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Key Takeaways.
• Midjourney now runs primarily through its web app at midjourney.com, with Discord as an alternative. You need a Google or Discord account to sign up.
• Four paid plans range from $10/month (Basic, 3.3 hours of fast GPU time) to $120/month (Mega, 60 hours of fast generation). Annual billing saves 20%, and there is no free trial on the website or Discord.
• V8.2 has been the default model since July 24, 2026. It adds an Edit Model that replaces Omni Reference, Character Reference, and Retexture, and it builds on V8.1, which renders standard images about 4 to 5 times faster than earlier versions.
Midjourney is one of the most capable AI image generators available today. It turns text prompts into detailed visuals, from product mockups and social media graphics to concept art and brand assets. Until August 2024, Discord was the only way to create a Midjourney account. Today you can sign up directly on midjourney.com with a Google account and generate images in the browser.
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Midjourney pricing at a glance (2026)
Midjourney has no free plan, so the entry point is the $10 Basic tier. Prices and fast GPU hours come from Midjourney's official plan comparison, and extra fast time costs $4 per hour on every plan. Annual billing takes 20% off every tier.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) | Fast GPU time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $10 | $8 | 3.3 hours (200 minutes), no Relax mode | Trying Midjourney, occasional use |
| Standard | $30 | $24 | 15 hours + unlimited Relax | Regular creators who can wait in Relax mode |
| Pro | $60 | $48 | 30 hours + unlimited Relax | Heavy users who want Stealth mode |
| Mega | $120 | $96 | 60 hours + unlimited Relax | Studios and high-volume production |
How to sign up for Midjourney
Go to the official website at midjourney.com. Use your Google account or Discord account to sign up. Google sign-in is the fastest option and is recommended for new users.
Once you sign up you will be redirected to Midjourney gallery. To create your own art, you need to purchase a subscription.
Click the field at the top of the screen.
Click Join Now if you want to purchase a subscription.
Overview of plans
Basic Plan
Price: $10 per month ($8/month with annual billing)
Features:
- 3.3 hours (200 minutes) of fast GPU time
- 3 concurrent fast jobs
- No Relax mode
According to Midjourney's GPU speed guide, a standard-definition (SD) image prompt costs about 0.8 minutes of fast time and an HD prompt about 1.3 minutes. That makes 200 minutes enough for roughly 250 SD prompts or about 150 HD prompts. Upscales, edits, and video use more time per job, and once fast time runs out on Basic, you either buy extra hours or wait for the plan to renew.
Standard Plan
Price: $30 per month ($24/month with annual billing)
Features:
- 15 hours of fast GPU time
- Unlimited generation time in Relax mode
- 3 concurrent jobs in Fast or Relax mode
Relax mode queues your request until GPUs free up, so a job can wait anywhere from 0 to 30 minutes. The wait depends partly on how much Relax time you have used compared with other members.
Pro Plan
Price: $60 per month ($48/month with annual billing)
Features:
- 30 hours of fast GPU time
- 12 concurrent fast jobs
- Unlimited Relax mode generations
- Stealth mode (hides your images from the public gallery)
Mega Plan
Price: $120 per month ($96/month with annual billing)
Features:
- 60 hours of fast GPU time
- 12 concurrent fast jobs
- Unlimited Relax mode generations
- Stealth mode
All plans include the web editor. With V8.2 it runs on the new Edit Model, so you can change an image with plain instructions, attach up to 4 reference images, and inpaint or outpaint selected areas.
Annual billing saves 20% across all tiers, with the full year paid upfront.
Albato has no Midjourney connector, but its Stable Diffusion connector can generate images inside an automated workflow and pass them to other apps.
Below is a screenshot comparing all available plans for a more detailed understanding.
- Monthly Subscription Cost: The cost of the subscription with monthly payments.
- Annual Subscription Cost: The cost of the subscription with an annual payment.
- Fast GPU Time (in hours): Time for image generation in fast mode (one SD image prompt uses about 0.8 minutes).
- Relax GPU Time: Unlimited image generation in Relax mode on Standard, Pro, and Mega (queue times vary).
- Purchase Extra GPU Time: Cost of an additional hour of image generation in fast mode.
- Work Solo In Your Direct Messages: The ability to create images in private messages with the Midjourney bot instead of a public channel with all other users.
- Stealth Mode: By default, all created images are available on the official website. Stealth mode allows you to hide images from public access.
- Maximum Concurrent Jobs: The maximum number of images you can send for generation simultaneously.
- Rate Images to Earn Free GPU Time: The ability to earn extra generation time for free by rating images created by other users.
- Usage Rights: You own the images you create on every plan, but a company grossing more than $1,000,000 a year needs the Pro or Mega plan to use them commercially.
After selecting a plan click "Subscribe" on the chosen plan and make the payment.
Generating your first image in Midjourney
The web app at midjourney.com is now the primary way to use Midjourney. Discord is still available as an alternative, and some experienced users prefer it for batch workflows. Both methods are covered below.
Generate an image on the Midjourney web app (recommended)
After you purchase a subscription, return to the main page. Click Create (the brush icon) on the left sidebar.
This opens the prompt editor. Type your description and press Enter.
Midjourney will generate a set of images. You can download any of them, use one as a starting point for variations, or open it in the editor to change it with plain instructions, inpaint specific areas, or expand the canvas with outpainting.
The web editor gives you visual controls (sliders and buttons) instead of text-only commands, which makes it easier to iterate on your results. You can also use Vary Subtle to generate slight variations of an image you like.
How to generate an image with Midjourney using Discord
Go to Discord via this link and join the Midjourney server.
On the left side, you'll see a list of servers. Click on the white ship icon to navigate to the Midjourney server.
