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The best AI art generators use advanced machine learning models to convert text prompts into digital art, letting users of all skill levels explore their imagination without the traditional artistic background. These AI tools democratize art creation, making it accessible to a broader audience. What is the best AI art generator in 2024? To find out, we evaluated the most popular tools to see how they compare on output quality, accuracy, user protection, and ease of use. Here are our picks:
- Canva: Best Overall
- Jasper Art: Best for Marketing Image Generation
- DALL-E 3: Best for Realistic Images
- Prodia: Best for Building Content Libraries
- starryai: Best for Artistic Style Diversity
- Midjourney: Best for Imaginative Artwork
- Leap AI: Best for Personal Design Projects
Best AI Art Generators Comparison
This comparison table shows a quick overview of the best AI art generators, their output image quality, accuracy, artistic style diversity, availability of free versions, and pricing details.
| AI Art Generator | Image Quality | Accuracy | Diverse Artistic Styles | Free version | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canva | High | Excellent | Yes | Yes | $15 per user, per month |
| Jasper Art | High | Great | Yes | No | $69 per seat, per month |
| DALL-E 3 | High | Great | Yes | Yes | $0.04 per image |
| Prodia | Good | Fair | Limited | Yes | $0.0025 per image |
| starryai | High | Great | Yes | Yes | $4.99 for 200 image generations |
| Midjourney | High | Excellent | Yes | No | $10 per user, per month |
| Leap AI | High | Great | Yes | Yes, with restrictions | $14 for 500 image generations |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Canva
Best Overall
Overall Rating: 4.8/5
- Core Features: 4.4/5
- Cost: 5/5
- User Protection and Content Moderation: 5/5
- Ease of Use: 5/5
- Customer Support: 4.7/5
Canva is a popular online design platform enhanced by its built-in AI art generation feature, known as Magic Media. By inputting text or image prompts, you can produce novel images in the platform for a wide range of use cases, from social media content and marketing materials to educational resources. With Magic Media, you can also experiment with different image styles, color schemes, and backgrounds to upgrade your design. Canva offers a rich library of templates and creative elements that you can combine with the AI-generated images for further improvement.
A key aspect that sets Canva apart from other AI art generators is Canva Shield, a comprehensive set of robust trust, safety, and privacy tools for enterprise users. This includes an indemnification policy that protects eligible users against legal claims related to generative AI content. As a result, businesses can trust the platform’s artificial intelligence (AI) features without the fear of intellectual property issues.
However, Canva offers limited image customization options compared to competitors. If you’re looking for an AI art generator with extensive customization, consider Midjourney.
Product Design and AI-Generated Output
Canva has a user-friendly interface with clearly-labeled options to help you fine-tune your design. It lets you resize, share, or download your image in different formats without navigating to another page, increasing operational efficiency. Image generation in Canva is also straightforward—simply type in your detailed text prompt or upload an image prompt, select the style and image orientation, and wait for the system to complete the process.
Canva’s outputs are high-quality, realistic, and vibrant. It generated four images to choose from, with some of them having minor detail inaccuracies.
Product Development
Canva is amplifying its AI art generation capabilities by joining forces with Leonardo.Ai. This development shows the company’s dedication to expanding its existing suite of creative tools and providing users with innovative features.
Why We Picked Canva
Canva tops our list of the best AI art generators because of its high-quality outputs, style diversity, ease of use, and reliable user protection policies. It allows individuals, with or without artistic background, to create professional-looking designs. In addition, its user protection policies—particularly Canva Shield—gives it an edge over competitors by securing design creations, making it a trustworthy choice.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| User-friendly | Usage limits, even in paid plans |
| Robust user protection | Occasional output inaccuracies |
| Design templates and creative elements | Limited customizability compared to competitors |
Pricing
- Free version: 50 images lifetime
- Pro: $15 per user, per month
- Team: $10 per user, per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Learn more on Canva’s pricing page.
