NightCafe vs DALL·E 2: Which One Is the Best Fit for You
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A comparison between NightCafe vs DALL·E 2 can help if you’re unsure which one to choose. Undoubtedly, both of them are fantastic AI art generator tools, very popular among the community, and can deliver stunning-looking images.
Look at these two images side by side. I’ve created them using both of these tools with the same prompt:
I used the following prompt:
A lone man in a spacesuit stands in awe, gazing at the vast, breathtaking sky of an alien planet. Add dramatic natural surroundings; feature a sunset-like moment.
You can see both arts look fantastic in their own way. Further customization and refinement can give you even more impressive results.
So, let’s dive into the comparison in detail to understand each of these platforms better.
NightCafe vs DALL·E 2: Features
In terms of feature availability, both of these tools have similarities and differences. Even though you can use text prompts, the way you achieve your results is different.
Both NightCafe and DALL·E 2 use textual inputs to generate an image. This text-to-image feature works generally pretty well. However, there’s a difference concerning text prompt usage.
In OpenAI’s DALL·E 2, you can achieve your output in a chat-like interface and it’s somehow like ChatGPT. On the other hand, NightCafe lets you type your text prompt along with many other options.
The two tools also let the user upload a reference image and generate AI art based on it.
Furthermore, NightCafe comes with a very user-friendly interface that lets you choose an art style, model, prompt weight, etc.
DALL·E 2 doesn’t have these options. But, it comes with an image editor that you won’t find on NightCafe.
Man drawing on a canvas in a surreal environment.
Moreover, DALL·E 2 has a killer feature called Outpainting. It allows you to erase parts of an image and add generated content.
NightCafe has a very strong Community feature. You can find many images generated by other users, get followers, and showcase your work.
It also gives you plenty of opportunities to earn free credits. DALL·E 2 doesn’t have such options.
There are many other minor things I’ve found while using both of these platforms. For example, NightCafe lets you generate 1, 4, 9, and 16 images, based on the options you choose. DALL·E 2 generates 4 images at once and there’s no way to change it.
Ease of Use and User Interface
In short, both of these platforms are very user-friendly. It all comes down to personal preference. NightCafe gives you the option to tweak a few things from the UI. DALL·E 2 doesn’t offer the same things.
But, in initial image creation with basic text prompts, DALL·E 2 provides more visually appealing images. To achieve similar results, NightCafe users need to adjust some settings first.
If you prefer a playful UI, NightCafe will be easier. But, for someone who doesn’t want to spend much time tweaking settings, DALL·E 2 is superior without any doubt.
Pricing
In terms of pricing, there are significant differences between NightCafe and DALL·E 2. Both of these platforms offer free credits. But, OpenAI isn’t so open about this.
In NightCafe, you can get free credits daily and earn a lot of them by completing various challenges. In DALL·E 2, you may get some free credits after creating the account. But, after that, you’ll have rare chances to get more credits without spending real money.
Note that when I created an account, I didn’t get any free credits on DALL·E 2. Also, while using it for days, I couldn’t earn any either.
A spaceship crashed on a sunflower garden on Mars.
OpenAI doesn’t offer a monthly subscription and credits cost more. Here are the pricing details for DALL·E 2:
- Initial free credits (You may get in rare cases)
- $15 for 115 credits.
In my NightCafe Studio review, I’ve already covered its pricing. But here’s the pricing table for your convenience:
| Monthly | Quarterly | Credits/Month |
| $5.99 | $14.37 | 100 |
| $9.99 | $23.97 | 200 |
| $19.99 | $47.97 | 500 |
| $49.99 | $119.97 | 1400 |
One more thing:
DALL·E 2 deducts 1 credit per output and in every output, you’ll get 4 different images. NightCafe charges you per image basis. So, if you generate 16 images for a text prompt, it’ll cost you 16 credits.
To learn more, you can check out both DALL·E 2 and NightCafe pricing from their official websites.
NightCafe vs DALL·E 2: Head-to-Head Comparison
Here’s a comparison table listing their most important features and details:
| NightCafe | DALL·E 2 | |
| Free Credits | Minimum 5 credits per day | Rare |
| Number of Images per Output | 1, can be set to 4, 9 and 16 | 4 |
| Image Editor | No | Yes |
| Text-to-image | Yes | Yes |
| Image-to-Image | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Cost per Output | 1, 4, 12, or 16 | 1 |
| Platform | Web | Web |
| Ease of Use | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| GUI | A complete photo editor like GUI | Chat-like UI and a complete GUI for image editor |
| Pricing | 5/5 | 4/5 |
If you’re interested, you can also check out these articles:
Verdict
Undoubtedly, NightCafe and DALL·E 2 are two remarkable AI art generators.
DALL·E 2 creates realistic-looking and high-resolution images while NightCafe provides dramatic-looking art with customization ability.
Personally, I favor DALL·E 2 for its image editor and realistic outputs, but for projects like novels or children’s books, NightCafe is my choice. And yes, it provides free credits daily which isn’t available on OpenAI’s tool.
Have you picked your winner after comparing NightCafe vs DALL·E 2? If yes, let me know which one you prefer and why in the comment box.
