Midjourney is one of the best-known AI tools for artistic images, and old guides still mention “25 free generations.” That’s no longer true in 2026. We checked the terms against Midjourney’s own help pages: where there’s trial access, how much the plans cost, how subscribers get free hours and what to use if you want to try Midjourney without a subscription.
Is Midjourney free in 2026
Officially, no. As of October 2, 2026, Midjourney’s help puts it briefly: “A limited free trial is available in the niji・journey app for iOS and Android. There is currently no free trial on Discord or midjourney.com.”
| Where | Free | What you get | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| midjourney.com | no | browsing others’ work only, without a subscription | subscription from $10 a month |
| Discord | no | — | generation requires a subscription |
| niji・journey app | limited trial | an anime model, not Midjourney V8.2 | trial size not disclosed |
| “Free Midjourney” sites and bots | bonus tokens | the model and terms can’t be verified | third-party services |
| AI2Face | welcome credits after sign-up | Midjourney and Arena leaderboard leaders in one generator | card or crypto |
You can create an account on midjourney.com without paying, but generation unlocks only after you subscribe.
The niji・journey free trial: what it really is
niji・journey is a separate model for anime illustrations, made jointly by Midjourney and the Japanese studio Spellbrush. The app is on the App Store and Google Play, and it’s the only place where Midjourney kept trial access.
Midjourney doesn’t publish the size of the trial: its help just says “limited.” The bigger limitation is elsewhere: this isn’t the main Midjourney. niji・journey won’t show you photorealism, ad shots or non-anime styles, so you can’t judge Midjourney V8.2 from it.
Why old guides to free Midjourney don’t work
In Midjourney’s early versions, every new user got about 25 free generations in Discord. In 2023, Midjourney ended free trial generations, and a free plan hasn’t come back since. Guides in search results that suggest creating your own Discord server and adding the Midjourney bot describe that era: without a subscription, the bot won’t draw anything today.
How much Midjourney costs: plans
All plans are auto-renewing subscriptions. Data from Midjourney’s help as of October 2, 2026.
| Basic | Standard | Pro | Mega | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $10 | $30 | $60 | $120 |
| Annual | $96 ($8/mo) | $288 ($24/mo) | $576 ($48/mo) | $1,152 ($96/mo) |
| Fast hours | 3.3 h (200 min) | 15 h | 30 h | 60 h |
| Unlimited Relax mode | no | images | images and SD video | images and SD video |
| Video | SD | SD and HD | SD and HD | SD and HD |
| Stealth mode | no | no | yes | yes |
| Extra Fast hour | $4 | $4 | $4 | $4 |
Images belong to their creator even after the subscription is canceled. The exception is companies with more than $1 million in annual revenue: for commercial use, they need the Pro or Mega plan.
Free Fast hours: subscribers only
Midjourney does hand out free generation time, but to subscribers, not newcomers:
- image rating — every day, the 2,000 members who rated the most images get 1 Fast hour;
- surveys — sometimes participation earns Fast time; the amount varies each time.
The help notes that granted time works only with an active subscription and expires after 30 days. You can’t start from zero for free this way.
“Free Midjourney” sites and bots
Search results are full of sites and chatbots: some pose as Midjourney’s website, others offer “bonus tokens” to try. From the outside, you can’t verify which model actually sits behind the “Midjourney” button or which version it is.
Before paying, check three things:
- which version — V8.2 or the old V6, which is still sold as current;
- how much a generation costs after the bonuses run out, and whether purchased tokens expire;
- who owns the images and whether you can use them commercially.
How to use Midjourney without a separate subscription
There’s no free route, and the paid one means a monthly subscription with auto-renewal and Discord or Midjourney’s website as the interface.
In AI2Face, Midjourney is available directly:
- no Discord — you write the prompt in the generator on the website and sign in with email or Google;
- card or crypto — the cost of every generation is shown before you run it;
- credits don’t expire — besides a subscription, you can buy a credit pack, and the balance carries over to the next month;
- welcome credits after sign-up — enough for your first images to test Midjourney on your own tasks;
- leaderboard leaders next to it — Nano Banana Pro, Seedream and GPT Image in the same window, without separate subscriptions.
