Midjourney Subscription: the Complete Guide — Choosing Between Basic / Standard / Pro
The complete Midjourney subscription flow: joining via Discord, plan comparison, linking a card to pay from China, and getting started with image generation.
Midjourney is one of the de facto standards of AI image generation, still ahead of most competitors in artistic quality and stylistic nuance. Midjourney has no free tier — every user needs a subscription to generate images. This tutorial takes you through the full subscription from 0 to 1.
1. Comparing Midjourney’s 4 Plans
| Plan | Monthly fee | Fast GPU time | Relax mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $10 | ~3.3 hours (~200 images) | Not supported |
| Standard | $30 | 15 hours (~900 images) | ✓ Unlimited |
| Pro | $60 | 30 hours | ✓ Unlimited |
| Mega | $120 | 60 hours | ✓ Unlimited |
Annual billing is 20% off (Standard $24/month ≈ $288 per year).Standard is recommended for beginners: Basic only has Fast — once you burn through it, generation stops and the experience is choppy; on Standard, after Fast runs out you can still generate unlimited images in slow Relax mode.
2. Prerequisites Before Subscribing
- Discord account (Midjourney now has a web version too, but Discord is still the primary way)
- US BIN virtual card: recommended RDVCC US card, 95%+ approval rate on Midjourney
- US billing address
- Card balance ≥ the plan’s monthly fee × 1.3
Midjourney’s geo risk controls are less strict than OpenAI / Anthropic. A US IP is not a hard requirement at payment time, but the card BIN must be US (with a domestic BIN the approval rate is below 40%).
3. The Full Subscription Flow
- Step 1: Join the Midjourney Discord
Open midjourney.com → Join the Beta → log in and authorize with Discord. After authorizing, you join the Midjourney server automatically.
- Step 2: Bind Discord to your Midjourney account
Log in at midjourney.com → Account → connect Discord (it binds automatically if you are already logged in).
- Step 3: Type /subscribe in Discord
Pick any newbies channel and type the
/subscribecommand. The Midjourney bot DMs you a manage account link; click it to open the subscription page. - Step 4: Pick a plan + fill in the card
Choose Standard monthly (recommended). On the Stripe payment page, fill in the card number / US billing address / cardholder name in pinyin. Set the country to United States.
- Step 5: Complete 3DS verification
Charge + 3DS verification. The RDVCC 3DS code is sent to your registered email; enter it within 5 minutes. Once the subscription succeeds, you can immediately generate images in Discord with the /imagine command.
4. How to Start Generating After Subscribing
After subscribing, in any newbies channel on Discord:
/imagine prompt: a cyberpunk city at sunset, neon lights, cinematic --ar 16:9 --v 6
--ar 16:9= 16:9 aspect ratio (default 1:1)--v 6= use the v6 model (finer detail)--style raw= less stylization (more photorealistic)- After 1 minute you get 4 thumbnails; press U1-U4 to upscale, V1-V4 for variations
For advanced prompt techniques, see Midjourney’s official docs.midjourney.com.
5. Troubleshooting Failed Subscriptions
- “Your card was declined”: switch to a US BIN card, check the card balance
- The subscription page does not appear after the Discord redirect: switch browsers or clear the cache and retry
- “This card is not supported”: Stripe does not support some HK-region / domestic worldwide-pay cards, switch to a US BIN
- Payment succeeded but Midjourney is not unlocked: Discord server sync delay, wait 5 minutes and refresh
FAQ
Q: Is Basic enough?
Enough for light experimentation (200 images/month). But Basic has no Relax mode — when Fast runs out, generation stops and the flow is choppy. Regular users should get at least Standard ($30).
Q: Can I use the web version without Discord?
Since 2024 Midjourney has opened a web version (midjourney.com/explore); subscribers can generate directly in the browser. But the feature set still centers on Discord, and some advanced parameters are Discord-only.
Q: Can Midjourney images be used commercially?
Paid subscribers own commercial rights to the images they generate (the Free trial does not). But copyright details shift with policy changes; before large-scale commercial use, check the latest docs.midjourney.com/page/terms-of-service.
Q: Can I upgrade / downgrade the plan?
Yes. midjourney.com/account → Manage Subscription, switch freely. Upgrades take effect immediately, downgrades take effect next billing cycle.
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