Midjourney
by midjourney-company (San Francisco, led by David Holz)
Proprietary, subscription-only text-to-image (and short video) service, used via a web app and Discord.
See https://www.midjourney.com/
Current version: V8.2 (2026)
- Midjourney’s own post on X (x.com/midjourney/status/2080781271043911807, quoted in search results: “We’re releasing V8.2 today and making it the default model… focused on aesthetics, personalization, and image quality”) and the docs “Version” page (search snippet; page itself returns 403) say V8.2 became the default on 2026-07-24, replacing V8.1; focus: aesthetics, image quality, personalization (larger image pool for personalization profiles, fewer random low-quality results).
- Timeline (Wikipedia and scriptbyai.com timeline, secondary): V7 alpha 2025-04-03/04, default 2025-06-17; V8 alpha 2026-03-17 (faster, native 2K); V8.1 alpha 2026-04-14, main release 2026-04-30 (more V7-like aesthetic, cheaper HD), default 2026-06-11; V8.2 2026-07-24. Video V1 launched 2025-06-18 (Animate / image-to-video).
- updates.midjourney.com shows a weekly “Alpha Changelog” through 2026-09-23 and a 2026-09-24 post “Edit updates, thumbnail previews, and more”: the web editor is changing quickly. Video is a separate system with its own parameters (
--motion low|high,--loop,--end;--v 8.2does not select a video model); the vendor pages fetched do not say whether a video model newer than V1 exists. - Examples that use
--v 6are historical. Use--v 8.2(or the default) now; check the version docs for supported parameters.
Features
- Text-to-image via
/imagine(Discord) or the web app; four variants per prompt with upscale/vary/re-roll; web editor and edit tools. - Parameters:
--ar(aspect),--stylize/--s,--seed,--no,--v(model version),--q; personalization profiles and omni-reference (third-party guides for V8.x). - Fast / Relax / Turbo modes and Stealth (private) mode on higher tiers; image blending, region editing, image-to-video.
Superpowers
Strongest at stylised, art-directed imagery: concept art, mood boards, thumbnails, visual exploration. Weaker than GPT Image (gpt-image-2-5) or Nano Banana (nano-banana-pro) for precise text rendering and instruction-following edits (general assessment, not benchmarked here).
Plans and licence
Subscription tiers per third-party 2026 guides (not the official page, which could not be fetched): Basic, Standard, Pro and Mega; Standard and up include unlimited Relax; Pro and Mega include Stealth; annual billing is discounted; no free trial. Current prices: see the vendor pricing page https://www.midjourney.com/account/subscribe. Paid-plan images are generally usable commercially; read the Terms of Service.
Legal context
Disney and Universal sued in June 2025 and Warner Bros. Discovery in September 2025; the court consolidated the cases on 2025-11-04. Per Variety, The Art Newspaper and trackers (July 2026), the case is in discovery (fact discovery scheduled to close 2026-09-21; motions deadline 2026-11-23). No ruling on fair use and no settlement had been reported; a 2026-10-02 search shows the last known docket filing on 2026-09-23, expert discovery closing 2026-11-09, summary-judgment motions due 2026-11-23, mediation directed since late 2025, and 2027 as the earliest realistic trial; still no judgment or settlement (CourtListener docket 2:25-cv-05275, trackers).
Promptcraft
Subject, mood, lighting, lens, palette, style; use --no to exclude; save seeds; keep final assets outside the service; use Stealth for client work.
Related
flux-dot-1, seedream-40, nano-banana, gpt-image-2-5, comfyui, midjourney-company
Limits
Midjourney’s docs and pricing pages returned 403, so the V8.2 default date is per Midjourney’s X post and docs snippet as quoted in search results (2026-10-02) plus Wikipedia; plan tiers are per third-party guides (albato.com, costbench.com, fluxnote.io).
Sources (accessed 2026-10-01 and 2026-10-02)
- https://x.com/midjourney/status/2080781271043911807 (search result snippet)
- https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70513159/disney-enterprises-inc-v-midjourney-inc/
- https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32199405667853-Version (search snippet; fetch returned 403)
- https://updates.midjourney.com/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midjourney
- https://www.scriptbyai.com/midjourney-timeline/
- https://variety.com/2026/film/news/midjourney-studios-ai-copyright-discovery-1236800902/ and https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/07/09/midjourney-demands-hollywood-AI-secrets (search results)
- Plans (secondary): albato.com, costbench.com, fluxnote.io Midjourney pricing guides (search results)