So many AI image generation tools are out there, and the landscape is changing regularly. I spend a lot of time experimenting with AI image tools, and even I have a hard time keeping up with all the announcements and updates. All of the tools have strengths and weaknesses, which means different tools are better for different purposes. In fact, most of the top AI media creators I follow use a combination of tools, switching back and forth at different points in their workflow. They might start with Midjourney for initial creation, switch to Gemini for iterating different character poses, and then upscale with Topaz or Magnific. In this post, I’ll compare the strengths of multiple AI image generation tools and note when you might use them.

Midjourney: Most interesting, good character and style consistency

Midjourney is the tool I use most often. Nearly all of my blog post header images are now created in Midjourney. It’s the image generation tool that I find most interesting; it’s easier to generate images that don’t look like typical AI or stock images. You can create images in consistent styles and colors from any starting image, and you can get style codes from other sources to expand your options. Both the overall aesthetic of Midjourney and the infinite range of styles possible are reasons I see many top AI image experts start with Midjourney, even if they then move to other tools in their workflow. I generally have the highest success with Midjourney for generating visual metaphors and symbolic images to support learning.

Midjourney handles photorealistic characters well, including generating multiple poses and expressions from the same starting character image. I have some trouble with the skin textures getting less realistic over subsequent generations though. Midjourney’s editing tools are also useful.

Midjourney is terrible at generating text though. For my blog headers, I just add the text in Affinity Designer; I don’t even bother trying in Midjourney.

Flux: Text accuracy, realistic hands and people

Flux is another tool I use sometimes. It’s solid at text generation, so it fills a gap for me in what Midjourney can’t do. It also does well at generating realistic characters, especially at generating accurate hands. Flux’s models are often incorporated into other tools.

You can try Flux for free on their playground.

Gemini (Nano Banana): Best free all-purpose AI image generation tool

Of the free tools for AI image generation, Gemini is probably the best overall option. It’s capable of generating and editing images and creating multiple poses of characters. If you want to create multiple images starting with a photo of a real person rather than an AI-generated character, Gemini is an excellent choice. (Please make sure you have permission before uploading images of real people, and make good choices about how you portray people.) Gemini is also capable of editing multiple characters or objects into a scene, although I find the results fairly mixed on that.

Basically, it does all the things that ChatGPT’s image generation can do, but it does them all a little better. It doesn’t look quite as obviously AI or have ChatGPT’s yellow tinge. It’s far from perfect, but it is a tool I will use for projects.

Recraft: Brand consistency, text accuracy, icons, and vector images

Recraft is a tool that should definitely be on your list to try if you need consistency in branding or need to generate vector images. Many image generators create images that look like vectors but aren’t actually SVGs; Recraft generates true vector images so it’s easier to scale and edit them elsewhere. They have a tool for generating icons that lets you generate up to six icons at a time, all with a consistent style and color palette. Their text accuracy is also much higher than other tools.

I don’t think their photorealistic images are as good as Midjourney or Flux, but it is good for illustrated images. You can use the built-in styles or create your own. It even has options to share styles within teams, which makes it a better option for organizations with multiple designers.

Brushless: Vector images and icons with consistent styles and colors

Brushless is another great option for vector images and icons. They have several illustration styles that are ready to go. I think their built-in flat icon style works well for training purposes, especially when you need to generate specialized icons for presentations or highlighting important concepts. The line art style is good for simple illustrations where you don’t want to distract learners with overly complex images (and AI images can be overly complex and distracting). You can set your color palette to match your branding and use reference images to create your own custom styles.

Napkin: Images and visual organizers to explain concepts

Napkin works differently than a lot of the other AI image generation tools out there. Instead of prompting for images, you paste your text such as bullet points or a paragraph of explanation. Napkin interprets that text to make an image to explain it. The result is something like PowerPoint’s SmartArt but better. You get icons for main points and diagrams to show connections and structure illustrating your concepts.

Ideogram: Text accuracy, image editing, and consistent characters

Ideogram was one of the first AI tools to figure out how to render text accurately. Ideogram generates some interesting illustrations, so sometimes I use it to compare how it does with the same prompt as other tools. Ideogram has image editing tools that can be useful to refine and extend images, even from other sources.

Recently, they also launched a character generation tool for putting characters in different scenes and poses. I haven’t had a chance to test the character tool yet, but their samples look promising, and they have features for masking and changing specific parts of an image that give it more power.

Flora: Connect multiple tools for better workflows

I’d like to spend more time working with node-based tools like Flora that help you connect multiple tools into a single workflow. With a node-based tool, you can combine multiple reference images and prompts and then generate and iterate multiple outputs. It’s also easier in this type of tool to do multiple types of transformations such as editing images or generating multiple video clips from images. You can switch tools at different points in your workflow.

For example, here are some images I created for a scenario where I combined multiple characters in a scene. It didn’t quite work as I’d hoped, and the characters didn’t stay as consistent as I wanted. However, that was more of a problem of the tools I was using within Flora (including ChatGPT’s image generation) rather than a problem with Flora.

Runway: Images and scenes with multiple characters

Runway is primarily a video generation tool, but it also can generate images scenes with multiple characters from reference images. I’ve had a few times where I’ve tried and failed with several other tools to put two characters in a scene together or to generate different perspectives. Sometimes Runway’s Gen 4 model can generate multi-character scenes that I can’t get with any other tool. If scenes for scenarios are a sticking point in your process, adding Runway to your workflow might be a solution.

ChatGPT: Obviously AI-generated images if you can’t use anything else

ChatGPT is one of my least favorite AI image generation tools, but it’s so common that I feel like I have to mention it. If you see an obviously AI-generated image on LinkedIn or Facebook, it was probably made with ChatGPT. Part of the problem is that ChatGPT has very distinctive styles for photos, illustration, and text. Photorealistic images always look a bit off, like poorly staged stock photos where no one makes eye contact. While it is possible to generate consistent characters, the images tend to drift away from the source as you iterate.

If ChatGPT is the only tool you’re allowed to use at work, then obviously you’ll have to make do. If you have a choice and no budget, try Gemini instead. Honestly, for most purposes, you would probably get better results with literally any other tool on this list besides ChatGPT.

These are my opinions

None of this is sponsored; it’s all based on my own experiences. In a few cases, I have gotten some extra free credits with specific tools in order to test them or in exchange for providing feedback on the tools. I have a paid subscription to Midjourney, and I get access to a number of other image generation tools through my subscription to Poe.

Your experiences may be different. Like all AI tools, the image generators are sometimes unpredictable in what they can do effectively and where they fail. You may find that different tools work better for your specific needs.

For all of these tools, check the terms of use. Most explicitly allow commercial use of images, although some require that you have a paid plan to use the images commercially. Some tools will make your generated images public, especially on a free plan. Some will train their AI on your images, including uploaded reference images.

More tools?

Obviously, I didn’t cover every AI image generation tool currently available in this post; this is based on what I’ve personally tried. If you have another tool that you use and love, let me know in the comments how you use it.

I’ll be speaking at DevLearn about AI images, both comparing the strengths of different tools and sharing tips for prompting to get better results regardless of which tool you use. If you’re coming to DevLearn, I hope to see you in my session.

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