> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Midjourney Review Australia 2026: The best-looking AI images, with strings attached - URL: https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/midjourney-review-australia-2026/ - Published: 2026-06-01T23:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-09T06:33:23.000Z - Description: Midjourney makes the best-looking AI images you can buy in 2026. We tested it for Australians — pricing in AUD, the privacy trade-offs, the missing copyright indemnity, and which plan is worth it. - Author: Adam - Tags: Design & Creative, Midjourney, Image Generation, #review **16**/25 ★★★★☆ Very Good Midjourney Verified 24 Sep 2026 Reviewed 2 Jun 2026 Value for Money**3**/5 Ease of Use**3**/5 Feature Depth**5**/5 Australian Fit**1**/5 Reliability & Support**4**/5 From **A$14**/mo · ex-GST · billed in USD (US$10) Your data None advertised. US-based vendor. By default, prompts and images are public and may be used to train Midjourney's models. (Privacy Policy) **The gate:** Five stars need 21+ and Australian Fit of at least 4/5. [Skip to the verdict ](#verdict) *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*](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/methodology/)*).* > **Verdict (TL;DR):** Midjourney makes the most aesthetically polished still images of any consumer AI generator in 2026, and it now does image-to-video too. If you want striking, art-directed visuals and you'll put in the time to learn its prompt language, nothing else matches what it produces out of the box. But the Australian read is hard work. There is no free tier, no AUD pricing, no AU data residency, no published compliance certification, and no local support. Everything you generate is public by default and may be used to train Midjourney's models — unless you pay for Pro-tier Stealth Mode. And there is no IP indemnity: if an output lands you in a copyright dispute, you defend it yourself. For an Australian creative who wants top-tier imagery and accepts the trade-offs, the USD$30 Standard plan is the sweet spot. Businesses turning over more than USD$1M a year must be on Pro or Mega to use the images commercially at all. > > *Last reviewed: 2 June 2026 by Adam.* --- ## Who this is for (and who it isn't) Midjourney is built for people who care how the picture looks. It is the tool a designer, a marketer, an illustrator or a small-agency owner reaches for when "good enough" isn't, and when the visual is the point. **Midjourney is for you if** you produce visual work — social content, mood boards, concept art, marketing imagery, album and book covers — and you want output that looks deliberately art-directed rather than generically "AI". You'll need patience to learn its prompt syntax, but the ceiling is the highest in the category. **Midjourney is not for you if** you want a free dabble, you need images that sit safely inside a regulated or risk-averse business, or you want everything kept private without paying extra. It is also not a text-and-images all-rounder — if you mostly want a chatbot that can occasionally make a picture, [ChatGPT](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/chatgpt-review-australia/) or [Gemini](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/google-gemini-review-australia/) will serve you better and cheaper. With that framing in place: here is what Midjourney does brilliantly, and exactly where the Australian caveats bite. ## What Midjourney is Midjourney is a text-to-image (and now image-to-video) service run by Midjourney, Inc., an independent, self-funded US research lab led by founder David Holz. It started life as a Discord bot in open beta in 2022 and now runs as a full web app at midjourney.com, on mobile, and still inside Discord for those who prefer it. You describe an image in words — optionally feeding it reference images — and Midjourney returns a set of options you refine, upscale, vary, or animate. The current default image model is **V7**, released in April 2025 and made the default in June 2025, which sharpened prompt-following and fixed long-standing weak spots like hands and bodies ([Midjourney — Version docs](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32199405667853-Version?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). Through 2026 a newer **V8** line has been in alpha: V8 Alpha landed on 17 March 2026, and **V8.1** became available on both midjourney.com and Discord on 30 April 2026, billed as the fastest model so far with HD 2K output ([Midjourney — V8.1 Updates](https://updates.midjourney.com/v8-1-updates/?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). The other 2026 development is video. Midjourney's **V1 Video** model animates a still image into a short clip — generations start at five seconds and extend in five-second steps to around 21 seconds ([Midjourney — Video docs](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/37460773864589-Video?