Krea vs Leonardo for Australians 2026: Real-Time Canvas or the Aussie Studio?

Pricing figures updated 6 September 2026: USD prices are converted at the current rate (1 USD ≈ 1.40 AUD, verified 5 September 2026) and shown ex-GST, replacing the retired 1.55 + GST basis. A GST-registered Australian business that supplies its ABN is not charged GST on an imported digital service; other buyers should allow ~10% on top (Methodology).

Winner: Leonardo AI for most Australians. It scores 21/25 to Krea's 18/25, and it is the rare global-grade AI tool that is genuinely ours — founded in Sydney, owned by Canva, and the home of Phoenix, billed as Australia's first homegrown foundation model. It clears our Australian Fit gate where Krea doesn't, so it's our category Top Pick. Pick Krea AI if your work lives on a canvas: its real-time, sketch-to-image generation is the best in the business and unmatched here. Two excellent tools, separated by one question — do you want the deepest local all-rounder, or the most direct way to draw with AI?

Last reviewed: 25 June 2026 by Adam.

If you make visuals for a living in Australia, these are two of the tools you'll keep hearing about. Krea AI and Leonardo AI both turn prompts and sketches into finished images, both run deep into video and 3D, and both bundle their own model with the best third-party engines. But they pull in different directions. Krea is built around one standout trick — watching an image form in real time as you draw. Leonardo is the broader studio, with its own foundation models, a serious security posture, and a genuine Australian backstory. Leonardo edges it on our scoring, but the right pick depends on how you actually work.

At a glance

What both tools actually do

Both are creative AI suites you run in a browser: type a prompt or feed a sketch, pick a model, and get finished images you can refine, upscale, edit and animate. Both go past stills into video and 3D-style work, both offer a real-time canvas, and both let you switch between their own model and leading third-party engines without leaving the app. Where they part ways is what each is built around.

Krea AI is built around speed and control. Its headline feature is Realtime: draw rough shapes on a canvas or feed a webcam, and Krea renders a photorealistic interpretation in under 50 milliseconds, updating as you move. It turns generation from prompt-and-pray into something closer to drawing. Around that sits a deep kit — text-to-image, text-to-video, text-to-3D, generative editing, upscaling to 22K and LoRA fine-tuning — plus the rare convenience of 64-plus models in one tab, including Flux, Google's Veo, Runway, Luma, Ideogram and Gemini alongside Krea's own model, often on release day. It's a US company that raised a US$47M Series B and claims 30 million users.

Leonardo AI is built around depth and pedigree. It runs its own foundation models — Phoenix, strong on prompt adherence and text-in-image, and Lucid Origin for stylised work — then lets you switch to Google's Veo 3, Nano Banana or OpenAI's GPT Image 1 without leaving the app. Add Realtime Canvas for sketch-to-image, Image Guidance to steer from a reference, a Universal Upscaler to 8K, custom model training and a developer API, plus native iOS and Android apps. The backstory is the unusual part: founded in Sydney in December 2022, it released Phoenix as Australia's first homegrown foundation model in 2024 and was bought by Canva, another Australian company, the same year.

In short: Krea is the most direct way to draw with AI; Leonardo is the deeper, locally-built studio with room to grow.

Pricing in Australia

Neither tool bills in Australian dollars, so every AUD figure here is an estimate that moves with the exchange rate and your card's foreign-transaction fee. We convert USD at roughly 1.40 shown ex-GST guidance.

Krea runs on compute units — a credit currency spent per generation, and they don't roll over on the individual plans. The free tier gives 100 units a day, enough to genuinely test Realtime. Basic is US$9/mo (~A$13 ex-GST) and is the sweet spot for most individuals: it unlocks a commercial licence, full image and 3D access, and 4K upscaling. Pro is US$35/mo (~A$49 ex-GST) for every video model and the Nodes automation; Max is US$70/mo (~A$98 ex-GST) for heavy daily use and 22K upscaling. Krea sells direct in USD with no GST-inclusive invoice, so the tax sums are yours to do.

