AI Image Generators
Short answer
AI image generators create and edit pictures from text. This category covers general-purpose generation and editing: Stable Diffusion, FLUX, Ideogram, Clipdrop, ImgKits and the legacy DALL-E 3. For stylised art see Art (Midjourney, Leonardo); for brand and UI design see Design. The biggest differences are licence (open weights versus hosted only), text rendering, editing tools and price. FLUX and Stable Diffusion licences were checked on the vendors' repositories on 5 October 2026.
What this category covers: General-purpose generation and editing. For brand design see Design.
AI Image Generators compared
| Tool | What it does | Pricing model | Status | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stable Diffusion | Stability AI's family of open-weight image generation models, usable locally or through hosted services. | Open weights | Active | 2 June 2026 |
| Ideogram | An AI image generator known for rendering readable text inside images such as posters and logos. | Free plan available | Active | 2 June 2026 |
| FLUX | Black Forest Labs' family of image generation models, available as open weights and through an API. | Open weights | Active | 5 October 2026 |
| Clipdrop | An image-editing toolkit for background removal, upscaling, relighting and image generation. | Free trial | Active | 2 June 2026 |
| Imgkits | Listed as an image-enhancement toolkit for upscaling and editing photos. | Free plan available | Active | 2 June 2026 |
| DALL-E 3 | OpenAI's 2023 text-to-image model. Newer OpenAI image models in ChatGPT have since superseded it. | Free trial | Superseded | 2 June 2026 |
All tools in this category
Stable Diffusion
Stability AI's family of open-weight image generation models, usable locally or through hosted services.
Ideogram
An AI image generator known for rendering readable text inside images such as posters and logos.
FLUX
Black Forest Labs' family of image generation models, available as open weights and through an API.
Clipdrop
An image-editing toolkit for background removal, upscaling, relighting and image generation.
Imgkits
Listed as an image-enhancement toolkit for upscaling and editing photos.
DALL-E 3
OpenAI's 2023 text-to-image model. Newer OpenAI image models in ChatGPT have since superseded it.
How to choose
Evidence: Editorial assessmentHosted app or open weights?
Hosted apps are easiest. Open-weight models such as Stable Diffusion and some FLUX versions can run on your own hardware, which helps with privacy and volume, but licences differ by model: FLUX.1 [schnell] is Apache-2.0 while FLUX.1 [dev] is non-commercial without a paid licence.
Text in images
If you make posters, thumbnails or logos, test how well each tool renders words. Ideogram is known for this; others vary by model version.
Editing, not just generating
Background removal, inpainting, upscaling and relighting often matter more than generation. Toolkits such as Clipdrop focus on these.
Commercial use and provenance
Check commercial-use terms on the plan you will use, and whether outputs carry watermarks or content credentials. Avoid generating trademarks or real people without permission.
What changed in this update
- Corrected the FLUX link (previously pointed to an unrelated company).
- DALL-E 3 marked as superseded.
Common questions
Which AI image generator is free?
Several have free tiers or open weights. Stable Diffusion and FLUX.1 [schnell] can be run yourself; hosted free plans change often, so check the provider.
Can I use FLUX images commercially?
FLUX.1 [schnell] is Apache-2.0. FLUX.1 [dev] uses a non-commercial licence unless you buy a commercial licence from Black Forest Labs.
Is DALL-E 3 still current?
No. OpenAI's newer image models have superseded it in ChatGPT; ChatGPT Images 2.5 was reported in September 2026.
What is the difference between Image, Art and Design?
Image is general generation and editing; Art is stylised creative generation; Design is logos, brand kits and UI.