I Tested Tons of AI Image Generators - These 12 Are the Best by Far

Here, I’m sharing the best 12 AI image generators that you can use to generate realistic images the way you want.

Image generated by Pollo AI

If you follow me, you may know that I’ve been using a number of AI image generators.

To be more precise, for the last 2 years, I have tried at least 35+ AI image generators.

I even wrote a couple of posts sharing some of my recommendations, but I haven’t written a detailed post sharing the best AI image generators.

And so, I’m writing this post sharing the best 12 AI image generators that you can use to create realistic images the way you want.

And to pick the best AI image generators, I focused on a few important parameters like:

• The generated AI images should be realistic with proper resolution, texture detail, lighting, and anatomy (especially for faces, hands, etc)

• The AI image generators must allow you to generate & customize the image exactly the way you want (support detailed prompts, negative prompts, image-to-image, etc)

• The generator should support multiple styles like photorealism, anime, digital art, pixel art, sketches, 3D renders, and more

• The user interface must be clean, beginner-friendly, and not overly technical to navigate, & the generation speed should be fast enough

• It should offer a free plan or reasonably priced paid options (with no aggressive paywalls)

With that said, let’s jump into the recommendations:

1. Fiverr Image Generation Service

Well, this one’s not technically an AI image generator.

But I had to mention it here — especially if you’re a business owner, creator, or someone short on time who just wants realistic images without spending hours adjusting prompts.

Here’s the thing: AI image generators are great, but they have limits.

Sometimes you just can’t get the exact result you want. And let’s be real — not everyone has the time to sit and figure out the perfect prompts or train custom models.

That’s where you can hire experts from Fiverr.

To be more precise, you can hire experts who can generate realistic images, edit them exactly how you want, train models with your own data, and even make professional AI headshots for you.

But how?

Simply visit Fiverr and search for “image generation” right inside the search bar.

As you can see, they have experts for almost everything, and you can hire them starting from just $10 and get your work done.

It’s not AI doing the work directly — but they have experts who are using AI to get your work done at an affordable rate.

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Just so you know:

Everything I’ve shared here is something I actually use.

If this post changed how you think about AI even a little, that didn’t happen in isolation. It came from a much bigger shift in how I use AI overall.

That’s why I put that entire system down inside “The (Unfair) AI Workflow Playbook” with everything you need.

It’s the exact set of workflows I use daily to run my work faster than feels normal, and if you apply even a few of them, you’ll save hundreds of hours.

You can spend months figuring this out on your own, or you can steal my entire playbook right now.

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2. Leonardo AI

To be honest, I’ve used this AI image generator a lot, and the best part is that the team behind it keeps on adding new features like Pollo AI.

I’m talking about Leonardo AI, and it has tons of features — you can generate realistic images and videos, use the realtime canvas, canvas editor, integrate the API, and more.

Talking specifically about image generation, you can select multiple inbuilt AI models, use the style reference or content reference feature, create consistent characters, and more.

Getting started is easy — you just need to visit their website, and then click on the button “Get Started” to create an account.

Then you can see a couple of AI tools, advanced options, community creations, and more. You simply need to click on the “Image” option, then write a prompt, select a model, select the dimension, and more.

Here are the images it generated:

Talking about the pricing, it provides you 150 tokens every day for free, and if you need more, you need to upgrade.

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3. ImagineArt

The next one is not just an AI image generator, but it even lets you generate videos, workflows, ads, edit images & videos, and even use most of the popular AI image and video models.

I’m talking about ImagineArt, and to get started, simply visit their website and create your account.

After that, you just need to select the “image” option, write a detailed prompt, and select an image model to generate what you want.

Here’s what I generated:

Insane, right?

The best part is you get most of the features that you need to generate an image and then edit it the way you want.

Talking about the pricing, it provides 40 daily credits for free so that you can try it out.

And if you want to generate more, you need to buy one of the paid plans as shown above.

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4. Stable Diffusion

I’m pretty confident that most of you may have heard about Stable Diffusion.

Well, it’s one of the best open-source AI models out there that you can download and run locally inside your PC.

