We were looking for some free DALL-E alternatives recently, you know, after trying out a bunch ourselves.
DALL-E stopped their free trial, right? We imagine a lot of people, like you, are on the hunt for other options now.
We’ve tried out and reviewed quite a few AI image generators, but they were all paid versions. Some of those are covered here, but we decided to dig deeper this time and focus more on the free DALL-E alternatives.
Table of Contents
What Is DALL-E?
DALL-E is a tool that lets users create images by simply describing them with their DALL-E prompts. It can generate pictures that match what the user describes, even if they look very unique or different. DALL-E is a version of the GPT-3 model.
10 DALL-E Alternatives 2024 (Mostly Free)
We were checking out some DALL-E alternatives, and we found a bunch that people seem to prefer—and we’ve even tried a few ourselves.
With so many free options out there, it must be tough to pick the right one.
It can be, but we went through the key points for each to help make the decision easier. Hopefully, it’ll save you some time!
| DALL-E Alternatives | Why Go For It | Free Trial |
| Leonardo AI | Create your own models | 150 tokens |
| Adobe Firefly | Various editing features | 25 credits |
| Stable Diffusion | Free and open source | Free forever |
| Hotpot.ai | Create unique arts | Free |
| Craiyon | No sign-up required | Free forever |
| Playground AI | Gives you commercial rights | 500 images |
| Nightcafe | Multi-model and algorithm operation | 5 free credits |
| Lexica | Best for Beginners | 100 images |
| Bing AI Image Creator | Create unlimited photos | 100/day |
| Blue Willow | Generate realistic images | 10 images/day |
We’ve tried out a bunch of DALL-E alternatives and finally narrowed it down to the top 10. We gave each one a thorough test, exploring all the features they offer and even shared some of the images we created with them.
But just a heads up, the ratings are based purely on our personal experience with the tools.
1. Leonardo AI (Create Your Own Models)
| Feature | Rating |
| User-friendliness | 4.7 |
| Speed of image generation | 4.6 |
| Flexibility in editing | 4.8 |
| Relevance of prompt to image | 4.7 |
Have you heard about Leonardo AI? It’s an excellent DALL-E alternative because you can train your AI model with it and then generate tons of different variations based on your training data. A lot of people prefer it over DALL-E, especially since it’s free.
They can make models of different items from their existing work and then tweak them with different themes, like fantasy, medieval, or futuristic.
Advantages
- Supports multiple background tasks simultaneously
- Offers outpainting capabilities
- Specially designed for creating game assets
- Allows for custom visual model training
Disadvantages
- Currently limited to the waitlist and early access users
Pricing
| Plans | Pricing |
| Free | 150 credits/day |
| Apprentice | $10 per month |
| Artisan | $24 per month |
| Maestro | $48 per month |
2. Adobe Firefly (Various Editing Features)
| Feature | Rating |
| User-friendliness | 4.5 |
| Speed of image generation | 4.7 |
| Flexibility in editing | 4.8 |
| Relevance of prompt to image | 4.8 |
With text-to-image generation, Adobe might be onto something big. They’re merging the power of Photoshop—like, the go-to tool for picture processing and editing—with AI text-to-image generation.
With Photoshop in the mix, it’s going to push the boundaries of what generative AI can do with Adobe Firefly. And get this—they’re not stopping at text-to-image.
Adobe is working on adding features like text-to-vector, text-to-pattern, text-to-brush, text-to-sketch, and even text-to-template tools to Firefly.
Advantages
- Innovative generative match feature
- Superior image quality
- Ability to apply styles or textures to text using prompts
- Option to add or remove objects through painting
Disadvantages
- Slow image processing time
Pricing
| Plans | Pricing |
| Free | $0 |
| Premium | $4.99 per month |
3. Stable Diffusion (Free and Open Source)
| Feature | Rating |
| User-friendliness | 4.8 |
| Speed of image generation | 4.3 |
| Flexibility in editing | 4.5 |
| Relevance of prompt to image | 4.7 |
Stable Diffusion is this image generation model that gets some pretty impressive results.
We know it’s open-source and free. A lot of websites use it for generating images from text.
And the best part is, Stable Diffusion doesn’t collect any personal information about your images or text.
They’ve added this feature where you can now apply different “styles” to your images. Plus, there’s a prompt guide to help spark creativity.
Advantages
- Unlimited AI image generation
- User-friendly interface
- Free and open-source model
- Full user privacy with no search restrictions
Disadvantages
- Human figures can appear distorted and lack refinement
- The Image generation process can be slower
- The website may feel somewhat laggy
Pricing
| Plans | Pricing |
| Free | $0 |
| Pro | $8.33 per month |
4. Hotpot.ai (Create Unique Arts)
| Feature | Rating |
| User-friendliness | 4.5 |
| Speed of image generation | 4 |
| Flexibility in editing | 4.5 |
| Relevance of prompt to image | 4 |
Hotpot AI‘s image generator can make all sorts of images like art, and headshots, and even upscale or remove parts of pictures.
