Independent verdicts on paid AI plans. Prices re-checked every day. We may earn a commission from "Visit" links. How we make money
shouldipay.ai

Verdict · Image generation · by Midjourney

Is Midjourney worth paying for in 2026?

New user reports arrived on Sep 28, 2026. We are re-checking this verdict.

Midjourney has no free plan, so paying is mandatory; choose based on your monthly GPU time needs.

Evidence: docs Pricing & docs No user reports yet Not yet tested by us
Cheapest paid
$10/moBasic Plan · 3.3 hr/month fast gpu time
What's free
NoneNo free plan
Our test score
—Not tested by us yet
Prices checked by hand
By us, on the vendor's own pricing pageVerdict published Sep 28, 2026
Visit Midjourney(opens in a new tab)

The button opens midjourney.com through shouldipay.ai/go/midjourney. It may be an affiliate link: we may earn a commission. Commissions never decide a verdict: the evidence on this page does. Disclosure

Who should pay

  • Users needing 15 hours of fast GPU time monthly for higher volume work.
  • Creators requiring unlimited image generation in Relax mode.
  • Professionals who need Stealth mode to keep their images private.

Who shouldn't

  • Casual users who only need 3.3 hours of fast GPU time per month.
  • People who do not mind waiting in Relax mode for image generation.
  • Users who do not need SD video generation or Stealth mode features.

Free vs paid: the plans

Prices checked by hand on Sep 28, 2026 · source

Basic Plan

$10/mo

or $96/yr

  • Fast GPU time3.3 hr/month
  • Relax modeNot included
Our pick

Standard Plan

$30/mo

or $288/yr

  • Fast GPU time15 hr/month
  • Relax modeUnlimited images

"For most regular users who need more volume, the Standard Plan offers a significant jump to 15 hours of fast time and unlimited relax generation." Bottom line

Pro Plan

$60/mo

or $576/yr

  • Fast GPU time30 hr/month
  • Relax modeUnlimited images and SD video
  • Stealth modeIncluded

Mega Plan

$120/mo

or $1,152/yr

  • Fast GPU time60 hr/month
  • Relax modeUnlimited images and SD video
  • Stealth modeIncluded
Prices in USD from Midjourney's own pricing page. Checked by hand: we could not read these prices automatically, so we copied them from the vendor's page ourselves.

The full analysis

What's free

Midjourney has no free plan; the cheapest option is the Basic Plan at $10/month. Unlike many AI tools that offer a free tier to try the service, Midjourney requires a subscription from the start. The Basic Plan provides 3.3 hours of Fast GPU time per month and does not include Relax mode, meaning you cannot generate images when your fast time is exhausted.

What paying adds

Paying unlocks the core functionality of Midjourney, including access to Fast GPU time and various plan-specific features. The Basic Plan starts at $10/month or $96/year and offers 3.3 hours of Fast GPU time. plan list checked by handSource · owner-checked plan listPlan list checked by hand (docs.midjourney.com), checked Sep 28, 2026.Go to sources ↓

The Standard Plan costs $30/month or $288/year and increases Fast GPU time to 15 hours per month. It also includes unlimited images in Relax mode, which allows you to generate images without using your fast time, albeit with slower processing speeds. plan list checked by handSource · owner-checked plan listPlan list checked by hand (docs.midjourney.com), checked Sep 28, 2026.Go to sources ↓

The Pro Plan is priced at $60/month or $576/year. It doubles the Fast GPU time to 30 hours per month and adds SD video generation alongside unlimited images in Relax mode. It also includes Stealth mode, which keeps your generations private. plan list checked by handSource · owner-checked plan listPlan list checked by hand (docs.midjourney.com), checked Sep 28, 2026.Go to sources ↓

The Mega Plan costs $120/month or $1,152/year. It provides 60 hours of Fast GPU time per month, unlimited images in Relax mode, SD video, and Stealth mode. plan list checked by handSource · owner-checked plan listPlan list checked by hand (docs.midjourney.com), checked Sep 28, 2026.Go to sources ↓

Bottom line

Since there is no free plan, the decision is about which paid tier fits your usage. If you only need a small amount of fast generation, the Basic Plan at $10/month is the entry point. For most regular users who need more volume, the Standard Plan offers a significant jump to 15 hours of fast time and unlimited relax generation. Power users who need high volume and privacy will find the Pro or Mega plans necessary for their specific GPU time and Stealth mode needs. plan list checked by handSource · owner-checked plan listPlan list checked by hand (docs.midjourney.com), checked Sep 28, 2026.Go to sources ↓

Questions people ask

Does Midjourney have a free plan?

No, Midjourney does not have a free plan. The cheapest option is the Basic Plan at $10/month.

What is the difference between Basic and Standard plans?

The Standard Plan costs $30/month and provides 15 hours of Fast GPU time plus unlimited images in Relax mode, whereas the Basic Plan costs $10/month for 3.3 hours of Fast GPU time with no Relax mode.

What is Stealth mode?

Stealth mode is a feature included in the Pro and Mega plans that keeps your image generations private.

How this verdict was made

  1. Prices, every dayWe read the vendor's own pricing and documentation pages automatically, every day.
  2. User reportsPublic posts and reviews, filtered for relevance. Only a short excerpt and the link are kept, never usernames.
  3. Our own testsA public task suite, run on the free and paid tiers where we have access. Blind AI judges score each answer; a person scores the ones they disagree on.
  4. Draft, check, reviewAI drafts the verdict from this evidence. Every draft is checked automatically against the sources, and a person reviews first verdicts, changed answers and anything the checks flag.

How we make money

The "Visit" buttons go through shouldipay.ai/go/ and may be affiliate links, so we may earn a commission if you subscribe. Commissions never decide a verdict: the evidence on this page does. Verdicts are drafted with AI from the vendors' own pricing and documentation pages and checked automatically against those sources before they are published; a person reviews first verdicts, changed answers and anything the checks flag. Affiliate disclosure