Midjourney and Ideogram are two of the best and most photorealistic AI image generation platforms on the market. They have similar features and style, and both make it onto my list of best AI image generators.
Ideogram is a much newer font than Midjourney, but is quickly establishing itself. Both claim to be able to create highly readable text and a variety of image styles.
To test these claims, I pitted them head-to-head across a series of seven prompts, including one that asked for legible text to create your next phone wallpaper.
Creating an Image Prompt
I tried to create seven relatively simple, general prompts that could be used in both Midjourney and Ideogram to see what the results would be. In both cases, I created four images each and then chose the one that I thought was best.
In both cases, I set the aspect ratio to 9:16, which is fine for Android devices but a bit narrow for iPhones, but it should still work fine.
1. Abstract Geometric Patterns
Theme: “Bright, colorful geometric patterns in different shapes and sizes. Think overlapping circles, triangles, and squares in bold colors. The design should have a modern, artistic feel with depth and movement.”
Both are fantastic here, and surprisingly different despite being from the same prompt. There was something about the imagery in Midjourney that really captured my imagination.
winner: The middle of a journey
2. Natural beauty
Theme: “A high-resolution close-up of a dewdrop on a leaf captures the intricate detail and reflections within the droplet. A soft blur of lush green foliage in the background creates a calming, serene effect.”
Midjourney is an easy winner here, with a great leaf design that captures simplicity while still maintaining realism.
winner: The middle of a journey
3. Space and Astronomy
The Challenge: “Create an artistic representation of a space landscape, such as a spiral galaxy with swirling stars and nebulae. Include planets and shooting stars to convey a sense of wonder and infinite possibilities.”
This was close because I think Ideogram is closer to the concept of artistic expression. I deliberately left it vague to see how it handled the confusion, and I liked how Ideogram handled it. But Midjourney's imagery was just amazing.
winner: The middle of a journey
4. Retro Game Theme
Prompt: “A nostalgic 8-bit style wallpaper featuring classic gaming elements. Reminiscent of old-school video games like Super Mario and Pac-Man, the pixelated characters, coins, and scenery add a fun and playful touch to your screen.”
This was a very difficult choice between Ideogram and Midjourney. I liked both images. I finally decided on Ideogram simply because its design was closer to the concept of the prompt. It has a Pac-Man-esque layout with Mario imagery.
winner: Ideogram
5. Minimalist Quotes
Theme: “A clean, elegant design with a motivational quote in stylish typography. The background can be a solid color or a subtle gradient. The text takes center stage. The quote is “Believe in yourself and everything you've got.” You'll be inspired and smile every time you unlock your phone.”
All we needed was a clean design and properly displayed text. Midjourney failed on both counts and took the idea of a phone too literally. Ideogram not only created a simple and elegant design, but also got the quote right.
winner: Ideogram
6. Whimsical Doodle Art
Theme: “A playful, whimsical wallpaper filled with hand-drawn doodles and illustrations of stars, clouds, cute animals, and more. The design is bright and fun with a central quote in a casual, handwritten font: 'Feel the magic in everyday moments.'”
The Midjourney imagery was more of a playful, whimsical concept, but that's not to say that the Ideogram failed – in fact, it captures the idea of graffiti quite well. Ultimately, it was the representation of the quote that won out for me, and the Ideogram was legible.
winner: Ideogram
7. Vintage Travel Posters
Theme: “A retro-inspired travel poster design showcasing an idyllic destination, such as a beach, mountain, or famous city. The colors should be warm and inviting with a vintage feel. A classic, elegant font could include a quote such as, 'Adventure awaits. Go find it.'”
As with other image tests with text, Ideogram is far superior to Midjourney when it comes to rendering text on images, although I think Midjourney's images are more stylish and have a better overall design, even though the text is so awful it takes away from its appeal.
winner: Ideogram
Winner: Ideogram
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Ideograms | The middle of a journey |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Row 0 – Cell 1 | ✅ |
| 2. | Row 1 – Cell 1 | ✅ |
| 3. | Row 2 – Cell 1 | ✅ |
| Four. | ✅ | Row 3 – Cell 2 |
| Five. | ✅ | Row 4 – Cell 2 |
| 6. | ✅ | Row 5 – Cell 2 |
| 7. | ✅ | Row 6 – Cell 2 |
If it weren't for the issues rendering legible text, this would have been a win for Midjourney: for the most part, the generated images are more stylized, higher quality by default, and more photorealistic when needed.
However, Ideogram proved to be superior both in its ability to follow the details of the prompt and in its ability to generate text that was different from any of the other models I tried, so I gave it the win, albeit very close.
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