I want to sign up for Midjourney, but I can’t find clear info about their subscription costs or any hidden fees. If someone knows the latest pricing or if their plans have changed recently, I’d appreciate any help. Trying to figure out if it fits my budget before committing.
Yup, I just signed up last week so here’s the run-down: Midjourney’s basic plan is $10/mo and gets you about 3.3 hours of “fast” GPU time. If you want more, there’s the Standard plan at $30/mo (15 hours fast time + unlimited relaxed mode—which is slower and gets stuck in a queue more if demand is high). Pro is $60/mo, 30 fast hours, and stealth mode if you want to keep your images secret. Annoyingly, you can’t just pay-as-you-go for a single image, gotta sub monthly. No hidden fees that I’ve seen unless you count overage charges if you actually burn through your fast GPU hours, but they’re literally like “do you want to buy more fast hours?” at $4 an hour. They raised their prices a couple months ago and there’s no lifetime license or discounts for annual, either. It’s all on Discord so you gotta be cool with that, too.
If you’re not churning out artwork like an AI Picasso, basic’s probably enough, but if you really get into it, those hours melt away. Absolutely no trial beyond about 25 free images on a “trial” (resets sometimes if you wait, but not reliable), so for real use, gotta pay up. They take credit card or PayPal. And their subscription auto-renews unless you cancel. No refunds, either (found out the hard way…).
Also, there’s no advanced commercial-use license unless you’re a corporate giant, so check their TOS. Bottom line: nothing super sneaky, just pay for GPU access. Feels a little pricey but also way cheaper than most other text-to-image stuff, IMO. Hope that helps!
You’re not alone, it’s weirdly hard to track down clear pricing on Midjourney until you’re in the signup flow. I mean, like @waldgeist outlined, it’s $10 for the basic, $30 standard, $60 pro—straightforward once you find it—but the way it’s hidden behind the Discord interface is kinda a pain. Not to play devil’s advocate, but I wouldn’t say there aren’t any sneaky bits. Example: you pay out the first fee, but unless you’re watching hour usage like a hawk, you can blast through those “fast hours” real quick, especially with upscales or running multiple jobs, and then get nudged into buying extra time. It’s not a scam, just not suuper up-front in your face about how fast you can burn through those. All the “relaxed” mode is fine… but if you’re impatient (like me), it’s slow as molasses and getting slower lately with more users around.
Also, no annual discounts rubs me the wrong way. Most SaaS gives at least something for commitment, right? And, ngl, the Discord-only setup drives me nuts. I get it’s their thing, but I’d pay extra for a normal web UI. As for “hidden fees,” nah, nothing besides the extra GPU hour charges, but if you’re thinking of using this for anything commercially important (you know, big projects, not meme images), seriously comb through their TOS because there’s some odd restrictions for biz vs. personal use. Customer support’s just okay, and don’t expect refunds if you hate it, which honestly does feel a little rough for new users poking around.
Oh, and the 25 free images don’t always “reset” like some folks claim, so I wouldn’t count on that for extended trials. PayPal payments are handy, though.
So yeah, I’d say the costs are mostly up-front, but you can overspend easily if you get excited. It’s not the “wild west” of hidden fees, just more like a Vegas buffet where you’re surprised how fast the bill racks up. And honestly, the subscription model with auto-renew is something to watch for if you don’t use it for a month—easy to forget about till the charge hits. If I missed anything, feel free to poke holes—that’s just been my (sometimes hangry) experience.
Alright, let’s break it down, since the Midjourney pricing maze is legendary—seriously, you basically have to summon an oracle (or comb through Discord threads) to dig up the details. The consensus from earlier posts is solid: you’re looking at $10/month for Basic (about 3.3 “fast” GPU hours), $30/mo for Standard (15 “fast” hours plus unlimited but slow “relaxed” mode), and $60 for Pro (30 “fast” hours, private output, and higher priorities). It’s dead simple in tiers, but less so in how fast those hours vaporize, especially if you’re upscaling or batch prompting.
Thing is, nobody loves the auto-renew and lack of refunds—which feels harsh, especially in a creative tool. Overages are at $4/hour if you plow through your fast time, which is kinda steep compared to similar AI art generators, but also, you aren’t locked in for a year or forced to invest in overly expensive pro tools if you’re just dabbling.
Pros of using Midjourney: absolutely top-tier output (seriously, some of the best images in the game), flexible enough for hobbyists and small creators, and simple to join if you can tolerate Discord. Plus, PayPal is a nice bonus payment-wise.
Cons: Discord-only interface is a dealbreaker for some, hour-based system is easy to misjudge until you develop a sense for how much art you’re making, and the business/commercial use terms are kind of weird, so read the fine print. Oh, and no annual discount, which feels stingy for loyal users.
If you’re peeking at alternatives, some people look at Stable Diffusion tools or DALL·E, but those either need more setup or don’t always have the same wow factor for out-of-the-box results. It’s honestly annoying that price transparency is still so bad among these next-gen AI art platforms—including the ones mentioned earlier.
My tip: treat Midjourney like you would a gym membership—you’ll only get your money’s worth if you use it consistently. If your artkick is sporadic, maybe try your 25ish free prompts, see if you get the itch, and only then grab a sub. Just calendar that renewal date—you’ll thank yourself later.