Leonardo.ai is an AI-powered creative platform for generating images, producing videos, editing visual content, and developing digital designs, with free and paid plans available.
What Is Leonardo.ai, and Who Owns It?
Leonardo.ai is a generative artificial intelligence platform that helps users turn written descriptions and reference images into visual content. It serves designers, marketers, artists, content creators, and businesses that need illustrations, product visuals, concept art, or AI-generated videos.
The platform is operated by Leonardo Interactive Pty Ltd, an Australian company that became part of Canva following an acquisition announced in July 2024.
Although Leonardo.ai belongs to the Canva family, it continues to operate as a separate creative platform.
Unlike a single-purpose AI image generator, Leonardo provides access to multiple image and video models, editing tools, and creative workflows through one interface.
What Can You Create With Leonardo.ai?
Leonardo.ai supports several types of visual content, from simple illustrations to more advanced commercial design projects.
Its main capabilities include:
- AI image generation: Create artwork, realistic images, illustrations, portraits, and digital graphics from text prompts.
- AI video generation: Turn written descriptions or existing images into short animated sequences.
- Image editing: Modify generated images using written instructions, reference images, and editing tools.
- Image upscaling: Improve image resolution and prepare selected visuals for larger displays or other uses.
- Character and style development: Use reference images and compatible models to guide appearance, composition, and visual consistency.
- Custom AI models: Train personal models on supported paid plans.
- Blueprints: Use prepared workflows for specific creative tasks without configuring every technical setting.
For example, a blogger could generate a custom illustration for an article, while an online store could develop product-image concepts or advertising visuals.
Leonardo also provides models developed by other AI companies. Its model directory includes options from providers such as OpenAI, Black Forest Labs, and other image and video technology developers.
However, model availability and supported features depend on the selected subscription.
How Do You Use Leonardo.ai to Generate Images?
You can begin generating images by creating an account, entering a description, and selecting Generate.
Leonardo's official help documentation describes the following process:
- Visit the official Leonardo.ai website.
- Create an account using an available sign-in method, such as email or Google.
- Open the AI image generation interface.
- Enter a description of the image you want.
- Adjust the image dimensions, style, model, or quality settings when available.
- Review the displayed token cost and generate the image.
- Download the result or continue editing it.
A useful prompt specifies the subject, setting, lighting, visual style, and composition.
For example:
"A realistic photograph of a modern workspace with a wooden desk, laptop, indoor plants, warm natural lighting, and a clean minimalist background."
Leonardo can automatically select a model based on the prompt. Paid plans provide broader access to choosing particular models and adjusting generation settings.
For better results, start with a clear description, evaluate the output, and modify the prompt or use image references when necessary.
Is Leonardo.ai Free or Paid?
Leonardo.ai offers a free plan with daily tokens, alongside paid subscriptions providing higher allowances and additional capabilities.
According to its official pricing page, the monthly subscription options listed in October 2026 are:
- Free — $0/month: Includes 150 fast tokens daily, basic quality settings, automatic model selection, and public generations.
- Essential — $12/month: Includes 8,500 fast tokens monthly, private generations, broader model access, and up to 10 personal AI models.
- Premium — $30/month: Includes 25,000 fast tokens monthly, additional generation capacity, and unlimited relaxed image generation on selected models.
- Ultimate — $60/month: Includes 60,000 fast tokens monthly, higher concurrency, and unlimited relaxed image and video generation on eligible models.
These are the advertised monthly rates before applicable taxes. Annual billing offers discounted pricing, and subscription details may change.
Leonardo also provides separate team subscriptions and API-based payment options.
What Are Leonardo.ai Tokens?
Tokens are the platform's usage credits for generating or processing content.
The number consumed depends on the selected model, quality settings, and type of operation. Video generation generally requires more processing resources than creating a static image.
Leonardo displays the required token amount before users submit a generation.
Paid subscribers can also retain unused tokens in a rollover bank, subject to plan-specific capacity limits.
Does Leonardo.ai Offer Unlimited Image and Video Generation?
Leonardo.ai offers unlimited generation on certain paid plans, but this does not mean every model can be used without restrictions.
