๐ 2 min read
The Problem: Every AI Image Generator Claims to Be “The Best”
I’m tired of reviews that test AI image tools by generating cute pictures of cats. That tells you nothing about whether a tool can actually make you money.
So I did something different. I took 5 real client projects โ a restaurant rebrand, an e-commerce product shoot, a real estate listing, a book cover design, and a YouTube thumbnail package โ and ran each one through Midjourney v7, DALL-E 4, Leonardo AI, Flux Pro, and Ideogram 3.
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Then I tracked which outputs clients actually paid for.
The 5 Tools I Tested (And What I Charged)
- Midjourney v7 โ $30/month (Pro plan)
- DALL-E 4 โ Pay-per-generation via API (~$0.04-0.08/image)
- Leonardo AI โ $24/month (Artisan plan)
- Flux Pro 1.2 โ Via Replicate API (~$0.03/image)
- Ideogram 3 โ $20/month (Plus plan)
Project 1: Restaurant Rebrand ($1,200 Client Budget)
The client wanted 15 hero images for their menu and website. Midjourney nailed the aesthetic โ moody, editorial food photography that looked like it came from a $5K shoot. Leonardo was close but the food looked slightly artificial. DALL-E struggled with text on menus.
Winner: Midjourney v7. Client approved 12 of 15 images on first pass. Revenue: $1,200.
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Project 2: E-Commerce Product Shots ($800 Client Budget)
Product photography on white backgrounds. This is where Flux Pro absolutely dominated. Clean, consistent, realistic lighting. Midjourney kept adding artistic flair that the client didn’t want.
Winner: Flux Pro 1.2. Revenue: $800.
Project 3: Real Estate Listing ($600 Client Budget)
Virtual staging of empty rooms. Leonardo AI’s new architecture model was shockingly good here. Realistic furniture placement, correct perspective, natural lighting.
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Winner: Leonardo AI. Revenue: $600.
Project 4: Book Cover Design ($500 Client Budget)
Sci-fi novel cover. Midjourney v7 again โ the artistic quality is just unmatched for creative work. The author said it looked better than covers from traditional designers.
Winner: Midjourney v7. Revenue: $500.
Project 5: YouTube Thumbnail Package ($700 Client Budget)
20 thumbnails for a tech YouTuber. Ideogram 3 was the surprise winner here โ its text rendering is finally reliable, and thumbnails need bold text. Generated all 20 in under an hour.
Winner: Ideogram 3. Revenue: $700.
Total Revenue: $3,800 in One Week
Tool costs for the week: approximately $45. That’s a 98.8% profit margin.
The Ranking (For Making Money)
- Midjourney v7 โ Best for creative/artistic client work. Highest per-project revenue.
- Flux Pro 1.2 โ Best for product photography. Cheapest per image.
- Leonardo AI โ Best for real estate/architecture. Surprisingly good niche tool.
- Ideogram 3 โ Best for text-heavy designs (thumbnails, social media).
- DALL-E 4 โ Most versatile but master of none. Fine for casual use, not for client work.
How to Start Selling AI Images This Week
The secret isn’t the tool โ it’s positioning. Don’t sell “AI images.” Sell “product photography” or “virtual staging” or “thumbnail design.” Clients don’t care how you make it. They care that it looks professional and saves them money.
My stack: Midjourney for creative work, Flux for products, Ideogram for text-heavy content. Total monthly cost: $50. Monthly revenue: $8K-15K.