Best AI image generators for Mac and iPhone
10 min read
The great news is — there are so many AI design generators in the marketplace now. The bad news? Finding one that generates flawless images is tough. And that’s what we’re trying to help. We put together a list of top AI image design apps so you can easily create beautiful artwork on an iPhone or Mac.
What are the best AI design apps for Mac and iOS?
We love these AI-powered image tools because they’re accurate, easy to use, and fast.
1. Midjourney: Best for creating hyper-realistic images
Midjourney is arguably the best AI design generator for Discord users. It can mimic art style and render hyper-realistic images from text prompts that impress art professionals.
To use Midjourney,
- Register for a Discord account or log in to an existing one.
- Visit Midjourney’s website.
- Click Join the Beta.
- Then, accept the invitation to join its Discord channel.
You can now prompt Midjourney’s AI chatbot with the /imagine command. Once generated, you can refine the image with several fine-tuning features it offers.
If you’re not familiar with Discord, you might need time to learn how to prompt Midjourney to create images. At the moment, Midjourney is moving its AI generator to a dedicated website, but only selected users are invited.
Pros
- Exceptional image quality
- You can mimic popular artists’ styles easily
- Has a vibrant Discord community
Cons
- Can’t keep your images private, causing privacy concerns
- No free plans
Price: From $10 monthly
2. Dall-E 3: Generate image with everyday language.
Developed by Open AI, Dall-E 3 boasts major improvements from its predecessor, Dall-E 2. Its latest AI image generator can understand prompts more naturally. With closer integration with ChatGPT, the chatbot can improvise your prompt so the AI designer engine can understand it better.
You can expect a more vivid and precise result with Dall-E3. However, you can’t improve the image with editing tools like Dall-E users do. Rather, OpenAI lets you take a more conversational approach by refining the image with prompts.
Dall-E 3 is available for ChatGPT Plus users for $20 per month, along with GPT-4 and other advanced features. However, you can also use it on Bing CoPilot for free. Just be aware that Dall-E 3 on Bing might not match ChatGPT’s version in terms of image quality. Bing also doesn’t restrict the content that Dall-E-3 can generate, placing the regulation responsibility on its users.
To use Bing Dall-E 3, go to Microsoft Bing Copilot, select Designer from Copilot GPTs, and describe the image you want to create.
Pros
- Accurate text-to-image generation
- Safety restrictions to prevent abuse
- Free on Bing Copilot
Cons
- Lack of image editing tools
- May produce inaccurate images for complex prompts
Price: $20 monthly with ChatGPT Plus. Free on Bing Copilot.
3. Dream Studio: Refine AI artwork flexibly
Dream Studio is another powerful AI art generator for Mac and iPhone. Unlike Dall-E 3 and MidJourney, you have more control over the artwork you want to create. Whether choosing a style, changing image resolution, or prompting the AI engine, you can do so easily on the panel.
Dream Studio allows you to generate up to 10 images simultaneously. When testing Dream Studio, we were impressed by the AI generator’s ability to handle complex prompts and produce mesmerizing images. We can also edit selected areas of the image by writing simple prompts.
Pros
- Can interpret complex instructions
- Provides options to render the image you want more accurately
- Easy-to-use interface
- Lets you upload a reference image
Cons
- It takes more time to generate multiple complex images
- Expensive for large-scale image generation
Price: Free 100 credits for new users. $10 for 1,000 credits thereafter, allowing them to generate approximately 1,098 sets of images with the default setting.
4. Jasper Art: Perfect for bloggers and marketers
Jasper is a popular AI writing assistant, but it recently introduced a design generator with AI on its platform. Creators, marketers, or writers using the app can create images in seconds by describing them in the prompt.
In the basic mode, you choose templates from several categories, including food photography, ink art, and news graphics. Then, you write a prompt to create an AI image in the chosen category.
If you want more flexibility, use Jasper’s free-form mode. This option lets you craft detailed descriptions to generate the image. Moreover, you can choose the style, mood, keywords, and tone to create realistic and relevant images.
Pros
- You can generate unlimited images.
- It provides various style selections to create the images you want.
- Very fast image generation
Cons
- Occasionally makes mistakes when generating human and animal images
- Expensive
Price: Jasper Pro, which provides access to Jasper Art, starts at $59 per month (billed yearly).
5. PhotosRevive: Best for colorizing classic photos
PhotosRevive is an AI image colorization tool that lets you turn classic black-and-white photos into colorful copies. To do that, import or scan your photo with the app and click Colorize. Then, wait for the AI engine to revive the photo. If you find the colored images slightly off, you can refine the color manually.
With a Photos extension, you can also add colorful touches to images when browning albums in the Photos app. That’s it — a simple editing workflow that used to take hours on expensive photo editing apps.