Features
- High-resolution images
- Indemnification
- Built-in image editor
- Text-to-video generator
Jasper Art
Best for Marketing Image Generation
Overall Rating: 3.3/5
- Core Features: 3.8/5
- Cost: 2.3/5
- User Protection and Content Moderation: 2.5/5
- Ease of Use: 5/5
- Customer Support: 3.8/5
Jasper Art is an AI art generator ideal for marketing businesses and professionals, thanks to its integration with the Jasper AI platform. This tool can produce captivating images based on textual and visual input, eliminating the hassle of searching through stock photos or paying for design services.
The platform lets you create custom images based on your input or use one of its predesigned templates to save time and effort. It generates royalty-free images that are free to use, distribute, and save, making them suitable for various marketing applications, such as video thumbnails, website images, and ads.
On the downside, Jasper Art does not have a free version and has a short free trial duration. Select starryai if you want an AI art generator with a free version.
Product Design and AI-Generated Output
Jasper Art has a simple interface that lets you type in your text prompt and upload a reference image. It also has dropdown menus so you can select the image’s mood, medium, and style, increasing ease of use. This AI art generator created four highly-detailed, colorful images based on my prompt. While these outputs look good, it took a few tries for the tool to get the details right.
Product Development
Jasper Art has introduced Flash Diffusion this year, which drastically accelerates AI image generation without the high computational costs. This makes high-quality image creation more accessible and cost-effective for Jasper Art users.
Why We Picked Jasper Art
We picked Jasper Art because of its user-friendly interface and versatile features. The tool is easy to use for beginners and experts alike. It also lets you select from different moods, styles, and mediums to further enhance your images.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Ready-to-use templates | No free version |
| Fast image generation | Short free trial duration |
| High-quality images | Occasional output inaccuracies |
Pricing
Jasper Art is a feature included in the following plans:
- Pro: $69 per seat, per month
- Business: Custom pricing
Learn more on Jasper’s pricing page.
Features
- High-resolution images
- Diverse styles
- Unlimited generations
- AI chat
DALL-E 3
Best for Realistic Images
Overall Rating: 4.6/5
- Core Features: 4.2/5
- Cost: 5/5
- User Protection and Content Moderation: 5/5
- Ease of Use: 3.8/5
- Customer Support: 5/5
DALL-E 3 is the latest text-to-image AI art generator from OpenAI. It lets users create highly-detailed and visually-striking images for numerous applications and can produce visual outputs for concept art, social media illustrations, and custom graphics. Unlike traditional text-to-image systems that may overlook specific prompt details, DALL-E 3 has an advanced grasp of context, generating images that reflect your ideas with high accuracy. Its seamless integration with ChatGPT improves this capability, allowing you to refine your prompts and adjust images in real-time.
In addition, OpenAI prioritizes ethical AI and includes robust safety measures to restrict the generation of violent, adult, or hateful content. It also has mitigations to prevent generating images of public figures by name and allows artists to opt their images out from being used in the training of future models.
Despite these capabilities, DALL-E 3 has limitations, including lack of batch processing features and a built-in selection of styles. You can only generate one image at a time and must specify your desired style directly in your text prompt to achieve the intended output. If you prefer an AI art generator that offers pre-made artistic style options and batch processing, consider Jasper Art.
Product Design and AI-Generated Output
DALL-E 3, accessible via ChatGPT, has a minimalistic interface that focuses on simplicity. Its main feature is a text box where you can type your prompt and upload images or files. It also allows you to continue your previous conversations with the AI as it lists your past exchanges on the left-hand side of the page. The tool generated one, photorealistic image according to the text prompt and made some modifications on its own to refine the output.
Product Development
OpenAI recently made DALL-E 3 available to all ChatGPT free users, allowing anyone to generate two images a day. This reflects the company’s commitment to inclusivity and democratizing AI access.
