Best free Midjourney alternatives (open source, 2026)
Updated · 20 repos compared · data refreshed nightly from GitHub
The best free Midjourney alternative for most people is stable-diffusion-webui (165k GitHub stars, AGPL-3.0 license). All 20 options below are open source and run on your own computer or server, so there's no subscription.
Midjourney (AI image generation) is a paid, closed-source product. The open-source projects below do the same job and run on your own computer or server. Stars and activity come straight from GitHub.
Top picks
Stable Diffusion web UI
- Needs:
- works on Mac (per README)
- Trade-off
- Better than Midjourney: the biggest community (165k stars). Worse: AGPL: if you run it as a service, you must share your changes; slower development (last update 7mo ago).
The most powerful and modular diffusion model GUI, api and backend with a graph/nodes interface. The fastest local inference engine in the world.
- Needs:
- a GPU with 4 GB+, works on Mac (per README)
- Trade-off
- Better than Midjourney: very active development. Worse: needs a GPU with 4 GB+.
Comparison
✓ yes · ✗ no · – not stated in the README. Hardware details are read from each README and may be incomplete.
Midjourney vs open source: what you give up
- Setup. Midjourney is ready as soon as you sign up. These projects need installing, usually with Python, Node or Docker.
- Hardware. 3 of 20 list a GPU requirement, starting at 4 GB of GPU memory. 5 mention Mac support.
- Polish and support. Paid products usually have a smoother interface, managed updates and customer support. Open source gives you privacy, no usage limits and no monthly bill.
- Maintenance. 11 of 20 were updated in the last 30 days.
- License. 17 of 20 use a standard open-source license (MIT, Apache, GPL and similar). Check the license before commercial use.
How we picked
Projects that describe themselves as a Midjourney alternative come first, then projects that do the same job, ranked by how well they match and by GitHub stars. Projects that need a paid API key, and projects from Midjourney's own company, are left out. Stars and activity are verified with the GitHub API every night; hardware details come from each README. Full method.
FAQ
Is there a free alternative to Midjourney?
Yes. We list 20 free, open-source GitHub projects that do the same job as Midjourney. The most popular are stable-diffusion-webui, ComfyUI and Fooocus.
What is the best open-source Midjourney alternative?
It depends on your setup. Best overall: stable-diffusion-webui. Also excellent: ComfyUI. Compare GitHub stars, license and hardware needs in the table on this page.
Can I run a Midjourney alternative on a Mac?
Yes. According to their READMEs, stable-diffusion-webui, ComfyUI and diffusers run on macOS.
Do I need a GPU to replace Midjourney?
3 of the 20 list a GPU requirement, starting at 4 GB of GPU memory.
Are these Midjourney alternatives really free?
Yes. All 20 are open source on GitHub, and projects that need a paid API key are left out. 17 use a standard open-source license such as MIT, Apache or GPL; check the license before commercial use.