A Dive into Top AI Image Generation Platforms

What are the best free image generators online

In a digital era teeming with visual content, the art of image generation has been revolutionized by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Gone are the days when crafting visual content was solely the domain of human artists. Today, a myriad of AI image generation platforms burst onto the scene, offering a canvas of endless possibilities. From whimsical illustrations to photorealistic images, these ingenious platforms have blurred the lines between man-made and machine-generated artistry.

As digital aficionados search for the ideal tools to satiate their creative cravings, platforms like Canva, Pixlr, and Stable Horde, among others, rise to the occasion. They beckon to both seasoned designers and novices alike, offering a treasure trove of features to explore. Yet, as with any treasure, there are keys to unlocking the full potential of these platforms. Some require a steep learning curve, others offer immediate gratification with easy-to-use interfaces, while many balance the scales with a blend of simplicity and advanced functionalities.

In this comprehensive essay, I venture into the heart of AI-driven image generation, shedding light on the capabilities, advantages, and limitations of various noteworthy platforms. Each holds a unique allure, a promise of turning the abstract into the tangible, the imagined into the visible. Whether you are on a quest for realistic image generation, a variety of artistic styles, or seamless text-to-image transitions, the following platforms have something in store for every creative soul. Prepare to embark on a journey of discovery, as I unveil the essence of AI-powered image generation through a meticulous examination of top-tier platforms in the realm.

My subjective list of top AI image generators available online

DALL-E3 via Bing Chat

This month (October, 2023) DALL-E3 text-to-image model by was released for ChatGPT+ subscribers but also for Bing chat users available via Edge browser.

The latter version is free but requires signing into your Microsoft account. You could find bing chat in the top rigt corner of the browser hiding behind a round blue button with a letter "b"

You could then just type into the chat what you want to be drawn. For example the following prompt resululted in a picture that I placed in the header: "Generate an image: A digital artist's vision of text-to-image models and technology, intricate, elegant, highly detailed, with a cinematic look, energizing tones, insane details, intricate details, hyperdetailed, high contrast, soft light, vivid colors, exposure blend, hdr, bright"

At times the generation can be slow and bing chat may occasionally refuse generating images saying that "As AI language model it cannot generate images". But this is a bug of a current version of the model. In my case after returning such an answer Bing started generating images right away.

Advantages:
A huge thing is that DALL-E3 can understand promptsvery well as they are pre-processed by ChatGPT apparently. Quality of generated images is great especailly when it comes to more abstract themes. Bing chat generations are only limited by speed. At least, I never managed to reach the limit.
Disadvantages:
The generations are slow at times. Photorealism could be improved.

GPTchatly Image Generator

Unlike Bing, GPTchatly uses Stable Diffusion XL model, which was also released recently

Stable Diffusion XL (SDXL) tends to produces more realistic and diverse images compared to DALEE-E3, thanks to its usage of two text encoders and optimized noise-removal steps. SDXL exhibits superior caption fidelity by maintaining a strong alignment with text prompts, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and specificity. Moreover, SDXL offers users heightened creative control, and refined image adjustments. The degree of censorship in SDXL is lower that that in DALL-E models

Advantages:
No registration is required. Free image generations (10 per day). Fast - single 1024px image generation takes 2-5 seconds. SDXL model can produce amazing photorealistic images along with more abstract pictures
Disadvantages:
Limited to 10 generations per day. Currently only one model (SDXL) and on formate (1024x1024) is supported. Requires somewhat complicated prompt for best image performance.

Pixlr

Pixlr offers just five free genrations via "Start Design Project" tab. The model they use is not disclosed but results are similar to what GPTchatly generates with SDXL model. Tonality of images can vary though.

Advantages:
Quality and photorealism is on pars with SDXL
Disadvantages:
The free plan has limited to five images

Canva:

Advantages:
Canva has a Text to Image feature which can turn text into images using AI. The platform is user-friendly with a wide range of features for image editing and design.
Disadvantages:
The free plan has limited features and image size restrictions.

Stable Horde

Stable Horde is not a usual Web service, it is characterized by its distributed computing system, which allows users to access the computing resources of other users in the network, aiding in the creation of AI-generated art without requiring expensive hardware. The platform operates on a crowdsourced distributed cluster, easing the process of image and text generation. It utilizes Stable Diffusion for image generation, allowing users to create and modify images with precision. Moreover, Stable Horde has extensive community engagement, urging users to join the 'horde' and benefit from a collective effort in generating images. People can contribute to the network by providing GPU workers, erning "Kudos" that can be used to speed up their own generations

Advantages:
No registration is needed. Registration gives you an API key that one can use to boost the speed of generations. Great variety of styles, including SDXL and "I Can't believe it's not a photography". Post-processors like GFPGAN are also available.
Disadvantages:
Extremely slow without enough "Kudos". A single 512x512px image generation could take 10 min or more