It is also personalized art, colorizes and restores pictures, enhances faces, and generates colors. Plus, it helps with Instagram posts, App Store screenshots, LinkedIn banners, Facebook posts, and even game assets.
It offers tools for copywriting, songwriting, product writing, and professional writing.
Advantages
- User-friendly interface
- Variety of features
- Freemium model
- Regular updates
- Saves time
Disadvantages
- Limitations on the free tier
- Quality varies
- Commercial user restrictions
Pricing
| Plans | Pricing |
| Free | $0 |
| Premium | 1000 credits/month ($10/month) |
5. Craiyon (No Sign-up Required)
| Feature | Rating |
| User-friendliness | 5 |
| Speed of image generation | 4 |
| Flexibility in editing | 3 |
| Relevance of prompt to image | 4 |
Craiyon is based on the DALL·E model. It can definitely meet your general creativity needs, though. You get 9 images from each prompt, and you can view them in 3 other modes.
It can be pretty slow, even for simple prompts. And while you’re waiting, there are these annoying ads right on the results page.
The quality feels a bit lacking, and there aren’t many editing options available.
You can print your photos on a white t-shirt and have them shipped to you. That’s a nice touch.
Advantages
- User-friendly
- No sign-up needed
- Provides prompt suggestions
Disadvantages
- Longer image generation time
- Frequent ads
Pricing
| Plans | Pricing |
| Free | $0 |
| Supporter | $5/month |
| Professional | $20/month |
6. Playground AI (Gives You Commercial Rights)
| Feature | Rating |
| User-friendliness | 4.7 |
| Speed of image generation | 4.7 |
| Flexibility in editing | 4.7 |
| Relevance of prompt to image | 4.5 |
Free up to 500 images with Playground AI. It’s super user-friendly and is a great DALL-E alternative.
You get a lot of flexibility with the models you can use, like Stable Diffusion XL and 1.5. You can also apply different filters and do things like in-painting and upscaling.
The free version does have some limits. After you use up your 500 images for free, you’ll be in a waiting period.
Advantages
- Generate up to 500 images for free.
- Use the generated images for commercial purposes.
- Offers various filters and advanced editing features.
- Access to both Stable Diffusion and Playground AI models.
Disadvantages
- Image dimensions are fixed based on the chosen model.
- There’s a waiting period after generating 500 free images.
- Quality and detail control diminish after creating 50 images.
Pricing
| Plans | Pricing |
| Free | $0 |
| Pro | $12/month |
| Turbo | $45/month |
7. Nightcafe (Multi-model and Algorithm Operation)
| Feature | Rating |
| User-friendliness | 4.7 |
| Speed of image generation | 4.6 |
| Flexibility in editing | 4.8 |
| Relevance of prompt to image | 4.7 |
Nightcafe is pretty amazing. It’s like you’re in control of your creativity, and there’s even more to it.
It gives you access to a bunch of different text-to-image models, like DALL-E 2, Stable Diffusion, VQGAN+CLIP, CLIP-Guided Diffusion, and even Style Transfer.
This DALL-E alternative tool helps you find all these models in one place and pick whichever one fits your project best.
The Nightcafe interface used to be pretty outdated and kind of bland, but it’s gotten a lot better recently.
You start with 5 free credits and can access all the models right away. But once those credits run out, you can only make single-image ‘Stable’ creations until you get more additional credits.
Advantages
- Offers greater control with various modes, each tailored to a distinct style.
- Easy to start without requiring an email or credit card.
- Supports both Stable Diffusion and DALL·E.
Disadvantages
- Image generation is limited after the free usage quota is reached.
Pricing
| Plans | Pricing |
| Free | $0 |
| Pro | $4.79/month (100 credits/month) |
8. Lexica (Best for Beginners)
| Feature | Rating |
| User-friendliness | 4.7 |
| Speed of image generation | 4.5 |
| Flexibility in editing | 4.6 |
| Relevance of prompt to image | 4.7 |
Lexica has an art gallery and an AI search engine that uses the Stable Diffusion image generation model.
The interface is super intuitive, so you can just jump in without even signing up. You can start creating right away.
One thing that stands out is you can type in anything, and it’ll pull up a bunch of similar images. It’s great for when you need a little inspiration from other artists.
It’s straightforward, gets right to the point, and makes the whole process smooth and easy. Perfect for beginners.
Advantages
- User-friendly
- Ideal for beginners
- Features the new Aperture v3.5
- Fast image generation
Disadvantages
- Requires a subscription for commercial use
Pricing
| Plans | Pricing |
| Free | $0 (100 images/month) |
| Starter | $8/month |
| Pro | $24/month |
| Max | $48/month |
9. Bing AI Image Creator (Create Unlimited Photos)
| Feature | Rating |
| User-friendliness | 4.8 |
| Speed of image generation | 4.7 |
| Flexibility in editing | 4.6 |
| Relevance of prompt to image | 4.8 |
There’s this lesser-known DALL-E alternative for free image generation called Bing Image Creator. It’s good at creating high-quality, creative images.
