As of September 30, 2026, Midjourney has not published a public developer API. There is no API key to request, no official SDK for Python or Node, no per-call price, and no API reference anywhere in Midjourney's help center. You use Midjourney on midjourney.com or through its Discord bot, on a paid plan, one person per account.
That leaves two workable paths:
- Keep Midjourney, but use it by hand. Pick a plan by how many Fast GPU hours your team burns each month, and give every person their own account.
- Automate with a different model. If your app has to generate images from code, use a model whose maker sells API access, such as FLUX.2 from Black Forest Labs, OpenAI's GPT Image models, or Google's Nano Banana Pro.
Services that sell a "Midjourney API" are unofficial wrappers. They work by driving Midjourney accounts with software, which is exactly what Midjourney's Terms of Service prohibit.
Is there an official Midjourney API?
No. Every piece a developer would normally look for is missing:
| What you might look for | What exists as of September 30, 2026 |
|---|---|
| API key or developer console | None. Midjourney accounts sign in on the website or through Discord. |
| API documentation | None in the official help center. |
| Official Python, Node or REST client | None. GitHub clients that call themselves Midjourney APIs are unofficial. |
| Free API or free tier | No API at all. The plans page lists four paid subscriptions. |
| Pay-per-image pricing | None. You pay a monthly or annual subscription that includes GPU time. |
Users in r/midjourney were still asking for a public API in February 2026. Midjourney's public documentation says nothing about an enterprise or partner API either. If you need one for a large deal, the only way to find out is to ask Midjourney directly; no public page describes one, and nothing public points to a release date.
What Midjourney's Terms say about automation
The current Midjourney Terms of Service (version effective May 27, 2026) are specific about automation:
"You may not use automated tools to access, interact with, or generate Assets through the Services."
The same section adds three rules that matter to anyone building a product around Midjourney:
- No reselling. You may not resell or redistribute the Services or access to them.
- One person per account. Only one user may use an account, and each user may have only one account.
- No competing products. You may not use the Services to develop or offer competitive products or services.
The Terms also let Midjourney ban your access "at any time, and for any reason," and rate limit you to protect other customers. In practice, a script that sends prompts from your own account is already outside the rules, even if you never share or resell anything.
What an unofficial Midjourney API service actually does
A wrapper gives you an HTTP endpoint that feels like a normal image API. Behind it, the service has to send your prompt into Midjourney through someone's account, wait for the job, then pass the image back to you. A hosted service has to run that through accounts it controls or through yours. Open-source clients do the same thing from your own server with your own account.
Each version of that setup collides with at least one rule:
| How the service works | Terms rule it runs into | What you're exposed to |
|---|---|---|
| Software sends prompts through a Discord or web session | No automated tools to access, interact with, or generate | The account that sent the prompt can be banned |
| A provider sells jobs run on its own accounts | No reselling or redistributing access | The provider's accounts can be banned without notice to you |
| Several customers share one account pool | One user per account | Your images depend on accounts you don't control |
| Your own account connected to a wrapper | Automation rule, plus you handing over your session | Loss of your own subscription and its history |
Some sellers promise "no account bans." That claim comes from the seller, not from Midjourney, and neither side publishes ban rates. The Terms leave the decision entirely with Midjourney, so treat any no-ban promise as unverifiable. Most of these services also describe themselves as unofficial.
Option 1: Use Midjourney by hand on the right plan
If Midjourney's look is the reason you're here and a person can stay in the loop, a subscription is the legitimate route. These are the published terms from Midjourney's Comparing Midjourney Plans page as of September 30, 2026:
| Basic | Standard | Pro | Mega | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $10 | $30 | $60 | $120 |
| Annual price | $96 ($8/mo) | $288 ($24/mo) | $576 ($48/mo) | $1,152 ($96/mo) |
| Fast GPU time per month | 3.3 hr | 15 hr | 30 hr | 60 hr |
| Relax mode | None | Unlimited images | Unlimited images and SD video | Unlimited images and SD video |
| Stealth Mode | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Max concurrent image jobs | 3 Fast | 3 Fast or Relax | 12 Fast or 3 Relax | 12 Fast or 3 Relax |
| Max queued jobs | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
All four plans come with Midjourney's General Commercial Terms, and extra Fast GPU time costs $4 per hour.