Here’s a GitHub repo that you need to clone right inside your computer, and they have a README file as well to help you in the installation process.

And the best part is that you can try Stable Diffusion through different ways. In this post, we are going to try DreamStudio to use Stable Diffusion right inside the web interface.

For that, simply visit DreamStudio, and then click on the button, “Get Started”. And then you need to create an account.

After that, I’ve written a prompt, selected the Photographic style, and then generated the images.

Here’s what it generated:

Insane, right?

Talking about the pricing, if you install it locally you can use it for free. And talking about DreamStudio, you will get 25 credits which can help you generate 3 to 4 times.

And then you need to buy credits,  for that you need to spend $10 to get 1,000 credits.

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5. Pixazo AI

This one is relatively new, and it lets you create images and videos with AI editing.

I’m talking about Pixazo AI, and it not only generates images but also videos, animations, logos, avatars, and even music.

To get started, simply visit the Pixazo website and click on the “Get Started” button to access the ai image generator.

Then create your account, and you will be redirected to the dashboard where you can click “Create” to generate your images.

After that, the process is simple: choose an image model, and write a prompt describing what you want to generate.

Speaking of image models, it offers several options like Nano Banana Pro, Flux 2 Pro, and more.

I tried the Flux 2 Pro image model and entered a prompt, and here’s what it generated:

Insane quality, right?

In the same way, you can use some of the best AI models to generate videos, and even create visuals for social media ads, your business, and more.

As for pricing, it offers a free 7-day trial with 100 credits so you can test it and see how well it generates visuals.

After that, you can upgrade to their Pro plan, which costs $84 per year for the annual subscription and includes most of their features.

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6. ChatGPT (with GPT-4o)

Just see the above image — see the detailing, the way it generated the text, and even the photographer’s reflection.

Well, it’s generated by ChatGPT, and it’s way more realistic than I ever thought.

And to be honest, thanks to the recent development by OpenAI, I want to place it in the #1 position, but it’s not specifically an AI image generator, and it doesn’t have insane features like others.

But the best part is that it went viral thanks to people generating Ghibli from it.

Now, talking about the features: one can generate consistent characters, render text inside the image, upload and restyle an image, and more.

Getting started is easy — simply visit ChatGPT and write a prompt based on what you want to generate.

It’s that easy.

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7. Pollo AI

I have recently tried this one, and thanks to its insane features, it’s become one of my favourites.

I’m talking about Pollo AI.

And I liked it so much that I’ve started using it to generate all my AI images that I needed.

But why? Well, it helps you generate realistic images (and even videos).

And the best part is that you can select different popular AI models like Flux Dev, GPT-4o, Imagen 3, Stable Diffusion 3, and more to generate realistic images.

In short, you can try almost all of the popular AI image models right inside Pollo AI.

How to get started? You simply need to visit their website and then click on the button, “Start for free”.

And then you can select the option of AI image generator to generate realistic images from the text prompt.

I’ve tried it myself by selecting a popular model and then writing a detailed prompt. Here are the outputs:

Talking about the pricing, you can get started for free and then upgrade as you want.

You see, it gives you 20 free credits, and even daily credits so that you can use Pollo AI up to a limit. And if you want more credits, you can buy the Pro or the Lite plan.

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8. Flux

Now, to be honest, when I’m generating images using Pollo AI or Leonardo AI, I always go and select the Flux AI model.

It’s because the Flux AI model generates the most realistic images I’ve ever seen. To be more precise, Flux provides three different modes: Flux Dev, Flux Schnell, and Flux Pro.

Sure, you can use Pollo AI or Leonardo AI to use these Flux AI models, but you can even use the Flux AI website to try it out.

You just need to visit the Flux AI website, create an account, and then click on the button, “Flux AI Image Generator”.

I’ve tried with a prompt of a mythical creature in a forest, and here’s what it generated:

Talking about the pricing, it provides 40 credits to new users and 20 daily credits for free.

And if you want to further generate images, you need to upgrade to one of their paid plans.

