Over the past year, AI image generation tools like Midjourney, DALL-E 2, and Stable Diffusion have exploded in popularity. These tools allow anyone to generate stunning AI art by simply typing a text prompt. However, many of the best services like Midjourney require a paid subscription.

In this article, we will look at some of the best free alternatives to tools like Midjourney for AI image generation.

What is Midjourney and Why is it Popular?

Midjourney is one of the leading AI art generation platforms right now. It uses a technique called diffusion models to generate images from text descriptions. Some key reasons why Midjourney has become so popular:

• High quality outputs – The images generated by Midjourney are very impressive, almost indistinguishable from actual human-made art. The results look professional.
• Easy to use – You don’t need any technical skills. Just type in a text prompt and Midjourney creates magic. This makes it accessible to everyone.
• Great community – Midjourney has cultivated an engaged community of users who share their creations and help each other. This helps new users get started.
• Paid subscription – While Midjourney requires a paid Discord subscription for full access, even the free trial allowance is generous enough to create lots of stunning images.

Limitations of Midjourney and AI Art Tools

However, there are some limitations with Midjourney and similar AI art tools:

• Paid access – Midjourney requires a paid Discord subscription of $10-$30 per month for full functionality. The free tier has limited generations.
• Legal concerns – There are open questions around copyright and ownership of AI generated images. The legality is still being worked out.
• Imperfect outputs – While the quality is impressive, the outputs are not always perfect. Problematic outputs can happen.
• Lack of context – Being AI systems, they lack human context, emotions, and depth at this stage. The outputs are driven solely by the prompt.

This is where free alternatives can provide value.

Best Free Alternatives to Midjourney

Here are some of the best free AI art generation tools that can serve as alternatives to Midjourney:

1. Nightcafe Creator

Nightcafe Creator is one of the easiest free AI art tools currently available. Like Midjourney, it uses text prompts to generate images. Some key features:

• Intuitive web interface – No installation needed, runs in the browser
• Multiple styles – Options like Neural Style Transfer, Deep Dream, and AI Neural Net
• Free credits – You get some free credits to generate images as a new user
• Paid credits – Additional credits can be purchased if needed for few dollars

The quality is quite impressive given it is free. It may take some trial and error to get the prompts right. But overall Nightcafe is a great starting point for new AI art enthusiasts.

2. StarryAI

StarryAI is another free web-based AI art generator. Some highlights:

• Web-based tool – No installation needed, easy to use
• Quantity over quality – The outputs aren’t as good as Midjourney, but you can create a high volume of images
• Fun community – StarryAI has cultivated an active community of amateur AI artists
• Free and paid tiers – You get some free generations per day, can pay for more

StarryAI is better for having fun and experimenting versus high quality outputs. But the free access makes it worthwhile for learning and getting creative.

3. ASCII2img

ASCII2img takes a novel approach – it generates images from text ASCII art. Instead of words, you use ASCII characters to describe the image. For example:

 ,@@@@@@,,@@@@@@,@@@,,,,@@@@@@,@@@@@@,
  @@@@@@,,@@@@@@,,@@@*,,@@@@@@,,@@@@@@
   @@@@@@,,@@@@@,,@@@@@,,@@@@@@,,@@@@
    @@@@@,,@@@@@,,@@@@@@,,@@@@,,@@@@
     @@@@,,@@@@@,,@@@@@@,,@@@@,,@@@@     

This outputs a cat image! Some key aspects:

• Unique method – Using ASCII characters opens creative doors
• High quality – The outputs are quite detailed and polished
• Free access – Generating images is completely free without any limits
• Community – There is an active forums community on the site

The learning curve is higher due to the ASCII input method. But if you get the hang of it, ASCII2img offers free AI image generation.

How Do These Free Services Compare to Midjourney?

The free alternatives provide value, but there are some limitations compared to Midjourney:

• Output quality – Midjourney’s results are superior in terms of details, clarity, and polish. The free options work well but lack the precision.
• Prompt ease – Midjourney can generate accurate images from very simple text prompts. The free services require fine tuning prompts more.
• Customization – Midjourney allows guiding the image generation in stages. The free services offer single shot image generation.
• Community – Midjourney has built an active community and following. The free alternatives have much smaller communities currently.

However, for a casual user or someone new to AI art, the free services are excellent for getting started. Their accessibility and free generations make the limitations worthwhile.

Are There Any Other Free AI Image Generation Options?

Here are a couple other emerging tools to keep an eye on:

• Dall-E Mini – A limited free version of OpenAI’s Dall-E 2 model. Lower quality than Midjourney but free.
• Lensa AI – A mobile app that recently went viral for its AI avatars. Offers some free credits for other AI art generation.
• Lexica – A new start-up offering free AI art generation via their waitlist. Currently in beta testing.
• NeuralBlender – An open source project building a Midjourney alternative. Accessible to more advanced users.

This is still an early and rapidly evolving space. New players will likely continue emerging in the free and open AI art category.

Conclusion

Midjourney has captivated many creatives with its ability to generate stunning AI images from text prompts. However, the paid subscription makes it inaccessible to some. The good news is there are quality free alternatives to get started with AI art generation using similar techniques.

Services like Nightcafe, StarryAI, and ASCII2img allow free image generation to spark your creativity. While the outputs may not be as polished as Midjourney, they provide a great entry point to explore AI-generated art without cost.

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