I’ve noticed the same pattern with just about every designer I know: the AI tool people actually reach for isn’t the flashiest one, it’s whichever one is already sitting inside the app they open every day. Nobody wants to alt-tab to a separate generator, download a PNG, and drag it back into Photoshop. That extra round trip kills a workflow, even a genuinely good one.
That’s the lens I used here, drawing on official documentation from Adobe, Canva, Microsoft, Figma, and Google rather than secondhand roundups, weighing how deeply each tool integrates into its home suite, what the free tier actually gives you, and which model is doing the work underneath.
| Tool | Free Tier | Best For | Standout Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Firefly | 25 generative credits/month, watermarked, no IP indemnification | Designers who need AI art inside a Photoshop or Illustrator file immediately | Generative Fill and Expand built directly into Photoshop |
| Canva (Magic Media) | ~50 one-time generations | Marketers building inside Canva’s templates | Generates straight into 250,000+ templates, no export step |
| Microsoft Designer | 15 AI credits/month, no watermark | Microsoft 365 users wanting art inside Word or PowerPoint | Uses DALL-E 3, embedded with no export step |
| Figma AI (Make an Image) | 500 credits/month, capped at 150/day | Product designers who don’t want to leave Figma | Uses Gemini 3.0 Pro and GPT Image models |
| Google (Gemini in Slides/Docs) | None, requires paid Workspace plan | Teams already in Google Workspace | Image generation via “Help me visualize,” no separate app |
Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly is officially integrated with Creative Cloud, and its AI art generator is the piece most designers meet first, whether through the web app or directly inside Photoshop. Generative Fill and Generative Expand bring that same model into Photoshop itself, so you can extend a background or remove an object without ever leaving the file.
Style Reference and Structure Reference let you upload a reference image instead of writing an exhaustive prompt. Firefly is trained exclusively on licensed Adobe Stock and public domain content, which is the official basis for IP indemnification on paid plans, and it also lives inside Illustrator and Adobe Express, so the same model follows a project across Adobe’s whole suite.
Pricing: Free (25 credits/month, watermarked). Standard $9.99/month (2,000 credits). Pro $19.99/month (4,000 credits, adds Photoshop access). Pro Plus $49.99/month (10,000 credits). Premium $199.99/month (50,000 credits, unlimited Firefly Video Model access).
Best for: Designers who need AI art to become part of a Photoshop or Illustrator file right away.
Canva (Magic Media)
Magic Media generates AI art directly inside Canva’s library of 250,000-plus templates, so the output lands in an editable layout rather than a flat image you then have to place somewhere. It draws from the same shared AI credit pool as the rest of Canva’s Magic Studio suite.
The free plan gives a one-time allotment of roughly 50 generations rather than a monthly refresh. Canva Pro (roughly $13 to $15/month) includes a shared pool commonly cited around 500 credits a month, covering Magic Media alongside Canva’s other AI tools. Magic Design can even turn a text prompt into a full editable template, not just an image.
Best for: Marketers already building inside Canva who want AI art dropped straight into a template.
Microsoft Designer
Built on OpenAI’s DALL-E 3 model, Designer is woven directly into Word, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Photos, so the same tools show up inside apps a Microsoft 365 user already has open. A free account gets 15 AI credits a month, and a 365 subscription raises that to roughly 60, with each generation or Restyle action costing one credit.
Exports carry no watermark on the free tier, and Designer also includes Background Remover and Generative Erase alongside straight text-to-image generation.
Pricing: Free (15 credits/month). Microsoft 365 Personal (~$9.99/month) raises that to ~60/month. Premium ($19.99/month) adds higher daily limits.
Best for: Microsoft 365 users who want art generated directly inside Word or PowerPoint.
Figma AI (Make an Image)
Make an Image runs on Gemini 3.0 Pro and OpenAI’s GPT Image models, living right inside the Figma file you’re already working in rather than a separate generator. Figma began strictly enforcing AI credit limits for paid Full seats on March 18, 2026, worth knowing if your team leans on this heavily.
The free Starter plan includes 500 credits a month, capped at 150 a day. Professional Full seats get 3,000 a month, Organization gets 3,500, Enterprise gets 4,250. FigJam, Slides, and Sites share the same credit pool at no extra cost.
Pricing: Free Starter (500/month, 150/day cap). Professional ~$16/month annually, 3,000 credits. Organization ~$55/month. Enterprise ~$90/month.
Best for: Product designers who need a quick asset without leaving Figma.
Google (Gemini in Slides and Docs)
Gemini’s image generation lives directly inside Slides, Docs, and Vids rather than as a separate product. Click Insert, then Help Me Visualize or Create Images, type a prompt, and the result lands right on the slide or in the document. This requires an eligible paid Workspace or Google AI plan, nothing on the free consumer tier.
Gemini can also build a full editable slide deck from a prompt, referencing your existing Drive files to match brand formatting. As of a January 2026 update, Google folded credit tracking into the plan fee rather than metering it per action.
Pricing: No free tier. Requires Workspace Business Standard ($14/user/month) or higher.
Best for: Teams already living in Google Workspace.
How to Choose
If your work happens inside a professional image-editing file, go with a tool integrated at that level, Firefly’s Generative Fill and Expand work directly inside Photoshop, which none of the others match. If your team builds decks and docs instead, Gemini in Slides/Docs or Designer in Word/PowerPoint skip the export step entirely. Want to try something free first? Figma’s 500 monthly credits and Designer’s watermark-free free tier are both genuinely usable. And if your work already lives in a template, Canva’s Magic Media generates straight into one.
Common Questions
Is Adobe Firefly officially part of Creative Cloud? Yes. Generative Fill and Expand are built into Photoshop, with the same model in Illustrator and Adobe Express. The free tier gives 25 credits a month, though Photoshop itself needs a Creative Cloud plan.
Does Microsoft 365 include an AI art generator? Yes, Microsoft Designer, built on DALL-E 3, sits inside Word, PowerPoint, and Photos. Free tier gives 15 credits a month; Premium at $19.99/month raises that.
Can I generate images without leaving Google Slides or Docs? Yes, through Gemini’s side panel, though it requires a paid Workspace plan starting at Business Standard, $14/user/month.
Where This Leaves You
All five of these generate genuinely usable images. What actually matters day to day is how deeply each one integrates into the suite already sitting on your screen. Firefly works at the layer level inside Photoshop. Canva and Figma generate straight into an existing file. Designer and Gemini both skip the export step by living inside the apps you’re already using.
Firefly remains my top pick, mainly because it’s built into Creative Cloud at the file level rather than a separate destination you keep switching to. That matters most when your AI-generated art needs to become part of a finished file, not just another download cluttering the desktop.
