Pick Midjourney if
art directors, illustrators, and marketers who want Midjourney’s look and will pay for GPU time.
Read the Midjourney pageMidjourney vs Upscayl
Our take
Pick Midjourney if art directors, illustrators, and marketers who want Midjourney’s look and will pay for GPU time. Pick Upscayl if photographers and illustrators who will stay on Desktop at $0 (local GPU, AGPL-3.0) while they Double Upscayl a first Digital Art still, then Cloud Pro at $24.99/month when they need 300 credits/mo — not Business first unless they need a custom credit contract. Skip Midjourney if teams
Best for
Midjourney High-aesthetic images
Upscayl An upscale you start at a public $
Free plan
Midjourney No free plan
Upscayl $0 · linux / macOS / Windows. AGPL-3.0 at upscayl/upscayl. “Download once, forever yours.”
Lowest paid
Midjourney Basic $10/mo
Upscayl Cloud Pro Plan $24.99/mo
Next step up
Midjourney Standard $30/mo
Upscayl
Runs where
Midjourney Hosted
Upscayl
Watch out
Midjourney No public free plan
Upscayl Desktop needs a compatible GPU
Last checked
Midjourney 2026-10-19 · docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles
Upscayl 2026-10-23 · upscayl.org/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick Upscayl if
photographers and illustrators who will stay on Desktop at $0 (local GPU, AGPL-3.0) while they Double Upscayl a first Digital Art still, then Cloud Pro at $24.99/month when they need 300 credits/mo — not Business first unless they need a custom credit contract.
Read the Upscayl page