Two points change how teams should buy:
- Seats, not shared logins. Because only one person may use an account, a three-person design team needs three subscriptions. A shared "studio" account breaks the same rule that wrappers do.
- Upgrading beats topping up sooner than you'd expect. At $4 per extra hour, a plan's monthly cost is its price plus $4 for every hour you use beyond its Fast allowance. Solving where two plans cost the same gives the break-even points:
| If you need more than this much Fast time a month | The cheaper plan is | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 8.3 hr | Standard instead of Basic | $10 + $4 × (h − 3.3) = $30 → h = 8.3 |
| 22.5 hr | Pro instead of Standard | $30 + $4 × (h − 15) = $60 → h = 22.5 |
| 45 hr | Mega instead of Pro | $60 + $4 × (h − 30) = $120 → h = 45 |
These use monthly prices and assume every hour you need is Fast. Standard and above also include Relax mode, and if your work can wait in Relax, you may need far fewer Fast hours. Pro adds Stealth Mode and 12 concurrent Fast jobs, which can decide it for agencies regardless of hours.
Option 2: Switch to an image model with an official API
When images have to come from your code, whether per user request, in a batch job, or inside a product feature, pick a model whose maker sells API access. You get an API key, documented endpoints, and usage-based billing under that provider's own terms.
| Model family | Who runs the API | What to know first | Where to go next |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLUX.2 | Black Forest Labs | From $0.03 per image on [pro], $0.07 on [max], $0.014 on [klein] 4B. Requests are async: you submit, then poll for the result, and the image link expires after 10 minutes. | FLUX API guide |
GPT Image (for example gpt-image-2) | OpenAI | Called through the Images API; cost depends on quality, size and inputs. | GPT Image 2 API Pricing: Cost per Image and Project Budget |
| Nano Banana Pro | Google, through the Gemini API | Called with a Gemini API key; check the current model ID, billing and rate limits before production. | Nano Banana Pro API: Official Model ID, Pricing, Limits, and Quick Start |
For side-by-side output against Midjourney, see Nano Banana Pro vs Midjourney: 2026 Comparison Guide.
None of these will reproduce Midjourney's default aesthetic exactly. Before you switch, run a batch of your real prompts through one or two candidates and judge the results against the images your team actually shipped, not against Midjourney's showcase.
Using both: hand work in Midjourney, volume through an API
Many teams don't have to pick one. A split that stays inside the rules:
- Creative direction and hero images in Midjourney. Designers explore concepts, moodboards and key visuals on their own subscriptions, where Midjourney's style matters most.
- Production volume through an official API. Product images, per-user variations, thumbnails and anything triggered by code go to FLUX.2, GPT Image or Nano Banana Pro.
- A human handoff between the two. Designers settle on a look in Midjourney, then write the production prompts for the API model from it. No step in the pipeline calls Midjourney.
This setup also means that if Midjourney changes its plans, your app keeps running, because the automated part never depended on it.
Quick answers
Is there a free Midjourney API?
No. There is no official Midjourney API, free or paid. Midjourney itself is sold only as a Basic, Standard, Pro or Mega subscription. Anything advertised as a free Midjourney API is an unofficial service automating Midjourney accounts.
Can I get a Midjourney API key?
No. Midjourney does not issue API keys. A key you get from a third-party site belongs to that site's service, not to Midjourney.
Is there an official Midjourney Python library?
No. Python and Node packages on GitHub that call themselves Midjourney APIs are unofficial clients that drive a Midjourney account, which the automation rule in the Terms forbids.
Can a wrapper service guarantee my account won't be banned?
No. Midjourney's Terms let it ban access at any time and for any reason, and no one publishes ban rates. A seller's "no ban" promise isn't something Midjourney has agreed to.
Which AI has the best image API?
It depends on the job: cost per image, text rendering, editing, reference images and speed all shift the answer.
