To use Midjourney, subscribe to a plan on midjourney.com, open the Create page and type what you want to see into the Imagine bar at the top. Press Enter and Midjourney makes a set of four images. From there you can vary, upscale, edit or animate any of them.
Midjourney used to live almost entirely inside Discord, which put a lot of people off. These days the website does everything, and you can still use Discord if you prefer it. The basics are quick to learn. The settings and parameters take longer, and that's where most beginners trip up. Here's the whole process, in the order you'll need it.
Step 1: Get an account and a plan
There's no free way in on the website. Midjourney's own help page says no free trial is currently available in Discord or on midjourney.com. The only trial it mentions is a limited one on the niji journey app for iOS and Android, which is Midjourney's anime-focused model.
- Go to midjourney.com and click Sign Up.
- Choose how to sign up. If you want to make images in Discord too, pick Continue with Discord so both are linked to one account.
- Open your Manage Subscription page and choose a plan.
- Check out. Yearly billing is selected by default, so click the Monthly Billing tab first if you'd rather pay each month.
Every Midjourney plan is a subscription that renews automatically until you set it to cancel. Here's how the four plans compare, as of October 2026, in US dollars, from Midjourney's plans page.
| Plan | Monthly | Fast GPU time | What stands out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $10 | 200 minutes a month | No Relax Mode, so every image uses Fast time |
| Standard | $30 | 15 hours a month | Unlimited images in Relax Mode, HD video |
| Pro | $60 | 30 hours a month | Stealth Mode and unlimited SD video in Relax |
| Mega | $120 | 60 hours a month | Most Fast time and concurrent jobs |
Paying for a year upfront knocks 20% off. One rule worth knowing if you run a company: Midjourney says a business making more than $1,000,000 USD in gross revenue a year must be on Pro or Mega.
Step 2: Make your first images
Head to the Create page. At the top you'll see the Imagine bar, and whatever you type there is your prompt. Describe what you'd like to see, press Enter (or the send button on a phone), and Midjourney generates four images. You can watch them form in real time until they reach 100%.
Good prompts describe a subject, a setting and a style. Midjourney's prompting guide suggests mixing in an artistic medium, a time period or an environment, because single words work but combinations give you far more control. If you want ready-made ideas to adapt, my list of Midjourney prompts is a good place to start.
Step 3: Add parameters the right way
Parameters are short instructions that change how an image comes out, such as its shape or its style. This is where most first attempts go wrong, because the formatting is strict. Midjourney's rules are simple:
- Put parameters at the very end of your prompt, after the description.
- Leave a space between your prompt text and the two dashes.
- Don't add commas, full stops or other punctuation inside the parameters.
- Don't put any prompt text after them.
So vibrant California poppies --ar 2:3 works. Writing poppies--ar 2:3 with no space, adding a comma after 2:3, or putting more words after the parameter all break it.
| Parameter | What it does |
|---|---|
| --ar | Changes the aspect ratio (images start square) |
| --no | Tells Midjourney what you don't want in the image |
| --stylize or --s | Controls how much artistic flair it adds |
| --chaos or --c | Makes the four results more varied |
| --raw | Gives you more control with less default styling |
| --sref | Matches the look of a style reference image |
| --draft | Makes draft images at half the GPU cost |
| --tile | Creates repeating patterns that tile edge to edge |
You don't have to type all of these. The settings icon in the Imagine bar lets you set defaults for aspect ratio, version, stylize, speed and more, so they apply to every prompt.
Step 4: Improve the image you like
Click any image on your Create or Organize page to open it, and you'll see the Creation Actions. If some buttons are missing, click More options and tick the ones you want to show.
- Vary makes new versions with subtle or strong differences.
- Upscale doubles the size. Subtle Upscale keeps it as close to the original as possible, while Creative Upscale adds new detail and can fix small problems like awkward hands.
- Remix lets you change the prompt and parameters for a new take on the same image.
- The Editor holds Pan, Zoom Out and Vary Region, so you can extend the canvas or redo one part of the picture.
- The Edit Model takes plain language instructions and reference images, and Midjourney says it replaces Omni Reference and Character Reference in V8.X.
A detail that catches people out: upscaling uses your GPU minutes, and Midjourney says it can cost twice as many minutes as making the first images. On the Basic plan that adds up quickly.
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Step 5: Turn an image into a video
Midjourney can animate a single image into a five-second video. Open any image and use the Animate buttons: Auto starts straight away, Loop makes the first and last frame match, and Animate Manually lets you edit the prompt first. You can also drag in your own image as the starting frame.
Videos use more GPU time than images. Every plan can make videos in Fast Mode, but only Pro and Mega can make them in Relax Mode, and HD video needs Standard or above.
Step 6: Download and organise your work
Your Organize page shows everything you've made. You can download, sort and filter images there, and group them into folders. Keep in mind that Stealth Mode, which keeps your images and videos private, is only on Pro and Mega, so on Basic and Standard your work isn't kept private.
Each Midjourney plan and what it allows are compared in Midjourney plans and prices.
My advice for beginners
Start on Basic for a month and use --draft while you're learning, because it halves the GPU cost of each attempt. Write your prompt first, then add one parameter at a time so you can see what each one changes. If you'd rather not pay at all yet, my guide on whether Midjourney is free covers the trial situation and the free options worth knowing about.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Midjourney for free?
Not on the website or in Discord. Midjourney says no free trial is currently available there, and the only limited trial it mentions is in the niji journey app for iOS and Android.
Do I still need Discord to use Midjourney?
No. You can make, edit and download images on midjourney.com. Discord is optional, and if you want both, sign up with Continue with Discord so they share one account.
Why isn't my Midjourney parameter working?
Check the formatting. Parameters must go at the end of the prompt, with a space before the two dashes and no commas or other punctuation inside them.
How do I make my Midjourney images private?
Use Stealth Mode, which keeps images and videos private on the website. It's only available on the Pro and Mega plans.
Can I get extra Fast time without paying?
Yes. Each day the top 2,000 members who rate the most images get an extra hour of Fast time. You need an active subscription to use it, and it expires after 30 days.
