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Cross-task capability coverage across selected products
Each product is scored independently per task edge; switch tasks below while keeping shared products selected| Task edge | playground.com | Ideogram | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Background removal | 83/100 2048 × 2048 · PNG | Not tested in topic | Compare in task topic → |
| Image generation | 90/100 1600 × 1600 · PNG | 88/100 2048×2048 (2K Original size unwatermarked JPEG, 785.6KB, 400% pixel retention) · Historical description; output not attached | Active task |
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Browse this task →| Criterion | Playground AI (Design Canvas) Image generation 90/100 Seven-aspect task score Playground (Playground AI Inc.) demonstrates top-tier typographic rendering in text-to-image generation. With free Google login, the canvas inherits the 276-character prompt, completing inference in 19.41s to export an unwatermarked 1600x1600 PNG (4.7 MB) with 100% spelling accuracy on "REALTEST 2026". Tested export 1600 × 1600 · PNG Historical test · 2026-11-03 | Ideogram AI (Ideogram 4.0) Image generation 88/100 Seven-aspect task score Good text and 2K output come with four candidates per request; free credits depend on sign-in method, exclude email-only signup, and this run took about 34 seconds. Tested export 2048×2048 (2K Original size unwatermarked JPEG, 785.6KB, 400% pixel retention) · Historical description; output not attached Historical test · 2026-10-16 |
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| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | Playground web AI image generation and design subscriptions · 2026-11-01 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free Tier2026-11-01 ↗ Free Free Free Up to 10 images every 3 hours; 3 monthly generations across advanced models Access to text-to-image and canvas editing with worldwide royalty-free commercial license；Slower generation during peak hours; waiting period after limits are reached；Permanently free, no renewal；Perpetual access Pro Monthly2026-11-01 ↗ USD 15/month — Monthly Up to 75 images every 3 hours; 150 monthly credits across advanced models Unlimited premium templates, upscaling and background removal included, up to 2K (2048x2048) editing, commercial use；150 monthly credits for advanced models；Auto-renews monthly; cancel anytime Rules [1]Pro Annual2026-11-01 ↗ — USD 144/year Annual Up to 75 images every 3 hours, 150 monthly credits, billed as $144/year ($12/mo equivalent) Full Pro features, upscaling, background removal, and 2K resolution editing；Prepaid annually at $144 Rules [2] [3]Pro Plus Monthly2026-11-01 ↗ USD 45/month — Monthly Unlimited image generations without caps, 1,000 monthly credits across all models Unlimited upscaling and background removal, up to 4K (3840x2160) editing, priority support, and API access；1,000 monthly credits for advanced models；Auto-renews monthly Rules [1]Pro Plus Annual2026-11-01 ↗ — USD 432/year Annual Unlimited generations, 1,000 monthly credits, billed as $432/year ($36/mo equivalent) Full Pro Plus features, 4K super-resolution upscaling, and unlimited background removal；Prepaid annually at $432 Rules [2] [3]5 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Offers a permanent free tier with commercial rights alongside Pro and Pro Plus subscriptions; annual plans receive a 20% discount with exact annual billed totals explicitly listed. Cancellation, sources & verification recordCancellation and refund terms unverified Playground AI Official Pricing and Plans ↗ · 2026-11-01 Capture 1 ↗ | Ideogram official plans (Free / Plus / Pro / Team / Enterprise); USD (before tax) · 2026-10-21 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Free (OAuth sign-in)2026-10-21 ↗ Free Free Free 30 credits/week when signing in with Google, Apple, or Microsoft (email/password accounts receive no free credits; public generations). Plus Monthly2026-10-21 ↗ USD 20/month — Monthly 2,400 priority credits/month (do not roll over) + unlimited slower queue on Ideogram models + private generation and quality export. Plus Yearly2026-10-21 ↗ — USD 180/year Annual Billed annually at USD 180/year (USD 15/month equivalent); 2,400 priority credits issued monthly + unlimited slower queue + private generation. Pro Monthly2026-10-21 ↗ USD 60/month — Monthly 7,500 priority credits/month (do not roll over) + unlimited slower queue + Batch Generation, larger queue, and private generation. Pro Yearly2026-10-21 ↗ — USD 504/year Annual Billed annually at USD 504/year (USD 42/month equivalent); 7,500 priority credits issued monthly + unlimited slower queue + Batch Generation and private generation. Team Monthly (per user, min 2)2026-10-21 ↗ USD 30/month — Monthly USD 30 per user/month (minimum 2 users); 3,600 priority credits/user/month + unlimited slower queue + central billing and administration. Team Yearly (per user, min 2)2026-10-21 ↗ — USD 240/year Annual USD 240 per user/year (USD 20/user/month equivalent, minimum 2 users); 3,600 priority credits/user/month + unlimited slower queue + central billing. Enterprise Agreement2026-10-21 ↗ Contact sales Quoted Quoted Custom organization agreement and shared Enterprise Prepaid wallet. 