Get to know the tool
About Leonardo AI
Leonardo AI (Leonardo.Ai) is a creative AI platform that generates images and short videos from text prompts, aimed at designers, game artists, marketers and content teams who want fine control over style. According to Leonardo’s official pricing page, it offers a free plan with 150 tokens every day, and paid plans start at $12/month for Essential.
What is Leonardo AI?
Leonardo AI is a generative AI platform available on web, desktop, mobile, Android and iOS via leonardo.ai. Where some rivals lock you into one model, Leonardo gives you an assortment of general and fine-tuned models — including its Phoenix and Lucid families alongside FLUX models — so you can pick the model that fits each job, from photorealism to anime and concept art.
Everything runs on a token system: generations, video creation, background removal and upscaling each consume tokens based on the computing power involved. Paid plans add rollover token banks, the ability to train your own custom models from 10–20 images, and — on higher tiers — unlimited “relaxed” generation once your fast tokens run out.
Key Features
- Many specialised models: Choose from models such as Lucid Origin, Lucid Realism, Phoenix 1.0, FLUX Dev and FLUX Schnell, each tuned for a different content type.
- Custom model training: Upload a small set of images (typically 10–20) to train a model that recreates a specific style, theme or subject.
- Image and video in one plan: Generate stills and motion content under the same subscription and token balance.
- Token rollover and top-ups: Unused paid-plan tokens roll into a Rollover Bank, and top-up packs never expire while you stay subscribed.
- Unlimited Relaxed Generation: Premium and Ultimate plans keep generating on selected models at lower priority after fast tokens run out, at no extra token cost.
- API access: A developer API is available alongside the individual, team and API plan families on the official pricing page.
How to Use Leonardo AI
- Sign up at leonardo.ai — the free plan gives you 150 fast tokens per day to experiment with.
- Pick a model suited to your project, such as Lucid Realism for photography-style images or Phoenix for versatile creative work.
- Type a text prompt describing your image or video, and generate; each action deducts tokens based on its complexity.
- Refine results with post-processing tools such as background removal and upscaling, or train a custom model on your own images for a repeatable style.
- Upgrade to a paid plan when you need a monthly token allowance, rollover banking and full ownership rights for commercial work.
How much does Leonardo AI cost?
According to Leonardo’s official pricing page, the individual plans below are priced per month, with lower monthly-equivalent prices on annual billing (Essential $10, Premium $24, Ultimate $48 per month billed yearly). Prices exclude tax. Paid subscribers retain full ownership and intellectual property rights in their generated images; on the free tier, Leonardo grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence for commercial use instead.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 150 fast tokens per day, public generations, Blueprints with 1 concurrent job |
| Essential | $12/mo | 8,500 fast tokens per month, rollover bank up to 25,500 tokens, top-up tokens, 2 concurrent generations |
| Premium | $30/mo | 25,000 fast tokens per month, rollover bank up to 75,000, unlimited relaxed image generation on selected models, 3 concurrent generations |
| Ultimate | $60/mo | 60,000 fast tokens per month, rollover bank up to 180,000, unlimited relaxed image and video generation on selected models, 6 concurrent generations |
Last verified: October 2026.
Pros
- Genuinely useful free plan with 150 tokens refreshed daily
- Huge model choice, including the option to train your own custom models
- Token rollover and non-expiring top-ups soften the usual credit anxiety
- Premium and Ultimate keep creating in Relaxed mode after tokens run out
- Paid subscribers keep full ownership of generated images
Cons
- Token costs vary by model and task, so output volume is hard to predict in advance
- Free-plan generations are public, and free users do not own their images outright
- Relaxed Generation excludes third-party models such as partner video and image APIs
- The sheer number of models and settings has a learning curve for beginners
Who should use Leonardo AI?
Leonardo AI fits game artists, illustrators, designers and marketing teams who generate regularly and want a consistent house style — custom model training is the standout reason to choose it. Casual creators can live on the free plan for a long time. For a simpler, cheaper starting point, see our PicLumen review and the rest of the AI Image Generator category.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Leonardo AI free?
Yes, Leonardo AI has a free plan. According to Leonardo’s official pricing page, free users receive 150 fast tokens every day, which reset daily and cover image generation and other actions. Generations on the free plan are public, and paid plans start at $12 per month.
How much does Leonardo AI cost?
According to Leonardo’s official pricing page, paid individual plans cost $12 per month for Essential, $30 for Premium and $60 for Ultimate, with lower monthly-equivalent prices on annual billing. The plans include 8,500, 25,000 and 60,000 monthly fast tokens respectively, and prices exclude tax.
What are Leonardo AI tokens?
Tokens are Leonardo AI’s usage currency, deducted whenever you generate images or videos or run tasks such as background removal and upscaling. According to Leonardo’s official FAQ, the token cost depends on the computational intensity of each action, so a single token does not equal a fixed number of images.
Can I use Leonardo AI images commercially?
Yes. According to Leonardo’s official pricing page FAQ, paid subscribers retain full ownership, copyright and intellectual property rights in the images they generate, so they can use them in commercial projects. Free-tier users receive a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use their creations commercially instead of outright ownership.
Final Verdict
Leonardo AI is one of the most complete AI image platforms available: a real free plan, deep model choice, custom training, video generation and forgiving token economics on paid tiers. It asks more learning effort than one-click generators, but for creators producing work every week, that depth pays off. Essential at $12/month is an easy recommendation for regular users.
A good fit starts with the details. Check the official website for current features, pricing and availability before choosing a tool.