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). It is an add-on to the still-image core, not a standalone editor, but it widens what a single subscription covers. ## What it costs in Australia Midjourney bills in US dollars only, and there is **no free tier**. The figures below are estimates at US$1 ≈ A$1.40 with around 10% GST assumed at checkout for Australian accounts. The metered unit is "Fast GPU hours"; Relax mode (slower, queued, unlimited generations that don't burn Fast hours) unlocks from the Standard plan up. | Plan | Price (USD/mo) | Price (AUD est., ex-GST) | Annual (\~20% off) | What you get | | ------------ | -------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Basic** | USD$10/mo | \~AUD$14/mo | \~USD$96/yr | Fast GPU time only (about 3.3 hrs/mo), no Relax mode | | **Standard** | USD$30/mo | \~AUD$42/mo | \~USD$288/yr | More Fast time (about 15 hrs/mo) plus unlimited Relax mode | | **Pro** | USD$60/mo | \~AUD$84/mo | \~USD$576/yr | More Fast time (about 30 hrs/mo), unlimited Relax, and Stealth Mode (private generation) | | **Mega** | USD$120/mo | \~AUD$168/mo | \~USD$1,152/yr | Most Fast time (about 60 hrs/mo), unlimited Relax, Stealth Mode | *Pricing as of 2 June 2026\. Source:* [*Midjourney — Comparing Midjourney Plans*](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/27870484040333-Comparing-Midjourney-Plans?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) *(repointed 24 September 2026; the previously cited* Plans and Pricing *article now returns 404). USD plan prices and the \~20% annual discount are taken from the vendor docs; the per-plan Fast GPU-hour figures (\~3.3 / 15 / 30 / 60) are the long-standing published allowances and sit behind a JavaScript table that didn't render on fetch — confirm them on the live plans page before relying on the exact hours. Midjourney publishes no AU-specific GST guidance, so confirm the GST line on your first invoice and check the tax invoice details for your accountant.* **Value verdict:** Standard at roughly AUD$42/month is the plan that makes sense for most serious Australian users — the unlimited Relax mode means you stop counting generations and just work, which is where Midjourney earns its keep. Basic at \~AUD$14 is a cheap way to test the water, but with no Relax mode and only a few Fast hours you'll hit the meter fast. Pro and Mega exist mainly for two reasons: privacy (Stealth Mode) and the commercial-revenue rule below. If you don't need either, paying AUD$84+ a month buys you mostly more speed. ## How it works in practice Type a prompt — "1970s Australian surf-film poster, warm grain, hand-painted type" — and Midjourney returns a grid of options. You upscale the one you like, generate variations, or feed it back in as a reference. The aesthetic quality is the thing people notice first and the reason most users stay: out of the box, the images look composed and intentional in a way rivals still struggle to match. The control surface has matured. **Omni Reference** (the `--oref` flag in V7) lets you carry a consistent character or subject across images — useful for a brand mascot or a recurring illustration style — though it costs roughly double the GPU time and doesn't work in Fast, Draft or Conversational modes ([Midjourney — Version docs](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32199405667853-Version?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). Style references, mood boards and a personalisation profile let you lock a consistent look across a project. The web app added voice/conversational access to image prompts and references in early 2026 ([Midjourney — Personalization and Web Updates](https://updates.midjourney.com/personalization-and-web-updates/?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). The honest catch is the learning curve. Midjourney rewards people who learn its prompt language, its parameters and its quirks. A first-timer will get pretty pictures; a fluent user gets exactly the picture they pictured. It is closer to a camera than a vending machine — the results scale with the operator. Two practical weak spots remain. **Text inside images** — signage, logos, captions — is still unreliable compared with the photographic quality of the rest of the frame, so don't plan a poster around AI-rendered words. And the **default privacy posture** trips people up, which we'll come to. ## What it does well - **The best out-of-the-box image quality in the category.** V7 and the newer V8.1 produce the most aesthetically polished stills of any consumer generator in 2026\. If the look matters, this is the benchmark ([Version docs](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32199405667853-Version?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). - **Strong creative control once you learn it.** Omni Reference for consistent subjects, style references, mood boards and personalisation give a fluent user real art direction, not just a slot machine. - **One subscription now covers video.** The V1 Video model animates stills into short clips (5–21 seconds), so a single plan spans image and basic motion ([Video docs](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/37460773864589-Video?