Pros
- Produces consistently precise results
- Manual editing tools are helpful for refining the images
- It’s fast.
Cons
- No option to choose manual coloring from the start
- It lacks a slider to zoom into images.
Price: Included with Setapp.
6. Luminar Neo: Effortless, natural image editing
Luminar Neo enhances images as professionals do, except it’s done by AI. With a few clicks, you can replace backgrounds, remove objects, sharpen images, and more. More importantly, its powerful AI engine ensures the images remain natural after editing.
Despite offering many powerful AI editing features, Luminar Neo has a clear, uncluttered interface. Learning how to use sky replacement, auto resizer, and other AI-powered tools in the app is almost effortless. You can also transform photos with built-in presets to save time.
Pros
- Has a wide range of useful AI editing features
- You can enhance different types of images, including portraits, landscapes, and city views
- Can be used as a plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom
Cons
- Some face editing features take time to process
- Getting familiar with all the features may take some time
Price: Included with Setapp
7. Draw Things: Create images offline with AI
Draw Things is a Mac and iPhone design generator that works differently than other similar apps. Instead of relying on a server, it uses your iPhone or Mac as the AI engine. That way, you can create images with AI even if you’re not connected to the internet.
With Draw Things, you can download different image generation AI models, including Stable Diffusion and LoRa, to your Apple devices. Then, you describe the image you want, and the AI will create it in seconds. The app also lets you set how many steps the AI engine should take to create the image.
Pros
- Can generate images offline
- Allows you to choose different AI models
- Stores all files on your device to protect your privacy
Cons
- Requires high processing power and may heat up your device
- Lack of variety in samplers, which are methods to generate images with AI.
Price: Free, but serves ads
8. Adobe Firefly: Powerful AI image editing for professionals
Adobe Firefly offers the best AI design generator for new and existing Adobe product users. Firefly is available as a web app and provides powerful AI tools to turn text into realistic photos or artwork, remove objects, recolor images, and more.
If you want to generate images with AI, choose text-to-image after signing in. Then, describe the image and click Generate. You can also refine your image by setting the style, tone, and other parameters before creating it.
Besides text-to-image, Firefly also lets users create unique text effects with AI. Apparently, it’s the only AI design generator for Mac that allows you to do so easily.
Pros
- Integrates with Adobe products like Photoshop and Illustrator
- Simple interface
- Provides various AI image editing and enhancement tools.
Cons
- Images are watermarked if you’re on a free plan
- Creating large numbers of images can be expensive
Price: Free plan with 25 monthly credits is available. The premium plan with 100 monthly credits starts from $4.99 per month. You use 1 credit for specific AI tasks, such as text-to-image generation.
9. Dream by Wombo: Best for abstract artworks
Dream is one of the best AI art generators for iPhone users. Rather than generating realistic real-world images, the app creates unique and abstract artwork from descriptive prompts. You can use the dozens of preset styles to express the art differently.
For example, you can style your artwork with tattoos, retro pop, or dreamland. And each results in a very distinct art form. Then, Dream lets you name your artwork and share it with its art community.
Pros
- The generated artwork accurately matches the prompted description.
- Easy to use
- You can create unlimited images on the free plan.
Cons
- No editing tools
- Not suitable for some projects
Price: Free plan available. Subscription starts at $7.99/week or 6;49.99/year.
Choose your best AI image generator
It’s hard to choose an AI design generator, but we’ve narrowed down your options.
| Image Generation | Editing | Platform | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midjourney | Yes | Yes | web, Discord | $10/month |
| Dall-E 3 | Yes | Yes | web | $20/month |
| Dream Studio | Yes | Yes | web | $10/1,000 credits |
| Jasper Art | Yes | Yes | web | $49/month |
| PhotosRevive | No | Yes | macOS, iOS | Included in Setapp |
| Luminar Neo | No | Yes | macOS, Windows | Included in Setapp |
| Draw Things | Yes | Yes | macOS, iOS | Free (with ads) |
| Adobe Firefly | Yes | Yes | web | $4.99/month |
| Dream by Wombo | Yes | No | web, iOS, Android | $7.99/week |
Depending on your needs, some AI image tools are better than others. If you want to generate realistic images for marketing or social media, Dall-E 3, Dream Studio, and Adobe Firefly are great choices.
Already a Discord user? Try Midjourney. Meanwhile, both Draw Things and Dream by Wombo are good AI design generators for iPhones. Creators using Jasper to write blogs can elevate their works with Jasper Art.
But if you want to colorize and enhance existing photos, use PhotosRevive and Luminar Neo. Both are available on Setapp, along with other AI-powered apps that simplify your workflow. Try them for 7 days at no cost today.
