chatgpt-4o-vs-midjourney-ai-image-generation

Native Image Generation in ChatGPT

Before GPT-4o, you could generate images via DALL·E, but only by activating a dedicated tool inside ChatGPT. Now, this capability is fully integrated: you simply write a prompt, and ChatGPT creates the image directly in the chat.

➡️ Example: “Create an image of a futuristic city at night, in the rain.”

→ The image appears in seconds, with no interface change

Edit Images via Natural Instructions

One of GPT-4o’s most powerful features: edit images directly through conversation.

After generation, you can say:

“Add a drone in the sky”

“Change the style to oil painting”

ChatGPT will modify the image without starting over.

Improved Visual Quality (Especially Text in Images)

GPT-4o significantly improves the accuracy of textual content within visuals, a long-standing weakness of AI image tools.

ChatGPT can now create images with readable, accurate text, even in complex contexts.

Multimodal Model (Text + Image)

GPT-4o is a multimodal model — meaning it can understand and work with multiple formats: text, image, and audio (note: no video generation in ChatGPT yet — that’s reserved for Sora).

You can upload an image and ask ChatGPT to transform it:

→ “Brighten this photo and add a starry sky.”

ChatGPT 4o (as of March 2025)

Midjourney

Ideal For:

Advanced visual creators seeking premium artistic rendering with fine control. Perfect for fiction, game concepts, or high-end marketing visuals.

1. Futuristic Scene (TRON-inspired Universe)

Prompt used:

A glowing cybernetic highway at night, in a TRON-inspired futuristic universe. A rider on a lightbike leaves a blue light trail behind. Ultra-sharp lines, dark background, high contrast.

ChatGPT 4o

The image stays very close to the TRON universe — clean lines, sharp contrasts, and a clearly recognizable lightbike. The composition is minimalistic but faithful.

Midjourney

Midjourney takes more creative liberty. The bike is more realistic and cyberpunk-inspired, diverging from the TRON aesthetic. However, the visual richness is stunning: detailed lighting, textures, and motion effects.

Prompt understanding:

• ChatGPT 4o: highly accurate interpretation, especially regarding the TRON style.
• Midjourney: visually stunning but more interpretive and abstract.

Graphic quality:

• Midjourney: wins in richness and polish.
• ChatGPT 4o: more basic and vector-style, yet clear and stylized.

Criterion	ChatGPT 4o	Midjourney
Prompt understanding	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (very faithful)	⭐⭐ (creative detour)
Graphic quality	⭐⭐ (minimalist)	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (high-end visual)
Visual style	Clean, stylized	Cinematic, photo-realistic
Ideal use case	Quick mockup, pitch	Final asset, marketing

Conclusion: ChatGPT 4o wins on fidelity, while Midjourney impresses visually. Use depends on your priorities: clarity vs. wow factor.

2. Sci-fi Portrait (Reading Android)

Prompt used:

Portrait of a humanoid android sitting in a futuristic library, reading a floating holographic book. The scene is dark with soft blue and purple lighting. Metallic reflections on the android’s face and body, calm facial expression, high-tech blurred background. Realistic, detailed, cinematic style inspired by sci-fi films.

ChatGPT 4o

ChatGPT delivers a clean and clear result. The android is visible, the holographic book is identifiable, and the lighting matches the blue/purple mood. It’s stylized, readable, but a bit static.

Midjourney

This time, Midjourney nails it: the android is immersive, the book floats dynamically with glowing text, and the entire atmosphere reflects a sci-fi cinematic aesthetic. Depth of field and lighting are excellent.

Prompt understanding:

• ChatGPT 4o: accurate and faithful to each element.
• Midjourney: also highly accurate, with better artistic interpretation.

Graphic quality:

• Midjourney: superior rendering, sharp metallic textures, atmospheric light.
• ChatGPT 4o: functional, neat, but not as visually powerful.

Conclusion: Both tools understood the prompt well, but Midjourney delivers a more cinematic and visually stunning result. ChatGPT remains useful for rapid concepts or illustration mockups.

3. Brand Logo (Graphic Creation)

Prompt used:

Minimalist logo for a coffee shop called ‘Moonbrew’. The design should combine a crescent moon and a steaming coffee cup in a clean, modern style. Use soft earthy tones like beige, warm brown, and dark blue. The word ‘Moonbrew’ must be clearly visible and integrated into the design. The logo should also work well in black and white.

ChatGPT 4o

A clean, modern design that integrates the name “Moonbrew” perfectly and legibly. The style aligns well with the prompt, and the logo is usable out of the box.

Midjourney

The result is soft and aesthetic, with a natural composition combining all key elements: cup, moon, plants. However, the text fails: the word “Moonbrew” is misspelled as “MONN8WEW”, making the logo unusable for real branding — a recurring issue with Midjourney when rendering text.

Prompt understanding:

• ChatGPT 4o respects both visual style and typography instructions.‍
• Midjourney captures the graphic concept but fails on text.

Graphic quality:

• ChatGPT 4o is more basic but delivers a functional result
• Midjourney offers more finesse and artistic feel

Conclusion:ChatGPT 4o wins clearly on functional branding tasks. While Midjourney’s visuals are more refined, text issues make them unsuitable for professional use cases like logos.

4. Humorous Image (Meme Test)

Prompt used:

A cat dressed as an astronaut, standing on the Moon, holding a flag that says ‘I want kibble’. Cartoon style, starry background, funny facial expression.

ChatGPT 4o

The result is simpler and more “flat design”, but everything is clearly represented — especially the text, which reads correctly as “I WANT KIBBLE”. The message is preserved, making it fully functional as a meme.

Midjourney

Great cartoon-style rendering. The cat is expressive and well-positioned, the Moon setting is clear, and the visual is fun and polished. However, the text on the flag is incorrect or unreadable (“I WE8T KIOULE”), which breaks the purpose of the meme.

Prompt understanding:

• ChatGPT 4o nailed every part of the prompt, including the key phrase.
• Midjourney got the visual tone right, but failed to deliver readable text.

Graphic quality:

• Midjourney remains superior in visual richness.
• ChatGPT 4o is flatter but more effective for this specific use case.

1. Prompt Understanding

ChatGPT 4o performs exceptionally well in following complex prompts, especially when text placement, layout, or specific constraints are involved. Midjourney tends to interpret prompts more creatively — which can be both a strength and a weakness.

2. Graphic Quality

Midjourney delivers superior visual richness — its images feel cinematic, detailed, and often stunning. ChatGPT 4o’s results are generally more basic, stylized, and functional rather than impressive.

Another key strength of ChatGPT 4o is its ability to work from an existing image. Unlike Midjourney, which can only generate new images from a prompt, ChatGPT can analyze an uploaded image, interpret it, edit it, or even generate a new version based on your instructions. This is a real advantage for creators who want to refine a visual or quickly iterate from an initial concept.

3. Text Rendering

One of the most important distinctions:

• ChatGPT 4o renders text in images correctly and cleanly.
• Midjourney still struggles heavily with text — often distorting or misspelling it.

4. Speed and Flexibility

• Midjourney is much faster at generating images.
• It also offers many customization options (aspect ratio, style, upscaling, seeds).
• ChatGPT 4o has no parameter control, which limits creative freedom.

Summary

• Choose ChatGPT 4o if you want readable, prompt-accurate visuals — especially for memes, educational material, or logos.
• Choose Midjourney if you’re after visually stunning creations, and can tolerate some lack of precision — especially when no text is needed.

Both tools have their strengths. The best choice? It depends on your goal.