8 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Official documentation (Plans and Credits) lists Free (30 credits/week when signing in with Google, Apple, or Microsoft; email/password accounts do not get free credits; public generations), Plus (USD 20/month or USD 180/year, i.e., USD 15/month, with 2,400 credits/month + unlimited slow queue + private mode), Pro (USD 60/month or USD 504/year, i.e., USD 42/month, with 7,500 credits/month + batch generation), and Team (min 2 users, USD 30/user/month or USD 240/user/year, 3,600 credits/user/month). Legacy Basic ($8/mo) is no longer sold. Cancellation, sources & verification recordMonthly plan credits reset on each renewal date and do not roll over; purchased top-up credits are spent after monthly credits. Manage subscriptions and auto-recharge in Settings → Wallet & Billing. Ideogram official documentation: Plans and Credits pricing table ↗ · 2026-10-21 Capture 1 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | Free users can generate up to 10 images every 3 hours with full commercial use rights | Free credits granted exclusively to Google / Apple / Microsoft OAuth accounts; default Ideogram 4.0 (Auto) costs ~12 credits for 4× 2048×2048 images |
| Cancellation & refunds | Not verified | Monthly plan credits reset on each renewal date and do not roll over; purchased top-up credits are spent after monthly credits. Manage subscriptions and auto-recharge in Settings → Wallet & Billing. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Sign-in dialog appears upon clicking Generate on the homepage | Disclosed upfront in the login page footer before registration ("Email accounts don't include free credits") |
| Task quality | ||
| Measured fixture results | Not verified | Not verified |
| Fixture findings | On the anchor_t2i_v1 benchmark fixture, Playground scored strongly: "REALTEST 2026" sign text 100% accurate (25/25), red apples and blue ceramic mugs correctly bound on the dark oak table (18/20), and brass robot hand anatomy coherently composed (18/20). | Text and hand structure performed well on this prompt, with 2048px output; other prompts remain untested. |
| Original historical observation | Playground demonstrated top-tier English typographic rendering on the test anchor: 'REALTEST 2026' sign had zero spelling errors; red apples and dark blue ceramic mugs featured realistic lighting, exporting an unwatermarked 1600x1600 PNG. | Powered by Ideogram 4.0, it is the only platform tested that exports native 2048×2048 (2K) unwatermarked images on the free tier while achieving a 64.0/65 constraint score (#4 overall at 88.2 pts). |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Content creators needing high-quality design posters, precise English typography, and high-resolution exports | Designers and creators needing native 2048×2048 (2K) unwatermarked exports, world-class typography, and 5-finger anatomical precision |
| Result & output evidence | No native output obtained; the preview does not establish final export quality. | |
| Delivery capabilities | ||
| Recorded export specifications | 1600 × 1600 · PNG · No watermark in test | 2048×2048 (2K Original size unwatermarked JPEG, 785.6KB, 400% pixel retention) · Historical description; output not attached · Check watermark record No native output is attached; check the evidence for specification and watermark claims. |
| Historical specification note · not an official maximum | 1600×1600 (Playground default high-res unwatermarked PNG export, 4.7 MB) | 2048×2048 (2K Original Size Unwatermarked JPEG · Ideogram 4.0) |
| Watermark observation | None | Zero watermark (clean 2048×2048 2K export) |
| Batch & API | Single-image generation on multi-layer design canvas | 4-image batch default + Magic Prompt, Remove BG, Upscale, Edit (Ideogram 4.5), and Developer API |
| Recorded free-tier dimensions | 1600 × 1600 | Not verified |