Why We Picked DALL-E 3
DALL-E 3 is a strong contender for the best AI art generators because of its rich capabilities, consistent lifelike outputs, and OpenAI’s emphasis on responsible AI use. Its integration with ChatGPT also streamlines the image creation process for beginners, allowing them to make detailed and polished visuals through conversational prompts.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Interprets complex prompts with nuance | Desired styles should be included in text prompt |
| Creators can opt their images from training future models | No batch processing |
| ChatGPT integration | Limited customization options compared to competitors |
Pricing
- Free Version: Included in ChatGPT, two images per day
- Standard Quality: 1024×1024 resolution, $0.04 per image; 1024×1792 and 1792×1024 resolutions, $0.08 per image
- HD Quality: 1024×1024 resolution, $0.08 per image; 1024×1792 and 1792×1024 resolutions, $0.12 per image
Learn more on OpenAI’s pricing page.
Features
- Complex prompt interpretation
- ChatGPT integration
- Inpainting and outpainting
- Creative control
Prodia
Best for Building Content Libraries
Overall Rating: 3.4/5
- Core Features: 2.8/5
- Cost: 5/5
- User Protection and Content Moderation: 2.5/5
- Ease of Use: 3.8/5
- Customer Support: 2.5/5
Prodia is an AI art generation platform that can produce visually impactful images rapidly, making it suitable for building extensive content libraries. Its remarkable speed enhances productivity and supports the quick development of large collections of AI-generated visuals.
The platform’s scalable infrastructure, which includes over 10,000 GPUs, ensures that it can handle high-demand requests without compromising performance. Additionally, it offers a selection of AI models that lets you generate images in a specific artistic style. This is advantageous for maintaining a consistent and cohesive brand identity across your content library.
That said, using Prodia calls for some familiarity with the various AI models. It also has higher inaccuracies compared to others in interpreting and following text prompts. For an accurate and user-friendly AI art generator, consider DALL-E 3.
Product Design and AI-Generated Output
Prodia’s has a modern and uncluttered layout, with just a few but important image customization options. While the interface is easy to navigate, it can still be challenging to work with as it requires selecting an AI model and understanding each model’s style to generate the intended image output.
The AI art generator created one stunning image, but with some inaccuracies. Images created with Prodia are not as detailed as the outputs from competitors.
Product Development
In July 2024, Prodia raised $15 million in a seed round led by Dragonfly Capital to expand its distributed network. This will enhance the company’s AI inference solutions, making them more scalable and affordable while supporting generative video and large language models (LLMs). This enables Prodia to deliver higher AI performance at lower costs.
Why We Picked Prodia
We recommend Prodia because its speed and scalability promotes efficient image generation, even without high-powered and expensive infrastructure. This allows small organizations and casual users to integrate high-quality AI-generated art into their projects.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Rapid image production | Inaccuracies in generated output |
| Multiple AI models | Requires familiarity with different AI models |
| Image templates | Inconsistent output quality |
Pricing
- Free version: Included in Playground, unlimited generations, no batch processing
- SD 1.5 Models: Start at $0.0025 per image
- SDXL Models: Start at $0.002 per image
- SD3 Models: Start at $0.01 per image
Learn more on Prodia’s pricing page.
Features
- Fast image generation
- Generative image API
- Different image styles
- Multiple generative AI models
starryai
Best for Artistic Style Diversity
Overall Rating: 4.4/5
- Core Features: 4/5
- Cost: 5/5
- User Protection and Content Moderation: 5/5
- Ease of Use: 3.8/5
- Customer Support: 3.8/5
starryai is an AI art generator that converts simple text prompts into highly-customizable visual artworks. You can explore a multitude of styles, including anime, pixel art, photorealistic, and abstract, allowing for significant creative expression for different user needs. It also lets you adjust image parameters to tailor the generated images to fit your specific vision.
Aside from its Text to Art feature, the platform supports blending AI-generated images with your own digital creations through its Image Fusion capability. This integration with user-provided content is another functionality that distinguishes starryai from other AI art generators. It gives you greater control and customization over the final output.
Like other AI tools, starryai has some drawbacks. This includes its slow image generation process and a less intuitive interface compared to its competitors. Canva is an excellent alternative, as it produces images faster and has a user-centric design.
