I seriously need to know which ai image generators actually give you the best value for your money right now because i am about done with midjourney. Honestly it is just getting way too expensive for what it is and the discord interface is such a massive headache to navigate when you are in a rush. I keep burning through my fast hours on stuff that doesn't even look right and then i have to wait forever for the slow mode or pay even more money which is just not happening.

Im a freelance designer in Chicago and i use these tools for quick client mockups and concept art for a book cover project i gotta finish by next week. My budget is super tight lately and spending $30 or $60 a month just to get decent results feels like a total ripoff at this point. I tried playground ai but the free tier feels super limited lately and the quality has dipped for me.

Ive heard people talk about leonardo or maybe just trying to run stable diffusion locally but my laptop is kinda old and i dont think it can handle the processing power needed for that. Is there a middle ground? Like something with a better credit system or maybe a cheaper flat rate that doesnt nerf the quality into the ground? Im just trying to experiment with different styles without feeling like every single prompt is costing me actual lunch money...