PromptHero Review 2026: Free Prompt Library, $16 to $24 Generator, and the Fine Print

What PromptHero is in 2026

The homepage still sells the original idea: "The #1 website for prompt engineering" and "Search millions of AI prompts for Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Sora, and every leading generative model." Around that search box, the site has grown a generator, a set of one-tap tools, iOS and Android apps, a model directory, a Model Arena and the PromptHero Academy.

Ownership has changed too. PromptHero was built in 2022 by two founders, Javi Ramirez and Javier Jimenez Rueda, who wrote at the time of the sale that they had launched "just 7 days after Stable Diffusion dropped" and were soon hitting more than 2 million monthly visits. In late 2024 the site was acquired by ElevenYellow, the studio behind Botto, for an undisclosed price. The footer now reads "Built with ❤️ by ElevenYellow", and the apps are published by Elevenyellow Pte. Ltd., a Singapore company.

Several older parts of the site have quietly gone. The /pro, /about, /jobs, /terms and /openjourney pages now load an empty shell, the job board survives only as a footer link to Jobician, and the terms of service live inside the FAQ page rather than on a page of their own.

The free prompt library

The library is still the best reason to visit. You can browse and search without paying or signing up, open any image and copy the prompt behind it. The homepage feed has tabs for ChatGPT Image, Midjourney, Nano Banana, Veo, FLUX, Sora and Stable Diffusion, and the footer links to "Best Prompts" pages for more than a dozen tools, including DALL-E, Leonardo AI, Kling, Runway, Luma, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.

• Prompt search across millions of community images, filterable by model.
• An AI model directory of checkpoints and LoRAs - about 4.7k results for text-to-image alone. It openly lists NSFW-tagged checkpoints, so it is not a safe-for-work browse.
• A Model Arena that compares current image models side by side, including gpt-image-2.5, nano-banana-2.1, seedream-5.0-pro, the FLUX 2 family, ideogram-4.0, imagen-4.0 and recraft-v4.1.
• Openjourney, PromptHero's open-source Stable Diffusion fine-tune trained on Midjourney images. The model card on Hugging Face still has 3.27k likes and about 3,800 downloads a month, but on prompthero.com only a prompt gallery remains.

The weakness is curation. Results are community uploads, so quality swings from excellent to filler, and the feed leans heavily on portraits and fantasy art. For a cleaner Stable Diffusion-era library, compare our Lexica.art review; for building your own pipelines with local models, our ComfyUI review covers the free route.

The generator, tools and mobile apps

The paid side of PromptHero is a generator that runs many third-party models behind one credit balance. The plans page pitches it as "Private generations, every AI model, and priority speed", and it handles both images and video. Under the hood, the privacy policy says prompts and input images are sent to "third-party AI model providers (currently Replicate, Together AI, and others)" - PromptHero is a front end over other companies' models, not a model maker.

Next to the open generator sit one-tap tools: AI Logo, Tattoo, Headshot, Pet Portrait and Face Rater on the web, plus app-only effects such as AI Inflation Effect, Ghost Mannequin, Pokemon Card Creator, Glow Up Simulator, AI Chibi Maker and Guess My IQ. They are aimed at casual phone users rather than prompt engineers.

The apps are new. "PromptHero: AI Photos & Video" reached the App Store in May 2026 (version 1.0.1 followed in July) and shows too few ratings to display a score. The Google Play listing shows 10K+ downloads, an August 12, 2026 update and 10 free credits with no account required. The marketing claims "Loved by 1.5M+ creators worldwide" on the app page and "1.5 Million+ Generated Images" in an App Store screenshot - two different metrics for the same number, so treat both as marketing.

The age rating is inconsistent as well: the privacy policy says PromptHero is rated 18+ on both stores, iOS shows 18+, but Google Play shows "Rated for 12+".

PromptHero pricing: plans and credits

PromptHero sells three plans and two web credit packs. All prices below are from the plans page as checked on October 13, 2026, which was running a "Limited time offer: 2 months for free with annual plan" banner.

• Free - $0/mo. "Limited daily generations" (no number published), standard speed at lower priority, all creations public, "For personal use only".
• Starter - $16/mo billed yearly ($194/year). 3,600 total generation credits, private unlisted generations, every AI model, faster speed, a PRO badge and profile extras.
• Pro ("Most Popular") - $24/mo billed yearly ($296/year). 7,200 total generation credits, everything in Starter plus "Fewer content restrictions", the priority queue and early access to new PRO tools.
• Credit pack, 1,000 credits - $59 ($0.059 per credit).
• Credit pack, 2,000 credits - $99 ($0.049 per credit).

Two small details in the maths. $194 a year is $16.17 a month and $296 is $24.67, so the headline monthly figures are rounded down. And two free months out of twelve is a saving of about 16.7%, while the page says "Save 15%".

Credit packs on the web vs the app

Credit packs never expire and roll over, which makes them the low-commitment way in. The catch, stated in the FAQ, is that "Credit generations are public, which means stricter content moderation and standard speeds" - you only get private images with a subscription.

PromptHero Academy courses

The Academy sells one-off video courses, all shown at a sale price against a higher list price. These are separate purchases, not part of Starter or Pro.