The good part is that it’s powered by DALL-E 3, thanks to Microsoft’s AI Image Creator. It can produce some impressive results. All you have to do is go to the Bing homepage, hit the images section, and click the image creator option.
It doesn’t have the customization options that some other tools offer. You get 100 credits daily, but after the first 25 images, it takes longer to generate new ones.
Advantages
- Compatible with any browser and integrates with Bing Chat AI.
- Continues to function even after free credits are used up.
- Utilizes DALL-E 3 technology.
Disadvantages
- Limited customization styles and editing capabilities.
- Restricted image library.
- Depends on the Bing search algorithm, which may cause interruptions or constraints for users.
Pricing
| Plans | Pricing |
| Free | $0 |
10. Blue Willow (Generate Realistic Images)
| Feature | Rating |
| User-friendliness | 4 |
| Speed of image generation | 4 |
| Flexibility in editing | 4 |
| Relevance of prompt to image | 4 |
BlueWillow is a DALL-E alternative which was founded pretty recently, in January 2023. LimeWire even acquired it in September 2023.
It uses a bunch of different image models, like DALL-E and Stable Diffusion, to create these super realistic images and art.
Right now, it has two big ones— BlueWillow v5 and Stable Diffusion XL v1.0. You can even get into the details by specifying negative prompts, prompt guidance, and the quality level, whether you want it low, medium, or high.
Once your image is ready, you’ve got a ton of options. You can edit it, upscale it, remove the background, and even turn it into music if you want.
We were impressed with how well it sticks to the prompt and the quality of the images. Oh, and the free plan lets you create up to 10 images a day.
Advantages
- Free access
- User-friendly interface
- Customization options
Disadvantages
- Limited features compared to other DALL-E alternatives
- Prompt limitation
Pricing
| Plans | Pricing |
| Free trial | $0 |
What to Look for in a DALL-E Alternative?
There are other AI image generators besides DALL-E. Many other powerful DALL-E alternatives might suit your needs better.
Here’s what to consider when choosing the best DALL E alternative:
- Easy to use: Pick a tool that’s simple to navigate, whether you’re a pro or just starting with AI image creation.
- Editing options: Even if the tool creates good images, it’s a bonus if you can edit and improve the design.
- Personalized prompts: Choose DALL E free alternatives that let you adjust settings so you can get the exact image you want.
- Quick image creation: Find alternatives to DALL E that generate images from your text prompt in seconds, not minutes, to save time.
- Usage rights: Before using these images for commercial purposes, ensure you have the proper rights to avoid legal problems.
- Art styles: Choose text-to-image generators that let you customize themes and styles to generate realistic images.
The Bottom Line
AI text-to-art generators are making it easier for everyone to create art, whether you’re a beginner or a pro. DALL-E 2 is currently the top choice, but we’ve also listed some great DALL-E alternatives that you’ll likely enjoy using.
FAQs on DALL-E Alternative
Is anything better than DALL E 3?
DALL-E 3 is a powerful AI for making images, but Leonardo AI often creates more artistic and creative ones. Stable Diffusion is better for realistic images, though it sometimes has trouble with faces.
What are some free alternatives to Midjourney and DALLE2?
There are several free alternatives to Midjourney and DALL-E 2. Blue Willow is a popular tool that allows you to create up to 20 images for free. Playground AI offers 500 free images daily, and Stable Diffusion is an open-source model that lets you generate images without any cost.
Which AI is better than DALL-E?
Leonardo AI is the best DALL-E alternative with strong image editing tools and advanced prompts. Stable Diffusion is another choice, more reliable than Leonardo AI and more powerful than DALL-E.
Is there a DALL-E free version?
DALL-E no longer has a free version. People who signed up before April 6, 2023, got a few free credits each month, but that’s stopped now. Now, users need to buy credits to create images.
Is DALLE 3 the best AI image generator?
DALL·E 3 is one of the best AI image generators right now. It creates detailed and colorful images from text prompts and is great at understanding natural language. Its easy-to-use features make it a popular choice.
Is there a free alternative to DALL-E?
Yes, there are many free alternatives to DALL-E, like Adobe Firefly, Leonardo AI, Stable Diffusion, Hotpot.ai, and Craiyon, which let you create a lot of images for free each month.
What is the free and alternative to DALLE AI?
Free alternatives to DALL-E are Craiyon and Microsoft Designer’s Image Creator. Craiyon, which used to be called DALL-E mini, lets you make as many prompts as you want and gives you nine images each time. Microsoft Designer’s Image Creator uses DALL-E 3 technology and is free through Microsoft services.
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