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9. Imagen 3

Now, this one is from Google, and I’m talking about Imagen 3, their most recent AI image generation model.

The Google team claims that their latest Imagen 3 can generate the highest quality images with even better detail, richer lighting, and fewer distracting artifacts.

They have even shared that their latest model is better in overall performance compared to others.

Getting started is easy — you just need to visit Gemini and write a prompt.

Yes, it’s that easy.

And like ChatGPT, you can generate different types of images, from illustrations to abstract art, and more.

And to be honest, I don’t think it’s that great, but it’s from Google, and I believe with time it will generate some of the best AI images.

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10. Adobe Firefly

Well, I’ve tried Adobe Firefly a lot in the past to generate realistic images, and to be honest, they are insane.

But after the updates and insane features in Leonardo AI, Pollo AI, and ChatGPT, I’ve stopped using it.

To get started, you simply need to visit their website, and then simply click on the button “Sign in” to create an account.

After creating your account, you just need to write a prompt about what you want to generate.

I’ve tried with the same simple prompt, i.e., “Create an image of a mythical creature in a forest”, and here’s what it generated:

Insane, right?

Sure, I can further customize it and even download it for free.

Talking about the pricing, I can try 10 different times in total to generate a realistic image, and then it will ask me to upgrade further.

Here’s the pricing (it’s in Indian rupees):

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11. Ideogram

To be honest, I hadn’t heard about this one since I was okay with Pollo AI, Leonardo AI, and other AI image generators.

But when I was researching the best & free AI image generators, I got to know about this one.

I’m talking about Ideogram, and they are more focused on adding text to a generated image.

But how to get started? Well, you just need to visit their website, and then a pop-up will appear to create an account.

After creating an account, you just need to write a prompt, and then you are good to go.

I’ve tried generating some thumbnails and cover images for my Substack newsletter and for my digital book.

Here’s what it generated:

You see, it is actually great when placing text into an image, much like the latest OpenAI image generation model.

Sure, I can further edit a specific image or download one for free.

As for pricing — you get 10 slow credits per week for free, and then you need to upgrade.

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12. Canva

Now, we all know about Canva, and the best part is that it has added tons of AI features right inside their app to make the process easier.

One of the AI features is that one can freely generate AI images right inside Canva. They call this AI feature “Magic Media”.

Well, you just need to visit their AI image generator page and then simply write the prompt to generate a realistic image.

I’ve tried with the same prompt to create a mythical creature, and here’s what it generated:

Sure, I can generate again, edit it the way I want, and even download it.

Talking about the pricing, they give you 50 daily credits for free to try it out 50 times.

And if you want to generate more realistic images, you need to upgrade to their paid plan.

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FAQs

a) Which AI image generator is best for beginners?

⟹ If you’re a beginner, Stable Diffusion, Flux, or Leonardo AI are great choices. They have a clean interface, tons of built-in models, and even provide free credits to start with.

b) Can I use these AI image generators for free?

⟹ Yes, most of the ones I’ve listed here offer free credits or trials.

I’ve been using the free version of Leonardo AI for more than a year, and I haven’t felt the need to try their paid plan yet.

c) What’s the most realistic AI image generator right now?

⟹ In my opinion, the Flux AI models generate the most realistic images, and I’m accessing them through Pixazo AI, Pollo AI or Leonardo AI. Sure, you can try it out and find the one you like the most.

d) Can I generate consistent characters or styles across images?

⟹ Yes. AI image generators like Leonardo AI, ChatGPT (with GPT-4o), and Fiverr image generation services allow you to create consistent characters or use style references to maintain a uniform look across your images.

e) Can I use these AI image generators to generate images for commercial use?

⟹ Well, I’ve been using them for close to 2 years now by just adding the source or captions right inside my Substack posts.

And the best part? Most of these AI tools allow commercial use, especially with paid plans ,  but always check each platform’s licensing terms before using them.

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Hope you like it.

That’s it — thanks.

Also, don’t forget to checkout “The (Unfair) AI Workflow Playbook” where I shared exact set of AI workflows I use daily to run my work faster than feels normal.