Product Design and AI-Generated Output
At first glance, starryai has a clean and simple interface with important design-related settings, such as Style Selection, Canvas Size, and Image Quality. However, some features are hidden behind additional clicks, potentially making it challenging to immediately access the full scope of what the platform offers.
starryai generated four compelling, detailed images by default, effectively following complex prompts. It also allows you to modify the generated image–you can enhance it, make variations of it, or remove its background.
Product Development
starryai recently bolstered its censorship features on its Google Play Store mobile app to comply with the new guidelines from Google. This showcases the company’s commitment to ethical AI art generation, increasing user safety and maintaining regulatory compliance despite possible limitations on artistic freedom.
Why We Picked starryai
starryai is one of the best AI art generators today because it can craft vibrant, customizable artworks in multiple varieties. It also delivers advanced features like Image Fusion, even to free users. Additionally, the tool offers generous free usage of 25 images per day, supporting creating exploration.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Highly-customizable | Interface less intuitive than competitors |
| Image Fusion | Slow image generation |
| Wide range of artistic styles | Potential limit on artistic freedom |
Pricing
- Free version: 25 images per day
- Starter: $4.99 per week for 200 image generations
- Unlimited Pro: $11.99 per week for 1,000 image generations
- Unlimited Pro Max: $19.99 per week for 3,000 image generations
Learn more on the starryai pricing page.
Features
- Image enhancement
- Magic Fusion
- Background removal
- Image upscaler
Midjourney
Best for Imaginative Artwork
Overall Rating: 4.1/5
- Core Features: 4.5/5
- Cost: 2.8/5
- User Protection and Content Moderation: 5/5
- Ease of Use: 3.8/5
- Customer Support: 5/5
Midjourney is a prominent AI art generator renowned for creating high-quality, imaginative, and visually-striking artworks even without meticulous or detailed text prompts. It generates several variations of an image per prompt, letting you explore different interpretations of the outputs. One of its best features is the Blend command, which enables you to upload multiple images and merge them into a single, novel creation.
It also has advanced rendering techniques, allowing you to make images with rich textures and intricate details. Operating primarily on Discord, Midjourney has a vibrant community with more than 20 million members. These dedicated users engage with others and share feedback on generated images, refining the overall creative experience.
Midjourney has some limitations you should consider. Its extensive array of features and customization options can be overwhelming, particularly to those new to AI art generation. In addition, its image generation process tends to be slower compared to some competitors. DALL-E 3 is a great alternative if speed and simplicity is your top priority.
Product Design and AI-Generated Output
Midjourney has a modern interface with icons on the left-hand side for easy access and a text box where you can type in the prompt. It also has customization settings that let you adjust the AI-generated images, like image variations, upscaling, and reusing of style, prompt, or image. Even though these numerous options can benefit advanced users, they may be daunting for less experienced individuals.
The platform produced four imaginative outputs which are reflective of the given prompt. You can reuse the generated content to design another image, make variations of them, and adjust the style and creativity level.
Product Development
Midjourney expanded beyond its original Discord-only platform and launched a web-based interface to provide users with a more intuitive experience. This includes 25 free AI image generations so users can try the tool without immediate financial commitment. This transition extends Midjourney’s reach and increases user engagement.
Why We Picked Midjourney
Midjourney is one of our top picks because of its ability to produce intricate images that often exceed expectations. It is also worth noting that this AI art generator is one of the few tools that accurately interpreted the given prompt on the first try despite its complexity.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Highly-detailed and accurate outputs | Comprehensive features can be overwhelming |
| Fosters collaboration | Free trial includes only 25 images |
| Stealth mode keeps generated images private on the Midjourney website | Image generation process takes longer than competitors |
Pricing
- Basic: $10 per user, per month
- Standard: $30 per user, per month
- Pro: $60 per user, per month
- Mega: $120 per user, per month
Features
- Image prompts
- Image blending
- Midjourney Bot
- Shared spaces to collaborate with others
Leap AI
Best for Personal Design Projects
Overall Rating: 3.8/5
- Core Features: 3.5/5
- Cost: 3.3/5
- User Protection and Content Moderation: 5/5
- Ease of Use: 5/5
- Customer Support: 1.3/5
Leap AI has a built-in AI art generator tool that specializes in creating captivating visuals for personal projects. It can quickly produce images from keywords and offers different styles, including abstract, sketch, and realistic. This lets you craft customized content that matches your project theme and personal taste in seconds.