How not to waste credits in Midjourney
Artistic generation eats credits easily: the model produces a new interpretation every time, and you want “just one more variation.” These techniques save attempts.
1. Describe the scene, light and texture, not a list of words. Midjourney holds a mood best when the prompt includes the time of day, the light source and the medium: “oil painting,” “watercolor on paper,” “35mm film.”
Painterly fantasy illustration: a red fox in a tiny knitted scarf walks through
a snowy birch forest at blue hour, carrying a glowing paper lantern in its mouth,
warm lantern light on the snow, rich oil painting texture, muted teal and amber palette
2. Name the style explicitly. The same scene as a watercolor and as a cinematic photo are two different prompts, not a matter of luck. If you don’t name the style, the model picks one itself, and your credits go to trial and error.
3. Aspect ratio first, details second. Choose the aspect ratio before generating: 4:5 portrait for social media, 16:9 for a cover. Reworking for a different format means a new generation.
More prompt examples and a breakdown of V8.2’s capabilities are on the Midjourney model page.
Free alternatives to Midjourney
If you need truly free generation, there are services like Alice AI, Shedevrum and GigaChat with Kandinsky — but they’re Russian-language services, and their quality is in a different league. On the Arena leaderboard, where users compare images from the same prompt blind, there were 80 models as of September 24, 2026. YandexART and Kandinsky aren’t on it, Midjourney doesn’t take part either, and the top spots belong to GPT Image, Nano Banana and Seedream.
| Model | Strength | Free |
|---|---|---|
| Midjourney | artistic style, illustrations | no |
| Nano Banana Pro | photorealism, photo editing, text in images | no; welcome credits in AI2Face |
| Seedream | 4K, series with one character | no; welcome credits in AI2Face |
| GPT Image | #1 on Arena, complex scenes and text | no; welcome credits in AI2Face |
| Shedevrum, Kandinsky | free, Russian-language | yes, with limits |
A detailed comparison of free generators and their limits is in our article free AI image generator.
Bottom line
A free Midjourney in 2026 is a myth from old guides: Midjourney’s help confirms there’s no free trial on the website or in Discord. Trial access remains only in niji・journey, but that’s an anime model, not Midjourney V8.2. Free Fast hours go only to subscribers. If you need Midjourney for real work, start with AI2Face’s welcome credits: it works there without Discord, with Nano Banana Pro and Seedream alongside for photorealism — easy to compare on the same prompt.
FAQ
Can I use Midjourney for free?
No. Midjourney's help states plainly that there's no free trial on midjourney.com or in Discord. Generation unlocks only with a subscription — from $10 a month on the Basic plan.
Does Midjourney have a free trial?
Only in the niji・journey mobile app for iOS and Android, and it's limited. niji・journey is an anime model Midjourney makes together with Spellbrush, not the main Midjourney V8.2.
Is there a way to try Midjourney without a subscription?
Not on Midjourney's own platforms: there's no free plan, and the bonus Fast hours only work with an active subscription. In AI2Face, you can try Midjourney with welcome credits after signing up.
How much does a Midjourney subscription cost?
$10 a month for Basic, $30 for Standard, $60 for Pro and $120 for Mega. Paying annually saves 20%: Basic comes to $8 a month.
Can I download Midjourney to my computer?
No. Midjourney runs only in the cloud: on the website, in Discord and in the niji・journey app. Downloadable models like OpenJourney are different AI models trained to imitate Midjourney's style.
Sources
7
- https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/27870399340173-Free-Trials
- https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/27870484040333-Comparing-Midjourney-Plans
- https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/28014817524109-Earning-Free-Fast-Time
- https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/27870375276557-Using-Images-Videos-Commercially
- https://nijijourney.com/
- https://updates.midjourney.com/version-8-2/
- https://arena.ai/leaderboard/text-to-image
