Midjourney alternatives: 8 image models you can call from one API

The 8 best Midjourney alternatives with an API

All eight take the same request, so switching is a one-word change to the model id. The price is the lowest each model lists, per picture:

Each model's page has its live price and every setting it takes. The cheapest image API guide lists the rest of the image models.

What 1,000 images cost on each

The same 1,000 pictures, at each model's smallest standard size. Midjourney returns four pictures per request, so its row is 250 requests:

Bigger sizes cost more on most models: Nano Banana Pro is $0.08 at 4K and Recraft V4.1 $0.28 at 2K. Failed images are never charged, so the totals above are what delivered pictures cost.

Which alternative fits your job

• Words in the picture. Posters, packaging, menus and UI mockups need text that is spelled right. Use Ideogram (see the Ideogram API guide) or Nano Banana Pro.
• Editing your own photos. A product on a new background, a logo on a T-shirt, one face in many scenes: Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image 2 and FLUX.2 Pro take reference pictures. The image editing API guide has the requests.
• Brand and design work. Illustrations, icons and marketing art in one consistent style: Recraft V4.1.
• The lowest price per picture. Thumbnails, drafts and A/B variants: Seedream 5.5 at $0.02 and MiniMax H3 Image at $0.02.
• The Midjourney look. If the painterly, cinematic style is the point, keep Midjourney V7 and call it through the API (below).

Try three models with one request

Every model takes the same POST /v1/generations request; only the model id and its own settings change, so a side-by-side test is a short loop. This one sends one prompt to Midjourney V7, Seedream 5.5 and Nano Banana Pro, with a cap on each job:

import os
import time
import uuid

import requests

API = "https://api.revana.si/v1"
HEADERS = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['REVANA_API_KEY']}"}
PROMPT = "A ceramic coffee cup on a linen tablecloth, soft morning window light, editorial product photo."

# The same prompt on three models. Only the model id and its own settings change.
JOBS = {
    "midjourney-v7": {"quality": "relax"},
    "seedream-5.5": {"resolution": "2K"},
    "nano-banana-pro": {"resolution": "1K"},
}

started = {}
for model, settings in JOBS.items():
    # One Idempotency-Key per job, made once: resend with the same key after a timeout,
    # a 429 or a 5xx and you get the same job back, never a second charge.
    key = str(uuid.uuid4())
    resp = requests.post(f"{API}/generations", headers={**HEADERS, "Idempotency-Key": key}, json={
        "model": model,
        "input": {"prompt": PROMPT, "aspect_ratio": "1:1", **settings},
        "max_cost_usd": 0.1,  # your cap per job
    })
    resp.raise_for_status()
    started[model] = resp.json()["id"]

for model, gen_id in started.items():
    job = requests.get(f"{API}/generations/{gen_id}", headers=HEADERS).json()
    while job["status"] in ("queued", "running"):
        time.sleep(3)
        job = requests.get(f"{API}/generations/{gen_id}", headers=HEADERS).json()
    if job["status"] == "succeeded":
        print(model, job["output"]["urls"], job["cost_usd"])
    else:
        print(model, "failed (free):", job["error"])

Or one model from the shell. This Seedream 5.5 request at 2K costs $0.03:

export REVANA_API_KEY="sr_live_..."

# One Idempotency-Key per job, made once: resend with the same $KEY after a timeout, a 429 or a 5xx
KEY=$(uuidgen)

# 1. Submit the job (returns 202 with the generation id). max_cost_usd is your cap: the most it may cost.
curl https://api.revana.si/v1/generations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REVANA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "seedream-5.5",
    "input": {
      "prompt": "A ceramic coffee cup on a linen tablecloth, soft morning window light, editorial product photo.",
      "resolution": "2K",
      "aspect_ratio": "1:1"
    },
    "max_cost_usd": 0.05
  }'

# 2. Poll with the id from step 1 until status is "succeeded" or "failed".
#    A failed job is free; make a new KEY before you submit it again.
curl https://api.revana.si/v1/generations/gen_01JC4M2R8D \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REVANA_API_KEY"

Midjourney itself, without the subscription

Sometimes the best Midjourney alternative is Midjourney minus the monthly plan. Midjourney V7 is on the same key at $0.06 a request on relax, $0.07 on fast and $0.13 on turbo, and every request returns four pictures: on relax that is $0.015 a picture. The Midjourney API pricing guide has the code, the Midjourney V7 model page the live price, and you can try it in the browser on the Midjourney V7 try page.

When Midjourney is still the better pick

When the look is the product. A short prompt to Midjourney V7 still comes back as a striking, art-directed picture more often than not, and four options per request suit people who pick by eye. The alternatives win when you need exact words in the picture, an edit that keeps your product as it is, 4K, or one picture per prompt at the lowest price.

See every image model with its live price on the models page, top up on the pricing page, read the request reference in the docs, or get an API key.