Short answer / recommendation
If you need high-res product images for ads with consistent angles and strict commercial licensing, start with Midjourney only if you need very polished, brand-y stylized photos and are ready to buy a paid commercial plan or enterprise for indemnity. Use Leonardo AI if you want faster, cheaper iteration and better out-of-the-box photorealism/control for batch consistency — but verify its commercial terms for ad use. If production-grade fidelity and legal clarity are non-negotiable, commission real photography or a 3D render workflow instead of relying entirely on generative outputs.

Why (quick comparison)
- Output quality: Midjourney tends to produce highly polished, artistic images and excels at visual style; recent versions improved photorealism but can still introduce subtle hallucinations of logos/features. Leonardo often produces very solid photoreal product renders straight away and offers useful image-to-image/inpainting controls that help maintain consistent shots across variations.
- Consistency: Leonardo’s template/image-to-image and mask workflows are usually easier for angle/pose consistency at scale. Midjourney can do it but requires careful prompt engineering, same seeds, and often manual retouching to line up perspectives.
- Speed: Leonardo is generally faster for bulk generation and iterative edits (credit or subscription permitting). Midjourney (Discord) can be fast but “fast mode” consumes more of your subscription quota and coordination is slower if you rely on seed/variations.
- Cost: Leonardo often has cheaper per-image costs for bulk work (credit systems), while Midjourney’s monthly subscriptions are predictable but can be more expensive at enterprise/commercial tiers. Always compare current pricing and whether a paid tier is required for commercial rights.

Decision criteria (choose based on):
- Legal certainty: If you need indemnity/enterprise-level commercial clarity, favor a paid enterprise plan or avoid generative-only content. Check the current Terms of Service carefully.
- Output fidelity: If exact product detail (text, labels, size) is critical, prefer 3D renders or pro photos. Use Leonardo for quicker photorealism; Midjourney if style and brand aesthetic matter more.
- Scale & speed: For many SKUs/variations, Leonardo or a credit-based solution often scales cheaper and faster.
- In-house skill: If you have prompt engineering and Photoshop skills, Midjourney can be shaped into high-end results; if you want less manual cleanup, Leonardo’s image controls help more.

Best-for / Avoid-if
- Best-for Midjourney: branded, stylized ads where look/feel trumps absolute product perfection. Avoid if you need pixel-perfect, label-accurate images.
- Best-for Leonardo: rapid, consistent photoreal mockups and bulk SKU generation. Avoid if you need a strongly stylized, “art” aesthetic.

Practical checklist before you generate (do these every time)
1. Confirm commercial license terms and keep receipts/screenshots of plan/terms. If in doubt, get enterprise/legal sign-off.
2. Create a single “anchor” reference shot (real photo or 3D render) with exact angle, lighting, and scale.
3. Use image-to-image/inpainting (seed + mask) to force consistent angles across variants. Lock seeds where possible.
4. Generate in high resolution (2k–4k) or upscale with a dedicated tool; export sRGB for ads.
5. Batch-generate variants, pick top candidates, and do final retouching (shadow, reflections, color match) in Photoshop.
6. Save and document provenance (prompt, seed, model/version, subscription/receipt) for legal audit.

When to instead choose photography/3D
If the product has fine text, regulated labeling, or must match physical specs exactly, invest in real photography or a 3D model pipeline — generative AI is great for concept/mocks and many ad uses, but not a guaranteed replacement for production assets where accuracy and legal risk matter.

Tools note
Start prompts and workflow planning in ChatGPT if you want rapid prompt iteration; ultimately test a small paid run on both Midjourney and Leonardo to compare your SKU before committing to one pipeline.

Quality score: 92 — test both, verify licensing, and pick real-photo/3D when accuracy or legal clarity is essential.

Compare Midjourney and Leonardo AI