Best AI Image Generator for Text in Images: 2026

In short

No image generator reliably sets long passages of text: Ideogram and Midjourney both say short phrases work best, and OpenAI says GPT Image can still struggle with precise text placement and clarity. So the rule is: put the exact words in quotes, keep generated text to a headline or label, add body copy in a design tool, and pick the tool by what the text has to do. For text placed exactly on a poster, use Ideogram 4.5; for lettering you will edit as a vector, Recraft; for text inside a realistic scene that you fix by conversation, GPT Image; for a short stylized title, Midjourney.

On this page3

What each vendor says about text

Tool and current model	How you control the text	What the vendor says	Output
Ideogram 4.5	quoted words; JSON prompts with bounding boxes for exact placement (4.5 and 4.0)	"Short phrases work best"; add long passages in a design tool	JPEG, PNG, WebP
GPT Image 2.5	text written into the prompt; edits by description or mask	can still struggle with precise text placement and clarity	PNG, JPEG, WebP
Recraft V4.1, with V3 for text	Recraft describes V3 as its model for exact text placement	editable vector graphics on V4.1 and V4	raster or SVG
Midjourney V8.2	quoted text (V6 and later)	shorter words or phrases work best	raster
Nano Banana 2.1	prompt and up to 14 reference images	Google says 2.1 improves text rendering	raster

Visit GPT Image

The second column decides it: only Ideogram's bounding boxes and Recraft's V3 are described by their vendors as placing text exactly; the others place it from the prompt. No vendor publishes accuracy rates, so any percentage you see for these tools is someone else's test, not the vendor's figure.

Fixing a wrong letter

Every tool will sometimes misspell, so the edit route matters as much as the first draft. Ideogram's paid plans can select an area and regenerate it, and its Layerize text feature separates text from the image. GPT Image lets you describe the correction in ChatGPT or send a mask through the API; OpenAI says GPT Image 2.5 is better at changing only what you specify. Midjourney suggests Raw mode, a lower Stylize value or its editor (Vary Region in Discord). Recraft's vector output lets a designer correct letterforms directly as paths.

What 20 test drafts cost

A poster rarely comes out right on the first try. As an illustration, 20 drafts at one square image each cost, at each vendor's published API price:

Tool (API)	Per image	20 drafts
GPT Image 2.5, medium / high quality	about $0.013 / $0.053	about $0.26 / $1.05
Nano Banana 2.1, 1K	$0.0336	about $0.67
Ideogram 4.5, Low / Medium / High	$0.03 / $0.06 / $0.10	$0.60 / $1.20 / $2.00
Recraft V4.1, raster / vector	$0.035 / $0.08	$0.70 / $1.60

GPT Image's figure covers output tokens only; prompts and reference images add input tokens. Midjourney has no API: its Basic plan ($10 a month) includes 3.3 hours of Fast GPU time, and Standard ($30) adds unlimited Relax images. In the apps, Ideogram Plus costs $20 a month ($15 billed annually) for 2,400 priority credits, and Recraft Basic $12 ($10 annually) for 1,000 credits. If you test on free plans, Ideogram's free images are public and Recraft's Free plan cannot be used commercially. GPT Image vs Ideogram and Ideogram vs Recraft compare the two text-first choices in detail.

Official sources

Editorial guidance grounded in official product sources.

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Adobe Firefly overview | Firefly

FAQ

Common questions

Is GPT Image or Ideogram better for posters with readable text?

Use GPT Image when the poster needs several moving parts at once: scene, headline, secondary text, layout changes, and follow-up edits. Use Ideogram when the job is mostly typographic and the styling of the lettering is the main deliverable.

What is the best tool for infographics, labels, or educational visuals?

GPT Image. Those jobs depend more on instruction following, labeled elements, and revision stability than on pure art style, which is why GPT Image is the stronger default.

When should I choose Ideogram over GPT Image?

Choose Ideogram when you are making typography-first posters, logo explorations, wordmarks, t-shirt graphics, or short slogan layouts where the look of the text matters more than broader editing flexibility.

Do I need Recraft or Adobe Firefly instead of either one?

Yes, if your deliverable must stay editable after generation. Recraft is the better branch when you need SVG or vector-first assets. Adobe Firefly is the better branch when the work needs to stay inside Photoshop, Express, or a wider Adobe workflow.

Can AI image generators handle multilingual text reliably yet?

Short multilingual copy is getting much better, but it still needs human review before publish. GPT Image is the safer default for multilingual campaigns, while Ideogram's own docs warn that non-Latin alphabets may be harder to render correctly.

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