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). - **Unlimited Relax mode from Standard up.** Above Basic, you can generate without watching the Fast-hours meter — slower, queued, but uncapped. For iterative creative work that changes the experience. - **Genuinely fast on the new model.** V8.1 is Midjourney's quickest yet, with standard jobs rendering several times faster than older versions and HD 2K output available ([V8.1 Updates](https://updates.midjourney.com/v8-1-updates/?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). ## What it doesn't do well - **No free tier and USD-only pricing.** You can't try it without paying, and there's no AUD displayed anywhere. You're charged in US dollars at your bank's FX rate with GST added at checkout, so the landed cost runs above the headline figure ([Plans and Pricing](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/19518956966157-Plans-and-Pricing?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). - **Public by default — and it trains on your work.** Unless you're on Pro/Mega with Stealth Mode on, your prompts and generated images are public and may be used to train Midjourney's models ([Privacy Policy](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32083472637453-Privacy-Policy?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). For client work, NDAs or anything sensitive, that's a real problem. - **Stealth Mode is paywalled and not retroactive.** Privacy costs extra: Stealth Mode is Pro and Mega only, applies only to generations made after you switch it on, and doesn't privatise anything you made publicly before — or anything generated in public Discord channels ([Stealth Mode docs](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32019750070669-Stealth-Mode?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). - **No IP indemnification.** This is the big legal one. Midjourney's Terms of Service disclaim IP warranties and provide users no indemnification; if an output triggers a copyright claim, you defend it yourself — and you actually agree to indemnify Midjourney ([Terms of Service](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32083055291277-Terms-of-Service?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)). Microsoft and Adobe offer enterprise indemnity on their image tools; Midjourney does not. - **Weak text rendering and a real learning curve.** Words inside images remain unreliable, and getting consistently great results takes time to learn the prompt syntax. First results flatter; mastery takes practice. - **No published compliance or AU data residency, and no local support.** No SOC 2, ISO 27001 or IRAP statement is published, data is US-based, and support is community/docs-based with no AU office or hours. ## Australian fit - **Available in Australia:** Yes — no geographic restriction. Self-serve signup works via web, mobile and Discord. ([Plans and Pricing](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/19518956966157-Plans-and-Pricing?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)) - **Pricing in AUD:** No. USD only. Expect roughly AUD$14–$205/month landed depending on plan, after FX, ex-GST. - **GST:** Not stated on the plans page. Expect 10% added at checkout under Australia's imported-digital-services rules — confirm on your first invoice and check it's a compliant tax invoice for your accountant. - **Data residency:** None advertised. US-based vendor. By default, prompts and images are public and may be used to train Midjourney's models. ([Privacy Policy](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32083472637453-Privacy-Policy?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)) - **Privacy control:** Stealth Mode, but only on Pro (\~AUD$84/mo) and Mega, and only for generations made after you enable it. ([Stealth Mode docs](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32019750070669-Stealth-Mode?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)) - **Commercial use:** Allowed on all paid plans — but any company grossing more than USD$1M a year must hold a Pro or Mega plan to use Midjourney outputs commercially. ([Using Images & Videos Commercially](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/27870375276557-Using-Images-Videos-Commercially?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)) - **Legal protection:** No IP indemnity. You carry the copyright risk on what you publish. ([Terms of Service](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32083055291277-Terms-of-Service?ref=theaidirectory.com.au)) - **Compliance:** No SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / IRAP statement published. **Local AU support:** None — docs and Discord community only, no AU hours. ## Alternatives | App | Why you might prefer it | | ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Adobe Firefly** | Trained on licensed/Adobe Stock content and backed by enterprise IP indemnity — the safer choice for commercial work where copyright exposure matters. | | **ChatGPT (image generation)** | If you want images inside a general assistant you