How to Choose an AI Image Generator (Decide by Job, Not by Demo)

Choose an image generator by asking one question: is the image the deliverable, part of a series, or part of a design? That single routing question replaces every feature-comparison spreadsheet, because the three answers map to three different tools with three different jobs.

Answer 1: The image is the deliverable → Midjourney

Thumbnails, hero images, the visual that carries the click. When one image has to win attention on its own, default aesthetic quality is the whole game — and Midjourney still sets that bar. $10/month minimum, no free trial, worth it the moment images have revenue attached.

Answer 2: The image is part of a series → Leonardo

A recurring character, fifty on-brand assets, a consistent style across months of content. Series work needs control — custom-trained models, character consistency, batch production — and that’s Leonardo.Ai’s home turf. Bonus: 150 free tokens daily means you can prove the workflow before paying.

Answer 3: The image is part of a design → Canva

Social graphics, decks, one-pagers where the generated image is one layer among text and layout. Leaving your design tool to generate, download, and re-import is friction that kills the habit — Canva’s built-in generation is weaker per-image and better per-workflow. Speed-to-shipped wins here.

The trap to avoid

Buying two generators “to compare them for a while.” You won’t compare; you’ll pay twice and default to one. Route by the question, subscribe to the answer, and give the tool 30 days of real work before revisiting. (Exception: Midjourney + Leonardo genuinely coexist when you have both hero-image and series jobs — see the full comparison.)

Quick reference

The image is…	Tool	Entry cost
The deliverable itself	Midjourney	$10/mo
One of many in a series	Leonardo.Ai	Free (150 tokens/day)
A layer in a design	Canva Pro	$15/mo

The workflow should choose the tool. Name the job the image has, and it just did.