Leonardo runs on a token system — 150 tokens a day on the free tier, which is generous, with the catch that free-plan images are public by default and the IP vests in Leonardo. Apprentice is US$12/mo (~A$17 ex-GST) for private generations and full ownership; Artisan is US$30/mo (~A$42 ex-GST); Maestro is US$60/mo (~A$84 ex-GST); Teams starts at US$24/seat/mo (~A$34 ex-GST, minimum three seats). Leonardo prices in USD through Stripe and adds GST at checkout only if it has crossed the local tax threshold — so the headline number isn't fixed until you pay. The upside: as an Australian entity, it issues a Stripe invoice carrying its ABN.

The honest read: at the very entry point they're close — Krea's Basic (~A$13) against Leonardo's Apprentice (~A$17) — and both free tiers are usable for real work. Krea's commercial licence on its cheapest paid plan is a small edge for a sole creator on a budget; Leonardo's ABN invoice is the cleaner paperwork for an Australian business.

Where Krea wins

• Best-in-class real-time generation. Sketch or type and watch a photorealistic image form in under 50ms. You steer the result instead of rolling the dice on a prompt — and Krea is the most polished version of this on the market.
• 64-plus models in one subscription. Flux, Veo, Runway, Luma, Ideogram, Gemini and Krea's own model, often on release day. One tab instead of five tools and five bills.
• A clear no-train policy. Krea states it never uses customer data to train its models "and never will," and grants full commercial rights to what you make — a strong, primary-stated position in a category where training-data provenance is a live fight.
• The cheapest commercial licence. Basic at US$9/mo (~A$13 ex-GST) unlocks commercial use, full image and 3D access and 4K upscaling — strong value for a solo creator.
• A genuinely useful free tier. 100 compute units a day is enough to test Realtime and the core models properly, not just kick the tyres.

Where Leonardo wins

• It's actually Australian. Sydney-founded, Canva-owned, and the home of Phoenix — Australia's first homegrown foundation model. For buyers who care where their tools come from, that's rare in this category, and it's the difference that earns Leonardo our Top Pick.
• The deeper all-rounder. Its own foundation models plus the best third-party engines, Realtime Canvas, 8K upscaling, custom model training and a developer API. Few competitors are this complete.
• A serious security posture. SOC2 certified, AWS-hosted, AES-256 at rest and TLS 1.2+ in transit, geographically separated backups — better documented than most consumer AI tools.
• Cleaner Australian paperwork. As an Australian entity, Leonardo issues a Stripe invoice carrying its ABN, so the GST treatment is at least visible and the receipt is one your accountant will accept.
• Native mobile apps. Web plus native iOS and Android that sync to your account, against Krea's browser-only experience.

Which to pick — decision framework

• You art-direct by drawing, not by prompting → Krea. The real-time canvas is the most direct, least frustrating way to generate an image, and nothing here matches it.
• You want the deepest, locally-built studio with room to grow → Leonardo. Own foundation models, the best third-party engines, training and an API, from an Australian company.
• Where your tool comes from matters to you or your buyers → Leonardo. Sydney-built and Canva-owned is a genuine point of difference.
• You're a sole creator who needs a cheap commercial licence today → Krea. Basic at ~A$13 ex-GST unlocks commercial use on the cheapest paid plan.
• You need a clean tax invoice for the business → Leonardo. Its ABN-carrying Stripe receipt is the better fit for Australian bookkeeping.
• You want one subscription covering the widest model library → Krea. 64-plus models in one tab, often on release day.
• You handle regulated or sensitive material onshore → neither clears the bar; both host offshore with no advertised Australian region, so confirm your data-handling rules before committing.