already pay for, with a usable free tier and far less of a learning curve. ([Read our ChatGPT review →](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/chatgpt-review-australia/)) | | **Google Gemini** | Strong image generation bundled with a broad assistant, native to Google Workspace, and with Google's enterprise data story behind it. ([Read our Gemini review →](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/google-gemini-review-australia/)) | | **Canva (with AI)** | For non-designers who want quick, on-brand visuals inside a layout tool rather than raw generation — and it has an Australian-friendly footprint. | ## Bottom line For an Australian creative who lives or dies by how the image looks, Midjourney is the easy pick on quality alone — V8.1 makes the most polished stills you can buy, and the new video model stretches one subscription further than it used to go. Start on Basic to learn the ropes, but plan to land on **Standard at \~AUD$42/month**, where unlimited Relax mode lets you actually work instead of counting generations. The reasons it scores 16 rather than higher are almost entirely about everything that isn't the picture. The Australian posture is weak across the board — no free tier, USD-only pricing, no data residency, no published compliance, no local support — and two things deserve a hard think before you commit. First, the default-public, train-on-your-prompts model means privacy costs an extra AUD$50 a month via Pro-tier Stealth Mode, and even then it isn't retroactive. Second, the lack of any IP indemnity puts the full copyright risk on you — which is exactly why a business with real legal exposure should look hard at Adobe Firefly instead. And if your company turns over more than USD$1M a year, you're legally on Pro or Mega before you can use a single image commercially. Buy Midjourney for the image quality, which is genuinely the best going. Go in clear-eyed about the privacy, legal and Australian-fit trade-offs, because they are real and the publication won't pretend otherwise. We'd expect to refresh this review inside six months — the V8 line is moving fast, and the pricing, privacy and commercial terms are the areas most likely to shift. ## Score | Criterion | Score | Notes | | --------------------- | --------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Value for Money | 3/5 | Genuinely high-quality output, but no free tier, USD-only, and privacy/commercial needs push many users to the AUD$84+ Pro tier | | Ease of Use | 3/5 | First results flatter, but mastering the prompt syntax takes time; text-in-image and the public-by-default settings trip up beginners | | Feature Depth | 5/5 | Class-leading image quality, Omni Reference, style/mood-board control, personalisation, and a video model in one subscription | | Australian Fit | 1/5 | USD-only, no AUD pricing, no data residency, no published compliance, no local support, public-by-default with paywalled privacy — one of the weakest in the category | | Reliability & Support | 4/5 | Mature, fast-shipping product (V8.1) with a huge user base; support is docs/Discord-community only, no AU hours | | **Total** | **16/25** | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very Good | Update history - **24 Sep 2026 🇦🇺 Prices re-verified and correct; the citation was dead and has been repointed.** Checked 24 September 2026 in a browser on an Australian connection. **Every figure in the table below is right** — Basic US$10, Standard US$30, Pro US$60, Mega US$120 a month, and US$96 / US$288 / US$576 / US$1,152 a year — and the page states **USD**, with no AUD anywhere. **But the source we cited is gone.** `docs.midjourney.com/.../19518956966157-Plans-and-Pricing` returns *“The page you were looking for doesn't exist”*, and it is now **“Comparing Midjourney Plans”** at article `27870484040333`, which the citation above points to. **Worth knowing for anyone re-checking this tool: Midjourney has no public pricing page on its main site at all.** `midjourney.com/pricing` returns a 404 (*“This page has not been /imagine'd yet”*) and the home page carries **no pricing link of any kind** — the prices live only inside Billing Support in the docs. `aud_native: false`; there is no Australian price. Closes this tool's row on the AUD claim queue. *(Midjourney is one of the six vendors that block `curl`, which is why this needed a browser.)* - **25 Jun 2026** — Midjourney adds --sref random to Draft mode, generating 24 varied style variations per prompt. [Source](https://www.midjourney.com/updates?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) - **16 Jun 2026** — Midjourney launches Draft mode for V8.1 plus a --preview flag for testing experimental model features. [Source](https://www.midjourney.com/updates?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) - **11 Jun 2026** — V8.1 becomes Midjourney's default model, replacing V7: faster, better prompts, 4x HD resolution. [Source](https://updates.midjourney.com/v8-1-is-now-the-default-model/?