With Leap AI, you can refine your prompt and generate multiple variations of an image. The platform also has sample prompts you can tweak to match the result you want to get. This flexibility enables you to test various representations of your ideas. Leap AI’s outputs are clear and professional-grade, making them suitable for print, digital use, or personal collections.
On the flip side, Leap AI’s outputs generated with the free version come with watermarks, which can only be removed upon purchasing a subscription plan. This AI art generator also occasionally struggles with interpreting complex prompts. Use starryai to generate accurate images that are completely free to use.
Product Design and AI-Generated Output
Leap AI boasts a minimalistic and streamlined interface that lets you input your text prompt and select your desired image orientation. You can also decide whether you want to prioritize speed or quality. Choosing speed will give you four images rapidly, but with lower accuracy and basic design details. On the other hand, the Quality option generates just one image, but with higher accuracy and intricate details. Leap AI’s prompt examples also come in handy for users who are not adept at composing detailed prompts.
The AI-generated image is realistic, vibrant, and well-composed. However, there are some noticeable errors in the output, like the details on the flip-flops. Also, the watermarks can be distracting and affect the image’s overall aesthetic appeal.
Product Development
In February 2024, Leap AI launched a fast face generation feature that lets you make realistic facial images ideal for gaming, virtual reality, and personalized content. This capability provides creators with affordable, on-demand facial image generation without a large investment.
Why We Picked Leap AI
We recommend Leap AI because of its exceptional ease of use and visually-appealing outputs produced rapidly. Thanks to its simple interface and sample prompts, both hobbyists and professionals can effortlessly create images without expert knowledge. Powered by advanced models, this AI art generator can quickly produce photorealistic images to artistic illustrations.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| User-friendly | Removal of watermarks on free AI-generated images requires purchase |
| Fast image generation | Occasionally struggles with interpreting complex prompts |
| Highly-detailed images | Limited customization options |
Pricing
- Starter: $7 the first month, then $14 per month for 500 image generations
- Pro: $49 per month for 2,000 image generations
- Scale: $249 per month for 12,500 image generations
Learn more on Leap AI’s pricing page.
Features
- Fast face generation
- AI image templates
- Sample prompts
- Image orientation
6 Key Features of AI Art Generators
Six key features define the effectiveness of AI art generators. These include high-quality image generation, style diversity, prompt alignment, rapid production, customization tools, and output consistency. Each of these features contributes to the usefulness of the AI tool, empowering artists and designers to create professional-grade visuals.
High-Quality Image Generation
The ability to produce stunning, high-resolution images is a fundamental feature of AI art generators. High-quality output is necessary for professional use, where clarity and precision are important. The better the image quality, the more versatile the generator becomes for different applications, from digital art to printed materials.
Style Diversity
Style diversity allows the AI to mimic various artistic styles, such as Impressionism and Surrealism. This capability lets you create works of art that adhere to particular themes or aesthetic traditions, offering flexibility and creative freedom.
Prompt Alignment
This feature refers to how accurately the AI art generator translates your input into visual outputs. The best AI art generators allow you to convey your creative vision more precisely, reducing the need for extensive edits and ensuring the final result matches what you had envisioned initially.
Rapid Production
Rapid production is important for creating visuals quickly, whether to meet tight deadlines or generating large volumes of images. This feature boosts efficiency by letting you experiment with different ideas and craft multiple outputs in a short amount of time. It’s especially beneficial when working on projects that require a high volume of consistent images, enabling you to maintain productivity without sacrificing quality.
Customization Tools
With built-in customization tools, you can adjust several aspects of the AI-generated images, such as orientation, texture, and composition. This functionality is imperative for personalizing outputs and making sure that the final images meet the specific design requirements.
