Leonardo AI
Overview
Leonardo AI is an image generation platform popular in game art and concept art workflows. Canva acquired it in July 2024, and in 2026 it relaunched under the "Yours to Create" banner and shipped the Creative Engine API, opening its models to developers and enterprises embedding generation into their own products. On top of general-purpose models it still ships a large catalogue of genre-tuned fine-tunes and lets users train their own from a handful of reference images.
Key Features
First-party and third-party models side by side
The catalogue now spans 80+ models: Leonardo's own Lucid Origin, Lucid Realism and Phoenix 1.0 alongside outside models such as Nano Banana Pro, FLUX.2 Pro and Seedream 4.5, all callable from the same subscription. Lucid Origin, the current workhorse, delivers Full HD renders with rich saturation, sharp detail and accurate in-image text, which suits branded and promotional work.
Custom model training and AI Canvas
Upload 10–20 reference images and train a custom model that reproduces your own style, character or theme. AI Canvas provides infinite-canvas inpainting and outpainting, so the rough-to-final loop happens in one workspace.
Token economy with Relaxed Generation
Generations spend tokens; on higher tiers you can keep generating via Relaxed Generation after tokens run out. Unlimited relaxed generation only applies to first-party models — Lucid Origin, Lucid Realism, Phoenix and FLUX Dev/Schnell — not to the third-party models on the platform.
Plans & Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Daily token allowance only |
| Essential | $12 | Included with Canva Business |
| Premium | $30 | Mid tier with relaxed generation |
| Ultimate | $60 | Largest token allowance |
Annual billing saves up to 20%, and the paid tiers are now organised as Essential / Premium / Ultimate. Paid plans grant full commercial rights to generated images.
Typical Use Cases
- Game characters, environments, items and props
- High-volume YouTube / video thumbnails
- Training a model of your own character for variations
- Embedding generation into your own product via the Creative Engine API
Strengths
- Large library of purpose-built fine-tunes
- Custom model training accessible from the UI
- Practical AI Canvas editing tools
- One subscription covers both first-party and major third-party models
Weaknesses
- Token-based pricing can be hard to budget
- Sometimes trails Midjourney / Flux on pure image quality
- UI is information-dense for newcomers
Official Info
- Web: https://leonardo.ai
- Pricing: https://leonardo.ai/pricing