FLUX.1 [dev]
12B parameter open-weight diffusion model.
Open Source 8–24 GB VRAM
- Min VRAM
- 8 GB
- GPU class
- High-end GPU
- Quant
- FP16
Actually FreeNo SignupOpen SourceWatermark-Free
Midjourney v7
The benchmark for aesthetic image generation.
Paid · from $10/mo☁ Cloud · no GPUCloud API
Watermark-FreeHobbyist-Friendly
Visit Midjourney v7Updated 2026-04-04 · Direct link
Screenshot placeholder · Midjourney v7
What is Midjourney v7?
Midjourney is the closed model people compare every new OSS release against. v7 keeps the house aesthetic — painterly, cinematic, instantly recognisable — and adds Personalisation (a per-user style model trained from your ratings). Discord-first; now also a polished web app.
Pros & cons
Pros
- The aesthetic bar in commercial image gen — distinct house style
- Personalisation v2 captures your style with surprisingly little input
- Reliable typography and composition vs. OSS competitors
- Strong community + reference library
Cons
- Closed-source, subscription-only, no free tier
- Output style is opinionated — hard to escape the Midjourney look
- Web app is a recent retrofit on a Discord-first stack
What's actually free?
No free tier; Basic plan starts at $10/month for ~200 images.
Watermark-Free
Alternatives
Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large
Stability's MMDiT flagship at 8B params.
Open Source 12–24 GB VRAM
- Min VRAM
- 12 GB
- GPU class
- Mid GPU
- Quant
- FP16
Actually FreeWatermark-FreeHobbyist-FriendlyAPI
Ideogram
The image model that actually renders text.
Freemium · from $8/mo☁ Cloud · no GPU
Watermark-FreeHobbyist-FriendlyAPI
Stable Diffusion XL
The workhorse open-weight image model.
Open Source 6–12 GB VRAM
- Min VRAM
- 6 GB
- GPU class
- Mid GPU
- Quant
- FP16
Actually FreeNo SignupOpen SourceWatermark-Free