There, you'll find various channels, including the "Getting Started" channel, which has all the basic information you need.
In channels named #newbies, you can send image generation requests to the Midjourney bot and see what others are creating in real time.
It is usually more convenient to use these channels for inspiration and generate images in private messages with the bot.
To go to private messages with the Midjourney bot, click the Discord icon in the top left corner and open the bot messages.
Start a conversation with the bot by pressing Accept TOS, and you are ready to generate.
Communication with the bot happens through commands entered via a slash ("/").
Type /imagine in the message box, followed by your text prompt, then press Enter. You can enter any prompt you like. Here is an example:
Underneath every set of images you generate, you'll find eight buttons labeled U1, U2, U3, U4, V1, V2, V3, and V4.
U buttons: These buttons isolate the selected image for further editing and easier saving. In versions before V5 they upscaled the image. Since V8.1, you can render 2K images directly by switching on HD mode.
V buttons: These buttons create four new variations of the selected image, keeping the same style and composition.
These buttons help you fine-tune the results. Here are the most useful Discord commands:
/imagine: The main command for generating images from a text prompt. /settings: Opens the settings window. /blend: Combines several images into one. /describe: Generates a text description of an uploaded image.
What's new in Midjourney V8, V8.1, and V8.2
New subscribers generate with V8.2, which became the default model on July 24, 2026, according to Midjourney's version documentation. The V8 series replaced V7 as the default in June 2026 and changed both speed and editing.
| Version | Released | Status (October 2026) | What changed for users |
|---|---|---|---|
| V8.0 | March 17, 2026 | Alpha only, retired July 24, 2026 | Better prompt following, text rendering, and a native 2K HD mode |
| V8.1 | April 14, 2026 | Default from June 10 to July 23, 2026 | Standard jobs about 4 to 5 times faster, 2K HD images without upscaling |
| V8.2 | July 24, 2026 | Current default | Bolder aesthetics, stronger personalization, Edit Model replaces Omni Reference, Character Reference, and Retexture |
For a new user, two V8 habits save fast time and retries. HD mode produces 2K images but uses more GPU time per prompt than SD, which matters on the 200-minute Basic plan. Text you want inside the image works best in quotation marks, as the V8 Alpha announcement recommends. If you prefer the older V7 look, you can pick a different default version in the settings panel next to the prompt bar.
What you can generate with Midjourney
The range of outputs is broad. Here are practical use cases:
Product mockups and marketing visuals: Generate social media banners, ad creatives, and presentation slides. Put the words in quotation marks and V8.2 can place headlines and labels directly in the generated image.
Similar images from a reference: Upload an existing image as a reference and add a text prompt to create variations. In V8.2, the Edit Model accepts up to 4 reference images at once, which helps keep a product or character consistent across generations.
Collages for social media: Compile reference images on a white background, send them as a reference with a prompt, and get polished collage options.
Web design concepts: Midjourney works well for mood boards and style references. You can generate landing page concepts to share with your design team, or with an outside Webflow or Framer agency if one builds your site.
Logo and corporate style: Generate logo concepts and show options to a client. Once one is chosen, finalize it in an AI photo editor and create a brand book. Alternatively, you can use an AI logo maker to create a logo quickly and professionally. Unlike general image generators, these tools are specifically built for logo design, offering handcrafted icons and intuitive customization features that ensure your logo is clean, scalable, and brand-ready from the start.
Frequently asked questions about Midjourney
How much does Midjourney cost in 2026?
Midjourney costs $10 per month for Basic, $30 for Standard, $60 for Pro, and $120 for Mega. With annual billing, the same plans cost $8, $24, $48, and $96 per month, paid upfront for the year. Extra fast GPU time costs $4 per hour on any plan.
Is there a free trial of Midjourney?
No free trial is available on midjourney.com or in Discord, so you need at least the $10 Basic plan to generate images. Midjourney offers a limited trial only in the niji journey mobile app for iOS and Android.
How many images can I make on the Basic plan?
Basic includes 200 minutes of fast GPU time per month. An SD image prompt uses about 0.8 minutes and an HD prompt about 1.3 minutes, so that is roughly 250 SD prompts or about 150 HD prompts. Basic has no Relax mode, so generation stops when fast time runs out unless you buy more.
Can I use Midjourney images commercially?
Yes. You own the images you create, even after you cancel. If your company grosses more than $1,000,000 a year, Midjourney requires the Pro or Mega plan for commercial use. Images you upscale from another member's work belong to that member.
How do I cancel a Midjourney subscription?
Open the Manage Subscription page and click Cancel Plan. The cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing cycle, you keep any remaining fast time until then, and your generated images are not deleted.
Which Midjourney version is the default in 2026?
V8.2 is the default version. It launched on July 24, 2026, after V8.1 had been the default since June 10, 2026, and it added an Edit Model that replaces Omni Reference, Character Reference, and Retexture.
How to use image generation with Albato
Midjourney is not in Albato's app catalog, so automated image workflows in Albato run through the Stable Diffusion connector, which creates images from prompts inside a scenario.
Albato is an integration platform that allows you to automate the creative flow by connecting apps that manage prompts, files, and image delivery.
For example, marketers and content creators can save time on content distribution and speed up approvals by automatically routing generated images to Google Drive and then pushing approved visuals to social media.
You can also set up automated workflows to route your AI-generated images to cloud storage, team channels, or publishing platforms.
Summing up
Midjourney allows you to create detailed images for a wide range of purposes, from marketing materials to concept art. Other platforms in this space are also worth exploring, such as Stable Diffusion, which offers a free trial, or DepositPhotos, which features its own image generator.
In Albato, we often write about it, all because we provide integrations with various AI tools for many different tasks. Keep reading our blog to learn how to use them in your business.
