Last month, a freelance graphic designer showed me three versions of the same concept—a futuristic coffee shop interior—generated by Midjourney, DALL·E, and Stable Diffusion. The differences were striking. Midjourney’s version looked like a professional architectural render. DALL·E produced a clean, safe image perfect for client presentations. Stable Diffusion’s output was rough but offered complete control over every detail.
She asked which one I’d recommend. My answer: it depends what you’re designing and who’s paying for it.
AI image generators aren’t interchangeable. Each platform optimizes for different priorities—artistic quality versus ease of use versus customization versus commercial licensing. Choosing wrong means wasted subscriptions, frustrated clients, or worse, legal problems with image rights.
I’ve generated thousands of images across all three platforms for real client work over the past year. This review cuts through the hype to show you exactly which tool solves which problems for freelancers and content creators in 2025.
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | Midjourney | DALL·E 3 | Stable Diffusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image Quality | Exceptional artistic detail | Clean, accurate to prompts | Variable, depends on model |
| Ease of Use | Moderate (Discord) | Very easy (ChatGPT) | Difficult (technical) |
| Pricing | $10-$30/month | $20/month (ChatGPT Plus) | Free (self-host) or $9+/month |
| Commercial Use | Allowed on paid plans | Allowed | Allowed |
| Speed | 30-60 seconds | 10-30 seconds | 5-60 seconds (varies) |
| Best For | Artistic projects | Quick professional results | Advanced customization |
Midjourney: The Artist’s Choice
Interface: Discord-based commands feel clunky initially but become second nature after 50+ generations. Type /imagine followed by your prompt, wait 60 seconds, get four variations.
Image Quality: Unmatched artistic sophistication. Lighting, composition, texture, and color harmony consistently look professionally art-directed. The platform excels at fantasy art, character design, architectural renders, and anything requiring visual wow-factor.
Style Consistency: Reference images (using --sref) maintain brand aesthetics across multiple generations. Critical for freelancers managing client brand guidelines.
Weaknesses: Text in images renders poorly. Specific compositions (exact product placement, precise layouts) require multiple attempts. The Discord workflow disrupts traditional design software integrations.
Pricing: Basic $10/month (200 generations), Standard $30/month (unlimited relaxed mode). No free tier.
Verdict: Worth every dollar for freelancers selling creative services where visual impact justifies premium subscriptions. Not ideal for quick social posts or clients wanting literal prompt interpretation.
DALL·E 3: The Professional’s Shortcut
Interface: Integrated into ChatGPT and Microsoft Designer. Type what you want conversationally, no complex prompt engineering required.
Image Quality: Exceptional accuracy to written prompts. If you describe “a laptop on a wooden desk with a coffee cup on the left,” DALL·E places objects exactly where specified. Photorealism improved dramatically in 2025.
Commercial Safety: OpenAI trained DALL·E on licensed content, reducing copyright concerns. Generated images include creator rights for commercial use with ChatGPT Plus.
Ease of Use: The easiest platform for beginners. Natural language prompts work without learning specialized syntax. Iterate through conversation: “make the coffee cup blue” updates the existing image.
Weaknesses: Conservative content policies block prompts competitors allow. Artistic style feels generic compared to Midjourney. Limited customization—you get what the AI decides looks good.
Pricing: $20/month via ChatGPT Plus, includes 50 generations with GPT-4 access. Additional generations available through Microsoft Designer free tier.
Verdict: Best for professionals needing quick, commercially safe images that accurately match descriptions. Perfect for blog headers, social posts, presentation visuals, and client mockups where “good enough fast” beats “artistic perfection slowly”.
Stable Diffusion: The Power User’s Playground
Interface: Multiple options—RunDiffusion cloud service ($0.50/hour), DreamStudio credits ($10 for ~5,000 images), or self-hosted (free but requires technical setup).
Image Quality: Completely dependent on which model, settings, and post-processing you use. Capable of matching or exceeding Midjourney with proper configuration. Default outputs look mediocre without tuning.
Control and Customization: Unmatched flexibility. Fine-tune models on your specific art style, control every parameter (steps, sampler, CFG scale, seed), inpaint specific regions, train custom embeddings.
Open Source Advantage: Models train on your data, install unlimited plugins, modify source code, run locally without internet. Complete ownership and privacy.
Weaknesses: Steep learning curve intimidates non-technical users. Setup, model selection, and optimization require hours of experimentation. Cloud services reduce complexity but add costs comparable to competitors.
Pricing: Free (self-hosted with decent GPU), DreamStudio $10 for ~5,000 images, RunDiffusion from $0.50/hour.
Verdict: Only worthwhile for technical freelancers who need complete control, want to train custom models, or generate massive volumes making per-image costs critical. Most designers waste time configuring instead of creating.
Head-to-Head: Real-World Tests
Test 1: Product Mockup (Skincare Bottle)
Prompt: “Minimalist skincare serum bottle on marble surface, soft natural lighting, professional product photography”
- Midjourney: Stunning lighting and composition, but bottle shape inconsistent across variations. 4/5
- DALL·E: Clean, accurate, perfectly usable for presentations. Generic aesthetic. 3.5/5
- Stable Diffusion: Best after 30 minutes tweaking settings. Not worth the time investment. 3/5
Winner: DALL·E for speed, Midjourney if client pays for premium visuals.
Test 2: Social Media Post (Motivational Quote)
Prompt: “Inspirational workspace scene, sunrise through window, coffee and notebook, warm tones”
- Midjourney: Beautiful but took 6 attempts to avoid visible text/objects in wrong positions. 4/5
- DALL·E: First try produced usable result in 15 seconds. 4.5/5
- Stable Diffusion: Required specific model hunting. Frustrating. 2.5/5
Winner: DALL·E dominates quick content creation.
Test 3: Unique Brand Character
Prompt: “Friendly robot mascot with orange and blue colors, tech startup vibe, consistent across multiple poses”
- Midjourney: With style reference, maintained character consistency across 20+ poses. 5/5
- DALL·E: Character changed slightly each generation despite descriptions. 3/5
- Stable Diffusion: LoRA training created perfect consistency but required 6 hours setup. 4/5 (accounting for effort)
Winner: Midjourney for production work, Stable Diffusion if you’re building a long-term character library.
Which Tool Should Freelancers Choose?
Choose Midjourney if:
- Your clients value distinctive, high-quality visuals
- You create branding, marketing campaigns, or artistic content
- $30/month fits your budget
- You can tolerate Discord’s learning curve
Choose DALL·E if:
- You need quick, commercially safe images daily
- Clients want literal interpretation of concepts
- Ease of use matters more than artistic sophistication
- You already use ChatGPT Plus
Choose Stable Diffusion if:
- You’re technically proficient and enjoy tinkering
- You need to generate thousands of images monthly
- Complete control over training data and privacy matters
- You have time to invest in learning complex workflows
My recommendation for most freelancers: Start with DALL·E via ChatGPT Plus ($20/month). It handles 80% of typical needs effortlessly. Add Midjourney Basic ($10/month) when client budgets justify premium visuals. Skip Stable Diffusion unless you have specific technical requirements the others can’t meet.
The Bottom Line
The “best” AI image generator changes based on what you’re creating. DALL·E wins for speed and ease. Midjourney wins for artistic quality. Stable Diffusion wins for control and cost at scale.
For most creators building AI-powered design workflows, DALL·E’s combination of quality, speed, and simplicity delivers the best return on time and money invested. Midjourney elevates that workflow when projects demand visual excellence worth the premium subscription.
A.G. Makoudi is a tech writer specializing in SaaS tools and digital solutions, helping readers simplify technology and make smarter software choices.