• YouTube Monetization with AI - $29 (list $99).
• Midjourney for graphic design & art professionals - $29 (list $99).
• Workflow Automation Masterclass with Zapier - $49 (list $79).
• Master your composition with ControlNet - $49 (list $149).
• Unrestricted Image Generation Course with ComfyUI - $69 (list $99).
• Content Creation with AI for Brands and Products - $69 (list $99).
• Crash course in generative AI & prompt engineering for images - $99 (list $149).
• AI influencers and consistent characters - $99 (list $149).
• Create custom AI models and LoRAs by fine-tuning Stable Diffusion - $199 (list $249).

Several course topics - Stable Diffusion fine-tuning, ControlNet, Midjourney - date from the 2023 wave of image AI, and much of the same material is available free in model documentation and community guides. A permanent "70% off" label is a sales tactic, not a limited deal. There is also an "Academy for Teams" option with bulk pricing through a contact form.

Refunds, cancellation, licence and privacy

This is where PromptHero deserves the most caution. The terms of service sit inside the FAQ page, and several clauses favour the company.

• Refunds are not guaranteed. The FAQ says that if PromptHero "did not work well for you, contact support and explain your case so we can arrange a refund" - a case-by-case decision, not a refund window.
• Cancel at least 24 hours early. "Users must cancel their Membership 24 hours prior to the rebill date" or the plan renews.
• Cancelling ends access straight away. The terms say a member who cancels before the renewal date "will cease to have access for the remainder of the period already paid".
• Bans forfeit your money. "Payments for accounts closed for violations of our terms are not refunded", there are no appeals, and the terms reserve a "$300 per spam message or post" fine.
• Liability is capped at the greater of $100 or what you paid in the previous 12 months, under Delaware law.

Your content and commercial use

Anything you post gives PromptHero "a perpetual license to broadcast, display, distribute, sell and produce derivatives from your contributions". Public prompts and images are "retained indefinitely". The terms say nothing explicit about whether you may use generated images commercially; the only statement is the Free plan's "For personal use only". Do not assume a paid plan grants commercial rights - ask support in writing if it matters for a client project.

Privacy

The privacy policy, last updated April 20, 2026, is clearer than the terms. Login is passwordless (magic links and one-time codes), payments go through Stripe, and PromptHero says it does not sell personal information. Prompts and input images are sent to model providers such as Replicate and Together AI, and content is screened with AWS Rekognition, the OpenAI moderation API and keyword filters. Uploaded input images are deleted within 24 hours, and account data is deleted or anonymised within 30 days of closing an account.

Verdict: who should use PromptHero

Use the free prompt library. It costs nothing, needs no account and is still a quick way to see what prompts other people use across Midjourney, FLUX, Nano Banana, Sora and Veo.

Be more careful with the generator. It is a reseller of other companies' models with an unpublished credit cost per image, a monthly price you only see at checkout, discretionary refunds and a perpetual licence over what you post. The iOS 180-credit pack or the 1,000-credit web pack is a sensible way to try it; commit to a $194 or $296 annual plan only if you need private generations and have checked what a typical image costs in credits.

Skip it entirely if you want to sell prompts (it has no marketplace), need clear commercial-use rights, or want reliable app support - the apps are only months old and have almost no reviews. Product Hunt shows 4.5/5, but from just two reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Is PromptHero free?

Yes, browsing and searching prompts is free. The Free plan also includes "Limited daily generations", but every image is public, speed is lower priority and use is "For personal use only". The Android app gives 10 free credits with no account.

How much do PromptHero Starter and Pro cost?

Starter is $16 a month billed yearly ($194/year) with 3,600 total credits, and Pro is $24 a month billed yearly ($296/year) with 7,200 total credits. Monthly-billing prices are not listed on the plans page.

Do PromptHero credits expire?

No. Purchased credits roll over and never expire, according to the plans FAQ. Credits for a failed generation are refunded, but a model's credit price can rise once its launch promotion ends.

Can I sell prompts on PromptHero?

No. PromptHero has no prompt marketplace, no seller payouts and no commission system. PromptBase is the main site for selling prompts.

How do I cancel PromptHero and get a refund?

Cancel from Account, then Plans, at least 24 hours before the rebill date. Refunds are not automatic: you contact support and explain your case, and accounts closed for rule violations get no refund at all.

Are my PromptHero generations private?

Only on Starter or Pro. Free-plan generations and generations paid for with credit packs alone are public.

Can I use PromptHero images commercially?

The terms do not say. The Free plan is marked "For personal use only", and paid plans make no explicit commercial-use promise, so get written confirmation from support before using images in paid work.

Who owns PromptHero?

ElevenYellow, the studio behind Botto, which bought PromptHero from its two founders in late 2024. The apps are published by Elevenyellow Pte. Ltd.

Key takeaways

• The prompt library is free, needs no account and still covers Midjourney, FLUX, Nano Banana, Sora, Veo and more.
• The generator costs $16/mo (Starter) or $24/mo (Pro) billed yearly, or $59 and $99 credit packs that never expire.
• Monthly prices and per-image credit costs are not published on the pricing page.
• Only Starter and Pro generations are private; free and credit-pack generations are public.
• Refunds are discretionary, you must cancel 24 hours before renewal, and PromptHero takes a perpetual licence to what you post.
• There is no prompt marketplace - you cannot sell prompts on PromptHero.