The verdict

Winner: Leonardo AI, for most Australians. It scores 21/25 to Krea's 18/25, and the gap is mostly about fit. Leonardo has the deepest toolkit in the category — its own foundation models, the best third-party engines, a real sketch-to-image canvas, 8K upscaling, custom training and an API — wrapped in a SOC2 security posture most consumer AI tools can't match. That it was built in Sydney and is owned by Canva is a real edge in a field run by US labs. Under our Australian Fit gate, Leonardo clears the bar at 4/5, keeps its five stars, and is our category Top Pick. The honest caveats remain: USD billing, GST bolted on at checkout, no advertised AU data region, and a free tier whose "your images are public and we own the IP" terms are a trap for client work. None of that dents the core recommendation.

But Krea AI is the better pick the moment your work lives on a canvas. Real-time, sub-50ms generation is the most direct way to draw with AI, and Krea is the best version of it going. It loses ground to Leonardo on Australian Fit — USD-only billing, no GST handling, no AU data residency, no IRAP assessment — which keeps it at 18/25 and out of Top Pick contention here. But for fast, controllable visual ideation, and a commercial licence for the price of a couple of coffees, it's an easy tool to love. Start both on the free tier this week. If you think by sketching, you'll land on Krea; if you want the deepest local studio, Leonardo is the one to keep.

Frequently asked questions

Are Krea and Leonardo available in Australia?

Yes — both are browser-based with no regional lockout, and Leonardo adds native iOS and Android apps. Neither has an Australian office or local-hours support, though Leonardo is an Australian company (Sydney-founded, Canva-owned) so its corporate roots are local even if its support isn't.

Do they charge in AUD?

No. Both bill in US dollars. Krea sells direct in USD with no GST-inclusive invoice; Leonardo prices in USD through Stripe and adds GST at checkout only if it has crossed the local tax threshold. AUD figures are estimates — Krea Basic from about A$13/mo ex-GST, Leonardo Apprentice from about A$17/mo ex-GST — and move with the exchange rate.

Which is cheaper, Krea or Leonardo?

At the entry point they're close: Krea Basic at US$9/mo (~A$13 ex-GST) against Leonardo Apprentice at US$12/mo (~A$17 ex-GST). Krea's edge is a commercial licence on its cheapest paid plan; Leonardo's is an ABN-carrying tax invoice. Both have genuinely usable free tiers, so try before you pay.

Which has the better real-time canvas?

Krea. Its Realtime mode renders a photorealistic image in under 50 milliseconds as you sketch or feed a webcam — the most polished version of this we've used. Leonardo's Realtime Canvas is good and helpful for non-artists, but Krea owns this feature.

Which is better for Australians?

Leonardo, on our scoring — 21/25 with Australian Fit 4/5, against Krea's 18/25 and AU Fit 2/5. Leonardo's Sydney roots, Canva ownership and SOC2 posture clear our Australian Fit gate, making it our category Top Pick. Krea is excellent for real-time work but its USD-only billing and lack of any Australian footprint keep it out of Top Pick contention.

Read next

• Full reviews: Krea AI (18/25) and Leonardo AI (21/25)
• Category guide: Best AI Image Generators in Australia 2026
• How we score: Methodology

Sources

This comparison draws on The AI Directory Australia's underlying reviews of Krea AI (18/25, AU Fit 2/5) and Leonardo AI (21/25, AU Fit 4/5), each scored against our five-criteria framework and verified against the vendors' own pricing and product pages on 3 June 2026. USD pricing, model lists, the no-train and ownership terms, and the security and data-residency findings are carried from those verified reviews. Star ratings and Top Pick eligibility follow our Australian Fit gate. USD-to-AUD estimates use ~1.40, ex-GST guidance; neither vendor bills in native AUD, and Krea documents no GST while Leonardo adds GST at checkout only if applicable. Wayback Machine snapshots queued.

The AI Directory Australia is an independent editorial publication. Read our Methodology and Affiliate Disclosure.

Synthesised from The AI Directory's verified Krea AI and Leonardo AI reviews (3 June 2026). AUD figures are estimates — confirm live USD pricing and your own GST treatment before purchase.