Okay, I have to share this because it's kind of wild. I was doing my year-end RevOps budget reconciliation (thrilling, I know) and I decided to compare the cost of our old stock photo subscriptions against what we spent on Midjourney this year for generating marketing assets.
Last year, we used one of the big stock photo sites. The annual subscription was around $2,800. We downloaded maybe 200 images total, so roughly $14 per usable image. And honestly, half the time we were settling for something "close enough" because the perfect image either didn't exist or was too generic.
This year, we switched most of our concept imagery and blog graphics to Midjourney. Our total spend on the Standard Plan was about $600. In that time, we generated thousands of images, with about 150 finalized and used in campaigns and decks. That's roughly $4 per final image. But the bigger win isn't just the cost per unit.
The quality difference for our specific needs is huge. Instead of searching for "business team collaboration," we can now generate images that actually match our brand colors, include our product UI aesthetic, or illustrate very niche concepts like "data flowing from a CRM into a custom dashboard." No more awkward, staged models. We get exactly the metaphor we need.
It does require a different workflow—prompt crafting is a skill, and we had to build a review/approval step into our graphic design process. And it's not replacing all photography; we still need real photos of our team and product. But for conceptual artwork, the savings are clear, and the creative flexibility is something you just can't get from a stock library.
Anyone else done a similar cost-benefit analysis for generated imagery vs. traditional assets? Curious if your numbers line up.