What Midjourney subscription tiers cost and what you get
Midjourney is an AI image generation tool that creates pictures from text descriptions you write. To use it, you pay a monthly subscription. Midjourney offers four paid tiers — Basic, Standard, Pro, and Mega — plus a free trial that lets you make a small number of images before you have to pay.
Each tier gives you a monthly allowance of GPU minutes, which is the computing power the service uses to generate your images. The more you pay, the more GPU minutes you receive each month. A single image typically uses between 0.5 and 2 minutes of GPU time, depending on how complex your request is and which settings you choose. If you run out of GPU minutes before the month ends, you can either wait for your allowance to reset or pay extra for additional minutes.
Midjourney also offers an annual payment option on all paid plans. If you pay for a full year upfront instead of month-to-month, you receive a discount — typically around 20 percent off the monthly rate. This means a Standard plan costs less per month if you commit to twelve months than if you pay monthly.
Key Takeaways
- Midjourney has four paid subscription tiers (Basic, Standard, Pro, and Mega) plus a free trial with limited image generation.
- Each tier includes a monthly allowance of GPU minutes; once you use them, you either wait for the next month or purchase additional minutes.
- You can pay month-to-month or commit to a full year and receive a discount of roughly 20 percent.
- Midjourney is accessed through Discord, a chat platform, so you need a Discord account to sign up and use the service.
How the free trial works and when you need to upgrade
When you first join Midjourney, you can generate a limited number of images at no cost. This free trial period gives you roughly 25 image generations to test the tool before deciding whether to pay. The exact number can vary slightly, but the intent is to let you see what the service produces and whether it meets your needs.
Once you exhaust your free generations, you cannot make new images unless you purchase a subscription. The service will prompt you to choose a plan. You do not have to upgrade when ready — you can wait and return later if you want — but there is no way to continue using Midjourney without paying once the trial runs out.
The free trial does not include access to some features available to paid subscribers, such as the ability to make your images private or to use certain advanced settings. This means even during the trial, you may want to upgrade sooner if privacy or specific features matter to you.
Understanding GPU minutes and how fast they run out
GPU minutes are the core currency of Midjourney. When you request an image, the service allocates a portion of its computing power to create it. That allocation is measured in minutes. A straightforward image request might use 0.5 to 1 minute; a more detailed or complex request might use 1.5 to 2 minutes or more.
The time it takes to generate an image on your screen (usually 30 to 60 seconds) is different from the GPU minutes charged to your account. GPU minutes measure the actual computing resources used, not the wall-clock time you wait. This means two users might see their images appear at roughly the same speed, but one might be charged more GPU minutes if their image was more computationally demanding.
If you reach your monthly GPU minute limit before the month ends, Midjourney stops generating new images. You can still view and interact with images you have already made, but you cannot create new ones. At the start of the next month, your allowance resets. Alternatively, you can purchase additional GPU minutes on demand, though this costs more per minute than your monthly allowance.
Comparing the four paid subscription tiers
| Plan | Monthly GPU Minutes | Monthly Cost (Month-to-Month) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 3.33 hours (200 minutes) | $10 | Occasional users who generate a few images per week |
| Standard | 15 hours (900 minutes) | $30 | Regular users who create images several times per week |
| Pro | 30 hours (1,800 minutes) | $60 | Heavy users or professionals who generate images daily |
| Mega | 60 hours (3,600 minutes) | $120 | Teams or power users who need unlimited daily creation |
All paid tiers include access to Midjourney's full feature set, including private images, commercial usage rights, and the ability to use advanced settings. The main difference is how many GPU minutes you receive each month. The Basic plan is designed for people who want to experiment occasionally; the Mega plan is built for teams or individuals who use the tool constantly.
Choosing the right tier depends on how often you plan to generate images and what you intend to do with them. If you are unsure, start with the Basic plan during your free trial period and track how many images you create. This gives you real data to decide whether to upgrade before your first paid month begins.
How to sign up and manage your subscription
To use Midjourney, you first need a Discord account. Discord is a free chat and community platform. Once you have a Discord account, you visit the Midjourney website and click the sign-up button, which connects your Discord account to Midjourney. You do not need to create a separate username or password — your Discord login handles everything.
After you sign up, Midjourney adds you to its Discord server, where you can start generating images when ready using the free trial. To upgrade to a paid plan, you go to the Midjourney website, log in with your Discord account, and choose which tier you want. You enter your payment information (Midjourney accepts major credit cards), and your subscription begins right away.
You can change your plan, pause your subscription, or cancel at any time through the Midjourney website. If you downgrade to a lower tier mid-month, you are charged a prorated amount for the remainder of that month. If you cancel, your subscription ends at the end of your current billing cycle, and you lose access to paid features but can still view images you have already created.
What happens if you run out of GPU minutes mid-month
If you use all your GPU minutes before the month ends, Midjourney will not generate new images for you. The service shows a message telling you that you have exhausted your monthly allowance. At this point, you have two options: wait until the next month for your allowance to reset, or purchase additional GPU minutes when ready.
Buying extra GPU minutes costs more per minute than your monthly plan includes. For example, if you are on the Standard plan, you are paying roughly $0.03 per GPU minute as part of your $30 monthly allowance. If you buy additional minutes on demand, the per-minute cost is higher. This is why many users who consistently run out of minutes upgrade to a higher tier instead — it is usually cheaper in the long run.
Midjourney does not roll over unused GPU minutes to the next month. If you have 100 GPU minutes left on December 31st, those minutes disappear on January 1st when your new monthly allowance begins. This encourages users to plan their image generation around their monthly budget rather than stockpiling time.
Commercial usage rights and what you can do with your images
When you generate an image using Midjourney, you own the image and can use it for commercial purposes — selling it, publishing it, using it in advertising, or incorporating it into a product — as long as you have a paid subscription. If you generate an image during the free trial, you do not have commercial rights; you can view and share the image, but you cannot sell it or use it to make money.
This distinction matters if you are a designer, marketer, or artist considering Midjourney for work. You need at least a Basic paid subscription to legally use generated images in a commercial context. The subscription tier does not matter — even the $10 Basic plan includes full commercial rights.
Midjourney's terms also state that you cannot use the service to generate images that infringe on someone else's copyright or that violate their intellectual property. The service has filters to prevent certain types of requests, but you are responsible for ensuring your use complies with the law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I share my Midjourney subscription with someone else?
No. Your subscription is tied to your Discord account, and Midjourney's terms prohibit sharing login credentials or splitting a subscription among multiple people. If multiple people need to use Midjourney, each person needs their own subscription.
Do GPU minutes roll over if I don't use them all in a month?
No. Unused GPU minutes expire at the end of each month and do not carry over to the next billing cycle. Your allowance resets on the same day each month, and any minutes you did not use are lost.
What payment methods does Midjourney accept?
Midjourney accepts major credit and debit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. The service does not accept PayPal, bank transfers, or other payment methods at this time. Your card is charged on the same day each month that your subscription renews.
Can I pause my subscription instead of canceling it?
Yes. Midjourney allows you to pause your subscription for up to three months. While paused, you are not charged, but you also cannot generate new images. You can resume your subscription at any time, and it will pick up where you left off.
What is the difference between GPU minutes and fast hours?
Older Midjourney plans used a metric called "fast hours" instead of GPU minutes. The company switched to GPU minutes to make billing clearer and more transparent. If you have an older account, you may see fast hours listed, but new accounts use GPU minutes exclusively.