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) - **14 Apr 2026** — Midjourney releases V8.1 Alpha: HD mode 3x faster/cheaper, SD 50% faster, new Prompt Shortener. [Source](https://updates.midjourney.com/v8-1-alpha/?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) - **17 Mar 2026** — Midjourney launches V8 Alpha: \~5x faster generation, native 2K --hd mode, --q 4 coherence option. [Source](https://updates.midjourney.com/v8-alpha/?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) - **2 Jun 2026** — First reviewed. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Midjourney available in Australia? Yes — there's no geographic restriction. Self-serve signup works via the web app, mobile and Discord. ### Does Midjourney charge in Australian dollars? No. It bills in US dollars only, with no AUD displayed anywhere. Expect roughly AUD$14–$205/month landed depending on plan, after your bank's FX rate and about 10% GST at checkout. ### Is there a free plan or trial? No. There's no free tier — you can't try Midjourney without paying. Basic at \~AUD$14/month is the cheapest way in, but Standard at \~AUD$42/month is the sweet spot for most serious users. ### Is my work kept private? No, not by default. Your prompts and images are public and may be used to train Midjourney's models unless you're on Pro or Mega with Stealth Mode on. Even then it isn't retroactive. For client work or NDAs, that's a real problem. ### Does Midjourney cover me if an image triggers a copyright claim? No. There's no IP indemnity — you defend any dispute yourself, and you actually agree to indemnify Midjourney. If copyright exposure matters, Adobe Firefly offers enterprise indemnity and is the safer choice. ## Read next - Category guide: [Best AI Design & Creative Tools in Australia 2026](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/best-ai-design-creative-tools-australia-2026/) ## Sources 1. Midjourney — Plans and Pricing — [docs.midjourney.com](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/19518956966157-Plans-and-Pricing?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) — checked 2 June 2026 2. Midjourney — Version (V7 default, Omni Reference) — [docs.midjourney.com](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32199405667853-Version?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) — Wayback: [snapshot](https://web.archive.org/web/20260518101550/https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32199405667853-Version) — checked 2 June 2026 3. Midjourney — V8.1 Updates (30 April 2026) — [updates.midjourney.com](https://updates.midjourney.com/v8-1-updates/?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) — Wayback: [archived 3 Jun 2026](https://web.archive.org/web/20260603095557/https://updates.midjourney.com/v8-1-updates/) — checked 2 June 2026 4. Midjourney — Video (V1 Video model) — [docs.midjourney.com](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/37460773864589-Video?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) — Wayback: [archived 3 Jun 2026](https://web.archive.org/web/20260227063423/https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/37460773864589-Video) — checked 2 June 2026 5. Midjourney — Stealth Mode — [docs.midjourney.com](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32019750070669-Stealth-Mode?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) — Wayback: [snapshot](https://web.archive.org/web/20260528084946/https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32019750070669-Stealth-Mode) — checked 2 June 2026 6. Midjourney — Privacy Policy (public-by-default, training) — [docs.midjourney.com](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32083472637453-Privacy-Policy?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) — Wayback: [archived 3 Jun 2026](https://web.archive.org/web/20260528084933/https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32083472637453-Privacy-Policy) — checked 2 June 2026 7. Midjourney — Using Images & Videos Commercially (>USD$1M revenue → Pro/Mega) — [docs.midjourney.com](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/27870375276557-Using-Images-Videos-Commercially?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) — Wayback: [archived 3 Jun 2026](https://web.archive.org/web/20260401185302/https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/27870375276557-Using-Images-Videos-Commercially) — checked 2 June 2026 8. Midjourney — Terms of Service (no IP indemnification) — [docs.midjourney.com](https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32083055291277-Terms-of-Service?ref=theaidirectory.com.au) — Wayback: [snapshot](https://web.archive.org/web/20260515154153/https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32083055291277-Terms-of-Service) — checked 2 June 2026 --- *The AI Directory Australia is an independent editorial publication. We don't accept payment for positive reviews. Read our Methodology and Affiliate Disclosure pages.* *Reviewed by* [*Adam*](mailto:adam@theaidirectory.com.au) *for* [*The AI Directory Australia*](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/)*. First published 2 June 2026.* ---