Midjourney Price plans pack different features at each price point. The Basic plan gives you 200 images monthly for $10, while the Megaplan delivers 3,600 generations at $120 per month.
My hands-on testing of each subscription tier revealed major differences between plans that the pricing page doesn’t show. The actual features, limits, and value vary significantly across subscription levels.
This guide shares exactly what you get from each Midjourney plan, based on two months of real testing and $500 spent exploring every subscription option. You’ll see the true costs, practical results, and honest recommendations to pick the right plan for your needs.
Midjourney Testing Method: My $500 Experiment
The testing covered every Midjourney subscription tier systematically. Each plan needed specific testing methods – Basic Plan at $10 monthly, Standard Plan at $30 monthly, Pro Plan at $60 monthly, and Mega Plan at $120 monthly.
Midjourney Price Plan Testing Strategy
My testing started with the Basic Plan’s full 200-image quota. Higher tier testing focused on Fast GPU hours – Basic gives 3.3 hours, Standard offers 15 hours, and Pro Plan provides 30 hours. Every test used matching prompt complexity and quality settings.
Speed tests ran in both Fast and Relax modes. The Pro Plan’s ability to handle 12 parallel jobs versus Standard Plan’s 3 jobs showed clear performance differences.
Usage Tracking Tools
Journeybase served as the main tracking tool, offering clean image generation tracking and album organization. The /info command helped monitor the remaining GPU minutes.
Key tracking points included:
- Fast GPU hour usage
- Generation speeds
- Parallel job capacity
- Quality differences between plans
Midjourney Price: Testing Timeline Details
Tests ran through two billing cycles. The results showed unused Fast time doesn’t carry over between months, affecting plan value significantly.
Pro Plan testing emphasized the private Stealth Mode feature. Extra Fast hours through image rating offered up to one bonus hour daily.
The testing tracked hidden fees like upscaling costs and quality impacts. Running out of Fast hours led to buying extra time at $4 hourly to see real heavy usage costs.
Commercial rights testing proved crucial since the Pro Plan includes business usage. This matters especially for companies making over $1 million yearly, who must choose Pro or Mega plans.
Basic Plan ($10/month): 200 Images Tested
The Basic Plan gives you 3.3 hours of Fast GPU time each month, enough for 200 image generations. You’ll pay $10 monthly, or save with $8 monthly annual billing. This starter plan lets you explore what Midjourney offers.
Midjourney Price: Real Usage Results
The Basic Plan’s 200 monthly images work well for specific creative tasks. My testing showed it handles print-on-demand designs, marketing visuals, and personal artwork projects effectively.
Running three fast jobs at once keeps your work moving despite the monthly limits. The plan includes business usage rights, though higher tiers offer fewer restrictions.
You’ll get member gallery access to see what others create. The plan misses some key features though – no relax mode or max upscale options slowed down my workflow.
Value vs Limitations
The Basic Plan makes sense for casual users starting with AI art. Some months ended with spare hours, showing it works for occasional creative work. The plan fits perfectly for:
- Merchandise design tasks
- Social media visuals
- Personal project concepts
- Educational image creation
Your image generation stops once monthly Fast hours run out until next month starts. This hits hard if you need lots of images suddenly or face tight deadlines.
Hobby creators find good value in the Basic Plan. My tests prove it suits users who need moderate image creation without advanced features like Stealth Mode. Extra credits help when needed, but heavy users should consider upgrading instead.
Pro Plan ($60/month): Advanced Features
The Pro Plan costs $60 monthly or $576 annually. My testing revealed key features that make this premium tier worth the price for specific users.
Stealth Mode Worth
Stealth Mode comes only with Pro Plan, letting you generate private images. Public Discord channels still show your images, but direct messages and private servers keep work hidden. This privacy protection helps test ideas without showing them to everyone.
Midjourney Price: Fast GPU Hours Reality
The Pro Plan gives 30 hours of Fast GPU time monthly. You’ll run 12 jobs at once, speeding up your workflow significantly. Unlimited Relax GPU time helps when Fast hours end.
Turbo Mode makes images four times faster than Fast Mode, using twice the GPU minutes. This speed boost benefits time-sensitive projects. If you need more time, extra hours cost $4 each.
Commercial Rights Value
Companies making over $1 million yearly must use the Pro Plan. Professional creators get full commercial rights and keep complete ownership of their images.
Pro Plan delivers practical benefits:
- Fast, Relax, and Turbo mode switching
- Extra GPU time purchases
- Image unpublishing options
Fast GPU time starts fresh monthly – unused minutes disappear. Each prompt needs about one minute of GPU time, so plan your usage carefully. Professional users needing privacy and speed find solid value in Pro Plan features.
Hidden Costs You Should Know
My testing uncovered several extra charges most users miss. These hidden costs change how much you really spend on Midjourney.
Upscaling Charges
Upscaling eats up GPU minutes fast, taking up to twice the processing time of normal generations. Creative upscalers add new details but spike your GPU usage. The Subtle Upscaler saves image details but still needs extra GPU minutes.
4x upscaling takes two to three minutes per job. Large 4096 x 4096 pixel images need six times more GPU time than regular generations.
Quality Setting Impact
The quality parameter changes your processing time and GPU use. Default quality sits at 1, but changes affect image detail levels. Better quality needs more GPU time, raising your image costs.
Midjourney 6.1 lets you pick quality from 0.25 to 2, helping balance detail and GPU use. Settings above quality 2 barely improve images but still use extra GPU power.
Midjourney Price: Aspect Ratio Costs
Different aspect ratios need more GPU minutes. Platform-specific sizes cost extra time:
- Portrait formats (1:2, 9:16, 2:3) for social media posts
- Landscape ratios (16:9, 2:1) for widescreen content
Running out of Fast hours means buying additional GPU time at $4 hourly. Bought hours stay forever, helping handle sudden usage jumps.
Heavy users save more by upgrading plans instead of buying extra hours repeatedly. Fast hours vanish monthly without rollover, so watch your usage carefully.
Conclusion
The $500 testing shows clear winners at each price point. Basic Plan users get good value at $10 monthly if 200 images meet their needs. Pro Plan fits professional users perfectly, giving them Stealth Mode and full commercial rights.
Your work style picks your perfect plan. Basic Plan features satisfy hobby creators, while Pro Plan powers professional workflows with advanced tools and privacy options. Watch for extra costs though – upscaling fees and quality settings change your real monthly spend.
Standard Plan works best for most users, giving enough features without Pro Plan prices. Mega Plan packs the most power, but few users need that many generations.
Pick your plan based on real usage, not feature lists. Start with a Basic Plan to learn your needs. Upgrade only when you max out your monthly images or need Pro features like Stealth Mode.
