Midjourney produces the best AI images available — but it's also one of the less intuitive tools to start with. This guide walks you through everything from account creation to advanced prompting, based on 5,000+ test images our team has generated.
Tutorial
How to Use Midjourney in 2026: Complete Beginner's Guide
By Sara Lin · June 18, 2026 · 15 min read · Updated for v6.1
What you'll learn: How to set up Midjourney (Discord + web), write effective prompts, use key parameters, control aspect ratios, and generate consistently high-quality images. No prior experience needed.
Step 1: Get Started with Midjourney
1
Create your account
Go to midjourney.com and click "Sign In." You'll use your Discord account — create one if you don't have it (free). Then choose a plan: Basic ($10/mo, ~200 images) is enough to start. No free trial available in 2026.
2
Choose: Web App or Discord
Web app (midjourney.com): Easier for beginners. Clean interface, no Discord knowledge needed. Still in beta but fully functional.
Discord: More control, community access, faster for power users. Join the official Midjourney Discord server and use any channel marked "image-gen."
3
Generate your first image
In the web app, type in the prompt box. On Discord, type /imagine followed by your prompt. Press Enter and wait 30–60 seconds for 4 image variations to appear.
Step 2: Write Effective Prompts
The biggest difference between mediocre and excellent Midjourney results is prompt quality. Here's the structure that consistently works:
[Subject], [Style/Medium], [Lighting], [Color palette], [Mood/Atmosphere], [Camera angle]
Example (weak): a woman in a coffee shop
Example (strong): a young woman reading a book in a cozy Parisian café, warm morning light through large windows, soft bokeh background, muted earth tones, peaceful and contemplative mood, eye-level perspective, shot on 85mm lens
The strong prompt gives Midjourney specific creative direction. The weak prompt leaves too much to interpretation — results vary widely and often don't match your vision.
Step 3: Essential Midjourney Parameters
Parameters go at the end of your prompt and control specific aspects of image generation:
| Parameter | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
--ar 16:9 | Aspect ratio (landscape, portrait, square) | --ar 16:9 for widescreen |
--v 6.1 | Model version (6.1 = latest, best quality) | Always add --v 6.1 |
--style raw | Reduces aesthetic processing for photorealism | Portraits, product shots |
--q 2 | Quality (1=fast, 2=high detail) | Use --q 2 for final images |
--chaos 20 | Variation (0=consistent, 100=wild) | Brainstorming: --chaos 40 |
--no text | Exclude text from images | Prevents unwanted letters |
--sref [url] | Style reference — match a visual style | Brand consistency |
--seed [number] | Repeat exact same generation | Reproduce a good result |
Full example with parameters:
a minimalist home office setup with clean lines, Scandinavian design, natural light from left window, white and oak wood tones, calm and productive atmosphere --ar 16:9 --v 6.1 --style raw --q 2
Step 4: Aspect Ratios for Common Use Cases
Social Media Post
--ar 1:1Instagram Story
--ar 9:16Blog Header
--ar 16:9Portrait / Poster
--ar 2:3Wide Landscape
--ar 21:9A4 Print
--ar 3:45 Tips for Better Results
1. Be specific about photography style. Adding "shot on Sony A7IV, 50mm f/1.4, shallow depth of field" to portrait prompts dramatically improves photorealism.
2. Use negative prompts. Add --no blurry, low quality, watermark, text to avoid common issues in generated images.
3. Vary with U and V buttons. After getting 4 initial images, U1-U4 upscales a specific variation. V1-V4 generates more variations of one image. Start with V to explore, then U to finalize.
4. Seed number for consistency. Copy the seed from a successful image and reuse it with slightly different prompts to maintain visual consistency across a series.
5. Style reference for brand work. Upload a reference image URL with --sref [url] to match a specific visual aesthetic across multiple generations — crucial for brand consistency. You can combine multiple reference images with --sref url1 url2 and adjust their relative influence with the --sw (style weight) parameter. A value of --sw 100 applies the reference style strongly; --sw 500 dominates the generation with the reference style almost entirely. This makes --sref essential for any client work requiring consistent visual language across a series of assets.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Midjourney cost?
Midjourney plans start at $10/month for the Basic plan, which gives approximately 200 GPU minutes per month — enough for roughly 200 standard-quality images at default settings. The Standard plan ($30/month) gives 15 GPU hours plus unlimited relaxed-mode generations, which is the most popular choice for active creators. Pro ($60/month) adds stealth mode (private generations) and more fast GPU hours for high-volume workflows. Annual billing gives a 20% discount on all plans. There is no free trial as of 2024, though Midjourney periodically restores limited free access.
Can I use Midjourney images commercially?
Paid subscribers (Basic and above) own their generated images and can use them commercially — for client work, print-on-demand, advertising, book covers, and merchandise. Free users (if free access is available) cannot use images commercially under Midjourney's terms. Pro and Mega plan subscribers also get stealth mode, which keeps generations private and prevents them from appearing in the public feed. Always check the latest Midjourney Terms of Service for the most current commercial usage rules, as they update periodically.
What is the --niji parameter in Midjourney?
Adding --niji 6 to your prompt switches Midjourney to its anime and illustration-focused model. It produces distinctly different output — high-detail anime characters, illustration-style environments, and manga-inspired compositions. Use --niji 6 --style expressive for dynamic, energetic anime art or --niji 6 --style scenic for peaceful, atmospheric backgrounds. If you're creating character art, visual novel assets, or anime-style illustrations, the niji model consistently outperforms the default model for those specific aesthetics.
Is there a free alternative to Midjourney?
Several free alternatives are worth testing: Ideogram offers 25 free image generations per day with excellent text rendering — better than Midjourney for images that include readable text. Adobe Firefly gives 25 free generative credits per month with commercially safe output (trained only on licensed images). Stable Diffusion is completely free and open-source, runnable locally on your own hardware with no generation limits — the tradeoff being a steeper technical setup compared to Midjourney's Discord interface.
What Midjourney version should I use in 2026?
As of 2026, Midjourney V6.1 is the default and produces the best results for photorealistic images, portraits, and detailed scenes. For stylized and painterly aesthetics, V5.2 with --style raw still produces excellent results with a different aesthetic character that some artists prefer. Niji V6 remains the go-to for anime and illustration styles. When starting a new project, test both V6.1 and V5.2 with the same prompt to see which aesthetic better suits your intended style before committing to a full generation run.
Can Midjourney generate text in images?
Midjourney V6 significantly improved text rendering compared to earlier versions, but it remains inconsistent for complex typography. For logos, posters, or images where specific readable text is critical, Ideogram is the better choice — it was specifically designed with text rendering as a priority and produces clean, readable typography in most cases. For combining Midjourney's superior photorealism with text, the recommended workflow is to generate the image in Midjourney and add text overlays using Canva or Photoshop afterward.