Premium subscribers receive unlimited relaxed image generation with selected supported models.
Ultimate subscribers receive that image benefit along with relaxed video generation using eligible models, including certain Motion, Hailuo, and Wan models.
Relaxed generation processes requests at a lower priority, so waiting times can increase when demand is high.
Other models, particularly externally hosted options such as certain GPT Image, Kling, and Veo models, still consume tokens.
Consequently, users choosing a subscription should check whether their preferred models qualify for relaxed generation.
Can Leonardo.ai Generate Videos From Images and Text?
Yes. Leonardo.ai supports both text-to-video and image-to-video generation using compatible AI models.
Text-to-video generation creates moving scenes based on written instructions. Image-to-video workflows use a still image as a starting point for animation.
Depending on the chosen model, users may be able to configure motion, starting and ending frames, and audio-related options.
The platform's help documentation confirms that video generations can be downloaded in MP4 format.
Free users can access certain video capabilities, although high token requirements and model restrictions limit what they can generate.
Some features, including uploading personal images for video generation, require a paid subscription.
For video projects, reviewing model availability, token costs, and supported output settings before generating helps avoid unnecessary credit consumption.
Can You Use Leonardo.ai Images for Commercial Purposes?
Yes. Leonardo.ai permits commercial use of generated content under its terms, including images created through the free plan.
However, ownership and privacy rights differ significantly between subscriptions.
For free subscribers, Leonardo retains the intellectual property rights it holds in generated outputs while granting users a non-exclusive, royalty-free commercial-use license.
Paid subscribers receive the platform's rights in their generated content, subject to the terms and applicable law.
This distinction matters for businesses producing branded visuals, advertisements, merchandise, or other commercial assets.
Commercial-use permission does not guarantee that an AI-generated image is eligible for copyright protection or free from third-party rights.
Users remain responsible for ensuring that their prompts, uploaded materials, trademarks, and final outputs do not infringe applicable rights.
Are Images and Uploaded Content Private on Leonardo.ai?
Free-plan generations are public by default, while paid subscribers can enable private generation.
Leonardo's privacy policy explains that public content may be accessible to other users and can appear in search results.
Its terms also permit broader platform use of public content, including for service improvement and model development.
Paid subscribers can activate Private Mode to restrict access to their creations.
According to Leonardo's January 2026 privacy policy, private content is not used for model training. The company's terms separately describe how private content may be processed to provide the service.
Users should understand these settings before uploading confidential designs, client materials, personal photographs, or proprietary creative assets.
For sensitive projects, private generation is the more appropriate option.
Does Leonardo.ai Have Android and iPhone Apps?
Yes. Leonardo.ai provides mobile applications for Android and iOS, in addition to its browser-based platform.
Its official help center recommends the mobile application for users working on smartphones.
For security, obtain the application through the platform's official website or its verified listing in the relevant app store.
Leonardo also provides an API for developers and businesses that want to incorporate AI generation into their applications or automated workflows.
API usage has separate pricing arrangements, including pay-as-you-go options.
Is Leonardo.ai Worth Using in 2026?
Leonardo.ai is worth considering for creators who want several AI image and video capabilities within one platform.
Its strongest practical advantage is flexibility: users can experiment with different models, generate original visuals, refine existing images, and develop video content without relying on a single generation tool.
The free plan is suitable for exploring basic capabilities, creating non-confidential concepts, and learning how AI prompting works.
Essential offers a more practical entry point for users who need private generations and broader model selection.
Premium and Ultimate are more relevant to creators producing substantial volumes of visual content, particularly when their preferred models support relaxed generation.
There are limitations. Outputs may require manual corrections, video generation can consume considerable tokens, and advanced third-party models are not covered by every unlimited-generation benefit.
For anyone deciding whether to subscribe, the most useful approach is to test ordinary creative tasks with the free allowance, identify which models produce suitable results, and compare the expected token requirements against the available plans.
Leonardo.ai is an established Canva-owned creative platform, but the best subscription depends on how frequently you generate content, which models you need, and whether your work must remain private.