers many beneficial features for various applications and use cases, such as product design, illustrations, character design, and more.
