If you make thumbnails, social posts or ads in a language other than English, AI image generators have one weak spot that most reviews skip: text inside the image. Accents, tone marks and non-Latin scripts get dropped, misplaced or garbled. We run a Vietnamese channel, where a single word can carry two stacked marks (“ặ”, “ữ”), so we compared seven popular tools on price, free tier, commercial rights and what each vendor actually says about non-English text.
Some links in this article are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Of the seven tools, Funova currently has affiliate relationships with Higgsfield and Fotor; the others are compared on their official pages and public sources, checked on October 9, 2026 (Fotor on October 11, 2026). Prices change often, so check before you buy.
Quick verdict
- Already paying for ChatGPT or Gemini: use the image tool you already have before buying anything else.
- Best-looking images: Midjourney, from $10/month, no free trial.
- Lots of text in the image: try Ideogram or ChatGPT first, then proofread every accent.
- Many models in one account, plus video: Higgsfield (Nano Banana, GPT Image, Seedream, Ideogram, FLUX and its own Soul model).
- Cheapest all-in-one for generating and editing (batch background removal, templates): Fotor, from $3.33/month billed yearly (batch background removal needs Pro+, about $5.24/month billed yearly), with Nano Banana, GPT Image, Ideogram and Midjourney in one credit wallet.
- Finished designs with reliable text: Canva; generate the picture with AI and type the text yourself.
AI image generators compared (October 2026)
| Tool | Current model | Paid from | Free tier | Commercial use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | ChatGPT Images 2.5 | Go $8/mo, Plus $20/mo | Yes, a few images a day (no official number) | Yes; OpenAI assigns its rights in outputs to you |
| Gemini | Nano Banana 2 (free), 2.1 and Pro (paid) | Google AI Plus $4.99/mo, AI Pro $19.99/mo (local prices vary) | Yes, limits refresh every 5 hours | Yes; SynthID watermark plus a small visible mark |
| Midjourney | V8.2 | Basic $10/mo, $8/mo billed yearly | No trial on the web | Yes; companies over $1M revenue need Pro or Mega |
| Higgsfield | Soul plus Nano Banana, GPT Image, Seedream, Ideogram, FLUX… | Starter $15/mo; Plus $39/mo billed yearly (1,000 credits) | Free account, watermarked | Yes, on paid plans |
| Fotor | Third-party models (Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image 2, Seedream, Ideogram, Midjourney V7, FLUX…) | Pro $8.99/mo ($3.33/mo billed yearly, 100 credits) | A few free credits after sign-up | AI images yes; free-plan templates and assets personal use only |
| Ideogram | Ideogram 4.0 | Plus $20/mo ($15 billed yearly) | A few credits a week, public images | Yes |
| Canva | Magic Media, Dream Lab | Canva Pro (price varies by country) | About 20 AI uses | Yes, except Canva’s licensed content |
Prices exclude tax. Some figures (ChatGPT image limits, Midjourney’s plan table, Canva pricing) come from third-party sources because the official pages block automated access; check the vendor’s site before buying.
Non-English text: what the vendors actually say
None of the seven tools publishes a list of supported languages for text in images, and none mentions Vietnamese. OpenAI’s launch material for its image models names Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi and Bengali. Google says Nano Banana can translate text in images “across several languages” but warns that small text is often blurry. Midjourney’s documentation simply advises putting the text “in quotes”. Ideogram is marketed on text rendering, and third-party coverage of version 4.0 highlights multilingual text, but there is no official language list.
What works in practice:
- Put the exact text in quotation marks and keep it short (3–6 words, like a thumbnail headline).
- Generate 2–4 variations and zoom in on every accent before you pick one.
- For long text, prices or phone numbers, generate the image without text and add the words in Canva or any design tool. That is the only way to be sure every mark is right.
- Write the visual part of the prompt in English and keep only the on-image text in your language.
ChatGPT: easiest if you already use it daily
Images are created inside the chat and edited with plain instructions (“make the background blue”, “remove the text in the corner”). ChatGPT Images 2.5 is available on every plan. The free plan allows only a few images a day; if you make images regularly, the $8 Go plan is often enough.
