Verdict
Leonardo gives 150 free tokens a day, which Tom's Guide put at roughly 10 to 20 images, and it has more models and editing controls than most rivals. Free-plan pictures are public and can be used to train its models, and only paying stops that. Reviewers found the editor crowded and individual reviewers in 2026 complain about site problems and removed features.
Privacy note. Free-plan images are public and used for training with no opt-out except paying (leonardo.ai/privacy-policy); 2024 deepfake filter bypass (startupdaily.net), since patched.
Best for
Hobbyists making fantasy art, characters and concept pictures for free
Skip if
Images need to stay private without paying
Key facts
- Category
- Images, art & design
- Made by
- Leonardo Interactive Pty Ltd (a Canva brand)
- Based in
- Australia
- Launched
- 2022
- Works on
- Web, iPhone, Android
- In the UK
- Yes
- Price from
- $12 a month
- Free plan
- 150 fast tokens a day (about 10 to 20 images per Tom's Guide), basic quality, all creations public
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $12 | month |
| Premium | $30 | month |
| Ultimate | $60 | month |
| Team Starter (per seat) | $24 | month |
| Team Growth (per seat) | $48 | month |
What it does
- generates images from prompts or custom-trained models
- turns still images into video and motion
- edits images and video while keeping characters and composition
- upscales images for print and high-resolution screens
- offers third-party models such as Nano Banana Pro and Seedream
- trains custom AI models
Ratings
What people say
user reviews talk in 2026 is mostly about tokens running out, site reliability and features being dropped, with praise limited to price and the free allowance. That sits well below the 4.7 to 4.8 stars on the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot. X results were mostly listicle spam and were not quoted.
“Leonardo.ai looks quite professional though and at least replies to bad reviews on trustpilot unlike the vast majority.”
Individual user review, 13 May 2026 · source
“I'm starting to get tired of Leonardo's constant website issues, even though I enjoy the freedom of the service. I haven't found other options that are equally as affordable on the market, though.”
Individual user review, 22 May 2026 · source
“The fine tuned models are still displayed on the pc and look really good but I guess they are phasing them out? Why besides greed?”
Individual user review, 18 May 2026 · source
“Video generation burns credits much faster than still images, so the real question is: how many failed/okay generations do you need before one usable clip?”
Individual user review, 14 May 2026 · source
“I paid around $50 for Canva Business mainly for the Leonardo.Ai benefits, but only after paying did I discover these major limitations”
Individual user review, 8 August 2026 · source
Press reviews
- Tom's Guide 2024-08-26
Editor's Choice; 'a powerhouse of AI image editing with style and versatility', though the many options were 'quite off-putting' at first and inpainting disappointed.
- TechRadar 2025-01-22
Even a free account produced 'truly amazingly realistic images'; paying mainly buys speed and more tokens.
- Envato 2026-08-10
Ranked 9th of 9 in a tested roundup, as the 'best structured free option for designers'.
- TechRadar 2025-02-27
One of the most feature-packed generators; Midjourney handled complex requests better in TechRadar's head-to-head.
Privacy
- Trains on your data
- yes for free users. The policy says Leonardo may use Content to train its models; only private Content (a paid-plan feature) is excluded. It also trains on publicly available internet data.
- Opt-out
- only by paying; private mode on any paid plan keeps Content out of training and out of public view
- Retention
- kept while the account is active or while there is a valid purpose, then deleted or anonymised; removed public images may persist in caches or copies made by other users
- Incidents
- April 2024: 404 Media found user reviews-shared prompts that got past Leonardo's filters to make sexual deepfakes of celebrities; Leonardo said it added filtering and the hole was reported patched about two weeks later (Startup Daily; AI Incident Database #661). Copyright: its early models were built on Stable Diffusion (TechRadar), whose LAION training data is at the centre of the artists' class action against Stability AI and Midjourney; no lawsuit naming Leonardo itself was found. No data breach found in web searches on 2026-10-10.
- Age limit
- not for under-13s (or the local age of digital consent) per the privacy policy; App Store rates it 17+, Google Play 'Parental guidance'
Official videos
- Yours To Create 2026-02-18
- Leonardo.Ai at Canva Create 2025: Introduction to Leonardo.Ai 2025-05-01
FAQ
Is Leonardo.Ai free?
Yes. The free plan gives 150 fast tokens a day, which Tom's Guide estimated at 10 to 20 images. Paid plans start at $12 a month plus VAT.
Are my Leonardo images private?
Not on the free plan. Free-plan creations are public, can appear in search results and can be used to train Leonardo's models. Private mode needs a paid plan.
Who owns Leonardo.Ai?
Canva bought it in July 2024. It still runs as a separate app and website, and its technology also powers some Canva image tools.
Can I use Leonardo images commercially?
Yes, per its pricing page. Paid users own their images outright, while free users get a non-exclusive licence and Leonardo keeps rights to use what they make.
Does Leonardo.Ai work in the UK?
Yes. The app is listed on the UK App Store and Google Play, and the website works in the UK. Prices are shown in US dollars.
Scores are based on published evidence, not lab tests. How we score.
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