Output Consistency
This feature ensures that the AI art generator produces reliable and predictable results across multiple uses. Consistency is of utmost importance in preserving the quality and coherence of a series of images, especially in professional settings where uniformity is often required.
How We Evaluated AI Art Generators
To determine the best AI art generators and ensure a fair assessment, we evaluated each tool across five key criteria: core features, cost, user protection and content moderation, ease of use, and customer support. We systematically scored each tool in these categories based on specific performance metrics and then aggregated these scores to establish final rankings.
Core Features | 30 Percent
To accurately measure the scores for this criteria, we considered each tool’s high-quality image generation capacity, speed, accuracy, style diversity, and consistency. We also factored in customization features, batch processing capability, multiple output format availability, and tool accessibility. All these features directly influence the creative possibilities and output quality, making them the backbone of any AI art generator.
Criteria Winner: Midjourney
Cost | 25 Percent
We considered several factors for this category, including the availability of a free tier, the duration of any free trials, and the transparency of pricing models. Additionally, we evaluated the free usage limits and whether the generated outputs can be used without restrictions, such as hidden fees or watermarks. Knowing these details is important so you can make informed decisions and make sure you get fair access to the AI art generator’s features without encountering unexpected costs or limitations.
Criteria Winners: Canva, DALL-E 3, Prodia, and starryai
User Protection and Content Moderation | 20 Percent
To calculate the scores for User Protection and Content Moderation, we checked for any intellectual property protection or clear ownership information for each of the AI art generators. We also researched moderation features to prevent misuse, such as generating harmful or inappropriate content. These aspects are necessary as they protect you from potential risks and help maintain a responsible and secure environment for creative AI exploration.
Criteria Winners: Canva, DALL-E 3, starryai, and Midjourney
Ease of Use | 15 Percent
For Ease of Use, we gauged how simple it is to set up the tool, whether installation is required, and how easy it is to navigate. This entailed analyzing if the tool is ready to use immediately without installation, available as both an online and installable tool with a simple process, or only available with a more complex set up. We also considered how user-friendly and intuitive the interface is, especially for those with no prior experience. This is another key category because it affects how quickly you can use the tool without being hindered by complicated installation processes or a steep learning curve.
Criteria Winners: Jasper Art, Canva, and Leap AI
Customer Support | 10 Percent
For this category, we considered the availability of live chat options for both free and paid users, the support available through email or ticket systems, the presence of an active community for assistance, and the quality of knowledge bases or documentation. Effective support channels, active user communities, and robust documentation provide timely help and problem resolution, enabling you to maximize the tool’s potential.
Criteria Winners: DALL-E 3 and Midjourney
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Best AI Art Generator?
The best AI art generator will greatly depend on your specific use case. But based on our rigorous research, Canva is the best AI image generator today. It consistently produces vivid and striking images with high accuracy and has reliable user protection policies. It also offers a free version, making art creation accessible to everyone.
Can you Sell AI-Generated Art?
In most cases, yes, you can sell AI-generated art and images. However, it is important to check the copyright ownership and terms of use of the specific AI platform used to create the artwork to manage expectations and mitigate legal risks.
Are AI Art Generators Illegal?
AI art generators themselves are not illegal, but their use may violate copyright laws if the generated images infringe on existing copyrights. While the tools are legal, the lawfulness of art produced is still evolving, with ongoing lawsuits addressing these concerns.
Bottom Line: The Best AI Art Generators can Elevate Your Creativity
The best AI art generators introduce a practical way to craft high-quality visuals quickly and efficiently. These tools can elevate your creativity and by bringing inspiration and promoting experimentation with different styles and concepts. Whether you’re a professional artist or someone just exploring creative interests, they can help streamline your artistic process.
Understanding the variety of options available can be overwhelming, which is why we built this guide to help you find the best AI art generators for your needs. It provides the key details of what to look for in an AI art generator, helping you understand the major features, pricing structure, and common pros and cons of these AI tools. In choosing an AI art generator, check its core features like accuracy, style options, and image quality, and make sure that your selected tool upholds copyright laws.
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