Gemini (Nano Banana): cheap and strong at editing
Nano Banana is best known for editing existing photos: keeping a face consistent, changing the scene, placing a product into a shot. The free Gemini app uses Nano Banana 2; Google AI Plus raises the limits and adds Nano Banana 2.1. Images carry an invisible SynthID watermark and a small visible mark. You can also try the model for free in Google AI Studio.
Midjourney: the best aesthetics, paid up front
Midjourney V8.2 produces the strongest composition, lighting and style of the group, which makes it a good choice for illustrations, concept art and thumbnail backgrounds. There is no free trial on the web, and the cheapest plan is $10/month. Payment is by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe; there is no PayPal. Refunds are only possible if you have barely used the account (under 20 GPU minutes). Basic and Standard images are public; hiding them requires Pro.
Higgsfield: many models in one account
Higgsfield has its own image model (Soul, with Soul ID for consistent characters) and lets you use Nano Banana, GPT Image, Seedream, Ideogram, FLUX and others from one credit balance, in the same account you can use for AI video (Kling, Seedance, Veo). A Nano Banana Pro image costs about 2 credits (about 4 at 4K). The trade-offs: plan credits do not roll over, and “unlimited” promotions are time-limited. More detail in our Higgsfield review and our Kling vs Hailuo vs Higgsfield comparison.
Fotor: cheap, with an editor attached
Fotor started as an online photo editor and design tool and now adds AI image and video generation from one credit wallet with third-party models: Nano Banana Pro (15 credits per image), GPT Image 2 and Midjourney V7 (5 credits), Ideogram v4 (3 credits), plus video models such as Kling, Seedance and Hailuo. What sets it apart is the editor around the generator: batch background removal and replacement and multiple brand kits (both on Pro+ and Max), and a template library, so you can generate, fix and export in one place. Fotor’s website and apps are available in many languages, including Vietnamese.
Pricing (checked October 11, 2026): Pro $8.99/month or $39.99/year (about $3.33/month, 100 credits a month, roughly 6 Nano Banana Pro images); Pro+ $19.99/month or $62.99/year (300 credits); Max $39.99/month or $134.32/year (1,000 credits). Unused credits roll over for up to 5 months while you stay subscribed. 100 credits go quickly on Nano Banana Pro but last much longer on GPT Image 2 or Ideogram. Fotor’s help center says AI-generated images can be used commercially, while free-plan templates and assets are for personal use only. We could not find an official refund policy.
Ideogram: built for text in images
Ideogram is known for rendering text well, which suits posters, wordmarks and thumbnails with a headline. The free tier gives a few credits a week; free images are public and download as JPEG only. Subscriptions are non-refundable. As with every tool here, proofread accents yourself.
Canva: when you need a finished design
Canva’s AI images are not the strongest, but Canva is the easiest place to combine an image, text in any language, a logo and the right size for each platform. A reliable workflow is to generate the background with one of the tools above and finish the design in Canva.
Which one should you pick?
- YouTube thumbnails: Midjourney or Nano Banana for the image, Canva for the headline.
- Daily social posts on a small budget: ChatGPT Go or Google AI Plus.
- Posters and banners with text: Ideogram or ChatGPT, with careful proofreading.
- Images and video ads from one account: Higgsfield.
- Product photos on a budget, with batch background removal: Fotor.
Localizing videos as well as images? See the best AI dubbing tools and the best AI caption tools for non-English languages.
FAQ
Which AI image generator handles accents best?
No vendor publishes a list of supported languages for text in images, and we have not run a controlled test for this article. Ideogram and ChatGPT are the most often recommended for text; whichever you use, check every mark, or add the text yourself in a design tool.
Can I use AI images commercially?
Yes on the paid plans of all seven tools, each with its own conditions (for example Midjourney’s rule for companies with more than $1M in revenue). You are still responsible if an image resembles a real person, a logo or a copyrighted work.
What is the best free option?
ChatGPT and Gemini both include free image generation with daily limits; Gemini is usually more generous. Ideogram and Canva also have free tiers with fewer uses.
