Tools · Issue #18 ·
Ideogram, the AI image generator that actually gets the words right, for posters, logos, thumbnails and social graphics you can use
In one line: Ideogram turns a sentence into an image, and unlike most image generators it's built to render the words you ask for (put them in quotes and they show up on the poster, the label or the logo), with a free plan of 30 credits a week when you sign in with Google, Apple or Microsoft.
What it is
Ideogram is a web app (with an iOS app) for making images from a plain-language prompt, in any language. Its trick is text: ask for a poster that says "Summer Sale" and you get a poster with those words spelled out, which is exactly where most image tools fall apart. You type what you want on Home, and Ideogram's Auto mode picks a model and gives you 4 images to choose from (you can ask for 1 to 8). Every plan, free included, can use all of Ideogram's own models: Ideogram 4.5 takes up to 5 reference images, so you can edit a photo, put a product in a new scene or keep a character consistent; Ideogram 4.0 does very wide formats like 23:9 and 3:1 for banners, headers and thumbnails; Ideogram 3.0 is the one with style presets, style reference images, negative prompts and color palettes, which makes it the pick for logos and brand graphics; and two Transparent models make images with no background for stickers, t-shirts, print-on-demand designs and icons. Ideogram also runs partner models (GPT Image and Nano Banana among them) for paid users. On top of that there's Studio, an editor with layers, where Layerize text (in beta) turns the lettering in an image into text layers you can retype and restyle, so one misspelled word doesn't mean starting over. There's also a background remover, an upscaler, small apps like Ad Resizer (one ad resized for Instagram, Stories, TikTok, YouTube and banners), a Video app, an API, and an MCP server that lets you use it from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor.
Who it's for
Anyone who needs a graphic with words on it and doesn't have a designer: small business owners making a sale poster or a menu board, people starting an Etsy or print-on-demand shop, YouTubers who need thumbnails, teachers and event organizers making flyers, and anyone who wants a quick first draft of a logo. It's also handy for social posts where a stock photo looks too generic. It's less useful if you need a real vector logo file (Ideogram exports pixels, like PNG and JPEG, not editable vector paths), if you want pixel-perfect type and layout (that's still a job for Canva, Figma or a designer, or you fix it in Studio), or if your images need to stay private without paying (see the catch).
Try this today
Go to ideogram.ai and sign in with Google, Apple or Microsoft, not email; only those sign-ins get the free 30 credits a week. Pick your username carefully, because you can't change it later, and on the plans screen click Skip for now to stay free. Then type something you actually need, with the exact words in quotes. Ideogram's own example is a good one: A poster for a summer jazz night, with the words "Blue Hour" in bold gold letters. Press Enter, and Auto makes 4 options. The Generate button always shows the cost in credits before you run, so you can watch how fast the 30 go. If one word comes back wrong, open the image in Studio and use Layerize text to retype it instead of generating again. Tip: for a logo or sticker, pick Ideogram 4.0 Transparent, set the ratio to 1:1, and download it as a PNG; transparent images download as a 1K PNG free on every plan.
The catch
On the free plan, everything you make is public: it can appear in Ideogram's community feed, and other users can remix public images. If that's a problem for client work or a product you haven't launched, you need Plus or higher, where new images stay private until you publish them. Free downloads are JPEG at the original size; PNG, WebP and larger sizes need a paid plan (transparent images are the exception, as a 1K PNG). Free runs start at the cheapest quality setting, and premium partner models and the Video app need a paid plan or bought credits. If you sign up with email and a password, you get no free credits at all, and each sign-in method makes its own separate account that support can't merge. 30 credits a week isn't much, and monthly plan credits don't roll over. Ideogram's terms don't restrict commercial use and assign you the rights to what you make, but they also say your image may not be unique, since someone else can get something similar. Check spelling letter by letter before you print anything. And there are no refunds on subscriptions or credits; cancel at least 5 days before your renewal date.
Pricing
Free: $0, 30 credits a week (Google, Apple or Microsoft sign-in only), all Ideogram models, public images, JPEG downloads at original size. Plus: $20 a month, or $15 a month billed yearly ($180 a year), 2,400 credits a month, private generation and quality export (PNG and larger sizes). Pro: $60 a month, or $42 a month billed yearly ($504 a year), 7,500 credits a month, Batch Generation (up to 500 prompts from a CSV or spreadsheet) and a larger generation queue. Team: $30 per user a month, or $20 per user a month billed yearly ($240 per user a year), 3,600 credits per user a month, central billing and admin, at least 2 users. Enterprise is custom-priced. Yearly plans still get their credits monthly. On Plus, Pro and Team you can keep generating with Ideogram models in a slower queue after your credits run out, but reference images, edits, upscales, custom models and partner models still need credits. You can also skip a plan and pay as you go: one credit costs one US cent, you can buy $1 to $300 at a time, and bought credits last 365 days, even if your plan ends. The older Basic plan ($8 a month) is no longer sold.
Pricing checked on the Ideogram help center (Plans and Credits, Buying Extra Credits, Quick Start, Sign In and Accounts, Models, Image Settings, Download, Transparent Backgrounds, Text and Layers, Share and Publish, Refunds and FAQ pages) and Ideogram's Terms of Service on Nov 1, 2026.