Leonardo AI costs $0 to $60 a month depending on plan, or $10 to $48 a month if you pay annually. There's a free tier with 150 tokens per day, then Apprentice, Artisan and Maestro. Everything is metered in tokens, so the real question isn't the sticker price — it's how fast your workflow burns through them.
The short answer
For casual use, the free plan or Apprentice ($10 annual) is plenty. For freelance image work with some video, Artisan ($24 annual) is the sweet spot. Studios and video-heavy users want Maestro ($48 annual), and developers should look at the pay-as-you-go Production API instead.
Every plan
Prices below show the standard monthly rate first, then the effective monthly rate on annual billing (roughly 17–20% cheaper). Token allotments are per month on paid plans.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per mo) | Tokens/mo | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 150/day | Core models, public generations, daily reset |
| Apprentice | $12 | $10 | 8,500 | Private generations, Consistent Character Engine, no daily cap |
| Artisan | $30 | $24 | 25,000 | More tokens, higher concurrency, training, priority |
| Maestro | $60 | $48 | 60,000 | Highest allotment, best for video & studios |
The free plan
Leonardo's free tier is more generous than most rivals: 150 tokens a day, resetting every 24 hours, with access to the core foundation models. In practice that's a handful of standard image generations daily — enough to learn the tool and produce the odd asset. The catches: generations are public (anyone can see them in the community feed), and the heaviest features and higher resolutions are limited. It's a real trial, not a teaser.
How tokens work
Tokens are Leonardo's universal credit. A standard-resolution image costs a small number of tokens; bump the resolution, run an upscale, or generate video and the cost climbs steeply. That's the single most important thing to understand before you subscribe: your plan isn't "X images," it's a token budget, and video-heavy months drain it far faster than image-only ones.
Two habits keep costs sane. First, generate at standard resolution and upscale only your keepers. Second, if you're doing a lot of Motion video, jump straight to Artisan or Maestro rather than watching Apprentice's 8,500 tokens vanish in a week. Unused tokens generally don't roll over, so size the plan to a typical month, not a peak.
The API
Developers and studios can skip the subscription tiers and use Leonardo's Production API, priced pay-as-you-go in dollars. It covers image and video generation, upscaling, custom model and element training, realtime canvas and Blueprint workflow execution, and it exposes both Leonardo's own models and third-party engines under one billing surface. If your usage is spiky or you're embedding generation into a product, per-call dollar pricing is more predictable than burning subscription tokens.
Is it worth it?
Yes, if you use the breadth. Apprentice at $10 annual is one of the best-value paid image plans going — private generations plus the Consistent Character Engine for less than half of Midjourney's $30 Standard tier. Artisan at $24 is the plan most freelancers should pick; the extra tokens cover real client volume plus occasional video. Maestro at $48 only pays off if you're genuinely video-heavy or running a studio.
The honest caveat is the same as the full review: tokens make budgeting less predictable than Midjourney's "unlimited relaxed" on higher tiers. If you only ever make images and make a lot of them, price out both. If you want characters, training and video too, Leonardo's ladder is the better deal. Weighing the two engines directly? See Leonardo vs Midjourney, or the wider field in our best AI image generators roundup.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Leonardo AI cost in 2026?
There's a free plan with 150 tokens per day, then Apprentice at $12/mo ($10 annual, 8,500 tokens), Artisan at $30/mo ($24 annual, 25,000 tokens), and Maestro at $60/mo ($48 annual, 60,000 tokens). A pay-as-you-go Production API is also available for developers.
Does Leonardo AI have a free plan?
Yes. The free plan gives 150 tokens per day that reset every 24 hours — enough for a handful of standard generations daily plus most core features, though generations are public and some tools are limited.
How do Leonardo AI tokens work?
Tokens are the credit unit, spent per generation. Standard images cost a small number each; higher resolution, upscales and especially video cost more. Your allotment refills each billing cycle on paid plans and generally doesn't roll over.
Which Leonardo AI plan is best?
Apprentice at $10 annual suits regular hobbyists who want private generations. Artisan at $24 annual is the sweet spot for freelancers doing heavy image work with some video. Maestro at $48 annual is for studios and video-heavy users.
Is Leonardo AI cheaper than Midjourney?
At the entry level, yes. Apprentice at $10 annual is about half of Midjourney's $30 Standard plan, and Leonardo adds a real free tier plus video and training. Midjourney's unlimited relaxed generations on higher plans may suit very heavy image-only users better.
Does Leonardo AI offer an API?
Yes. The Production API is priced pay-as-you-go in dollars and covers image and video generation, upscaling, custom model and element training, realtime canvas and Blueprint workflows, with both Leonardo and third-party models under one billing surface.