Ideogram vs Recraft
We give Ideogram a 2.8 GPA and Recraft a 2.6, out of 4.0. Ideogram grades higher on ease of use. Recraft grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Ideogram
Image generator for designs with text, plus editing and video apps
Recraft
Image and vector generator built for designers and brand work
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAIdeogramGood | 2.6GPARecraftGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPlus is $15 a month on yearly billing ($20 monthly) for 2,400 credits and private images, just past this category's dearer quarter of $14.50. When credits run out, Ideogram's own models keep going in a slower queue, which softens it. | BBasic is $10 a month on yearly billing ($12 monthly) for 1,000 credits, level with this category's cheaper quarter of $9.99. That's about 500 Recraft V4.1 images, plus partner models, private images and commercial rights. Video needs Pro at $16. |
| Free plan and trial | C30 credits a week, but only if you sign in with Google, Apple or Microsoft, and everything you make is public. The Video app needs a paid plan or bought credits. | CDaily credits on Recraft's own models, vectors included, but only 3 uploads a day and 2 images per prompt. Free images are public, belong to Recraft and can't be used commercially. |
| Features | BSeveral in-house models, masking and inpainting, transparent backgrounds for stickers and icons, custom style models trained on 15 to 100 of your images, a video app and an API. The whole job's covered, with text in images as its thing. | BEditable SVG icons, logos and illustrations, raster-to-vector, custom styles and brand palettes, editing, mockups, an assistant mode, and video on Pro. It covers the job, with vectors as its edge. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 2,700 App Store ratings, the top band. Type the prompt with the words you want on the poster, and go. | CNo App Store rating on record. Styles, palettes, mockups and a canvas give a designer plenty to set up before it pays off. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and iPhone, with one API for the image and video models and an MCP server for Claude. No Android or desktop app, and credits can't be bought in the iPhone app. | BWeb, iPhone, Android and a Chrome extension, with plugins for Figma, Framer, Google Docs and Google Slides and a separate API. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | images with readable words in them | icons and logos as editable vectors |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Ideogram and Recraft. How we grade
Price against what you get
Ideogram starts at $15 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Recraft starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7.
Ideogram scores higher, and starts $5 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI image and video generators on the chart, 1 scores higher than Ideogram for less, and 2 score higher than Recraft for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Ideogram starts at $15 per month for 2,400 credits, billed annually ($20 billed monthly). Recraft starts at $10 per month for 1,000 credits, billed annually ($12 billed monthly).
- Only Recraft lists an Android app.
- Only Recraft lists a browser extension.
At a glance
| Ideogram | Recraft | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per month for 2,400 credits, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) | $10 per month for 1,000 credits, billed annually ($12 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 30 credits a week for accounts that sign in with Google, Apple or Microsoft. Everything made on the free plan is public, and the Video app needs a paid plan or bought credits. | Limited daily credits, 3 image uploads a day and up to 2 images per prompt, Recraft models only. Free images are public, owned by Recraft and not licensed for commercial use. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Ideogram AI Inc | Recraft, Inc. |
| Price read from | docs.ideogram.ai | recraft.ai |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Ideogram
- Logos, posters and ads where the words in the image must be readable
- Trying an image generator free with a weekly allowance
- Small teams that want separate credits and central billing
Recraft
- Designers who need icons, logos and illustrations as editable vectors
- Brand teams keeping a set of images on one style and palette
- Figma and Framer users who want generation inside their design tool
Worth knowing
Ideogram
- Free credits go only to accounts signed in with Google, Apple or Microsoft, and free-plan images are always public.
- Monthly plan credits do not roll over. Extra credits cost one US cent each and expire 365 days after purchase.
- Partner models, reference images, edits, upscales and video always cost credits, even on plans with a slower unlimited queue.
- Credits cannot be bought inside the iOS app, and custom model training works on desktop only.
Recraft
- Free-plan images are public, belong to Recraft and cannot be used commercially.
- Video generation needs Pro or Teams; Basic covers images only.
- Monthly credits do not roll over. Top-ups cost $2 per 200 credits, never expire and are sold only on paid plans.
- Teams credits are assigned per seat and cannot be shared between members.
Key features
Ideogram
- Several image models
- Ideogram 4.5 edits and combines up to five reference images, 4.0 handles very wide formats, and 3.0 keeps style presets, palettes and negative prompts.
- Editing and inpainting
- Mask an area to change it, extend a scene, remove objects or backgrounds, and upscale results.
- Transparent backgrounds
- Dedicated models produce images with no background for stickers, print-on-demand designs, icons and clip art.
- Custom models
- Train a style model on 15 to 100 of your own images. Training needs Pro or Team and a standard run costs 4,000 credits.
- Video app
- Makes short clips from a prompt, from start and end frames, or from uploaded images, video and audio, using models such as Seedance.
- API and MCP server
- One API covers the image and video models, and an MCP server lets AI assistants such as Claude use Ideogram.
Recraft
- Vector generation
- Generates editable SVG icons, logos and illustrations, and converts raster images to vectors. Vector tools are on every plan, including Free.
- Custom styles and palettes
- Pick from a style library or create your own style from reference images, and set brand color palettes to keep a set of images consistent.
- Editing tools
- Edit with plain-language instructions, erase or modify areas, extend images, remove or replace backgrounds and upscale.
- Mockups
- Generate a product mockup and apply your own design to it inside Recraft Studio, at 2 credits per mockup.
- Agentic and manual modes
- Chat with an assistant that sets up generations over several turns, or control model, style, aspect ratio and artistic level by hand.
- Plugins and API
- Plugins for Figma, Framer, Google Docs, Google Slides and Chrome use your plan's credits; a separate API is billed in prepaid units.
Plans
Ideogram
Free$0
30 credits a week, all Ideogram image models, and public images only.
Plus$15
per month for 2,400 credits, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
Private generation and quality export; after credits run out, Ideogram models keep working in a slower queue.
Pro$42
per month for 7,500 credits, billed annually ($60 billed monthly)
Adds batch generation, a larger queue and custom model training.
Team$20
per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
3,600 credits per member each month, with central billing and admin. Minimum 2 users.
EnterpriseCustom
Terms, credits and features set by agreement, including a prepaid shared credit balance for organizations.
Recraft
Free$0
Daily credits for Recraft's own models, vector generation and basic editing; personal use only.
Basic$10
per month for 1,000 credits, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Partner image models, private images with commercial rights, credit top-ups. About 500 Recraft V4.1 images a month.
Pro$16
per month for 2,000 credits, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
Adds video models such as Kling and Veo and priority generation. Price rises with credits: $128 a month yearly at 16,000.
Teams$18
per seat / month for 2,000 credits, billed annually ($22 monthly)
Shared workspace and custom styles, central billing, SSO and 24/7 support. Credits are per seat. Minimum 2 seats.
Ways to pay less
Ideogram
- Annual discount
Pay less with yearly billing
Yearly billing brings Plus from $20 to $15 a month, Pro from $60 to $42 and Team from $30 to $20 per user.
Recraft
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with annual billing
Annual billing brings Basic from $12 to $10 a month, Pro from $20 to $16 and Teams from $22 to $18 per seat.