| Attached file dimensions | 1600 × 1600 · PNG | Not verified |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Network-observed server wait: 19.41s · End-to-end reference: 19.98s | Network-observed server wait: 33.9s · End-to-end reference: 34.45s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-11-03 · anchor_t2i_v1 · US-West (California, AS2914) | 2026-10-16 · anchor_t2i_v1 · US-West (California, AS2914) |
| Repeated tests & reliability | No standardized repetition count, success rate or variability range is recorded. | No standardized repetition count, success rate or variability range is recorded. |
| Interaction experience | ||
| Account requirements | Account required in this test | Account required in this test |
| Sign-in methods | Google sign-in and email login supported | Must sign in with Google / Apple / Microsoft to receive free credits (Email-only signups receive 0 free credits) |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Google OAuth sign-in allows immediate generation without forced subscription upsells; exports clean PNG without watermarks. | Completing Google login (Pass 2) allows skipping the plan upsell ("Skip for now"); default Auto model invokes flagship Ideogram 4.0 (~12 credits), generates 4 concurrent variations, and allows free download of the full 2K (2048×2048) unwatermarked JPEG (03_download.png). |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | Playground AI Inc. | Ideogram AI, Inc. |
| Recorded origin | San Francisco, California, United States | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Domain history record | Founded in 2022 (Founder Suhail Doshi previously co-founded Mixpanel) | 2023–present |
| Background & reputation assessment | Playground AI Inc. (San Francisco, CA, founded 2022 by Suhail Doshi), leading AI design platform. | Operated by Ideogram AI, Inc. (Toronto, Canada, founded 2023 by former Google Brain diffusion researchers Mohammad Norouzi, William Chan, et al., backed by a16z), globally renowned for AI typography. |
| External reputation record | Over 13 million creators; developer of Playground v2.5 open-source diffusion models. | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy | ||
| Processing location | Uploaded for cloud processing | Uploaded for cloud processing |
| Third-party tracking record | Google Tag Manager · Mixpanel · Stripe | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy assessment | Design requests are transmitted via HTTPS to cloud GPU clusters (AWS/Lambda Labs) for real-time rendering. | Generates 4× 2048×2048 (4.19MP, 400% of 1024² baseline) images per run (~33.9s) and integrates native Remove BG, Upscale, and Ideogram 4.5 Edit apps. |
| Retention statement | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 35 / 35 Entering a prompt on the homepage and clicking Generate prompts for free Google login, after which the canvas opens with the prompt intact; test confirms free unwatermarked 1600×1600 PNG export (4.7 MB). | 29 / 35 Landing page (01_landing.png) CTA "Get started" leads to the login page (01_pass1_login_modal.png), where bottom fine print explicitly discloses a critical rule: "*Email accounts don't include free credits — you'll need a paid plan to generate. Sign up with Google, Apple, or Microsoft to get free credits." |
| Interaction restraint | 28 / 30 Google OAuth sign-in allows immediate generation without forced subscription upsells; exports clean PNG without watermarks. | 26 / 30 Completing Google login (Pass 2) allows skipping the plan upsell ("Skip for now"); default Auto model invokes flagship Ideogram 4.0 (~12 credits), generates 4 concurrent variations, and allows free download of the full 2K (2048×2048) unwatermarked JPEG (03_download.png). |
| Background & reputation | 19 / 20 Playground AI Inc. (San Francisco, CA, founded 2022 by Suhail Doshi), leading AI design platform. | 20 / 20 Operated by Ideogram AI, Inc. (Toronto, Canada, founded 2023 by former Google Brain diffusion researchers Mohammad Norouzi, William Chan, et al., backed by a16z), globally renowned for AI typography. |
| Engineering & privacy | 14 / 15 Design requests are transmitted via HTTPS to cloud GPU clusters (AWS/Lambda Labs) for real-time rendering. | 14 / 15 Generates 4× 2048×2048 (4.19MP, 400% of 1024² baseline) images per run (~33.9s) and integrates native Remove BG, Upscale, and Ideogram 4.5 Edit apps. |
| Task quality | 61 / 65 Text Rendering (25/25: Wooden sign text 'REALTEST 2026' achieved 100% spelling accuracy with clear uppercase letters and spacing (25/25)) · Count & Color Binding (18/20: Table strictly displayed red apples and navy ceramic mugs with accurate material and color binding (18/20)) · 5-Finger Hand & Structure (18/20: Vintage brass robot right arm holding the wooden sign followed natural physical perspective (18/20)) | 64 / 65 Text Rendering (25/25: Exact 2-line "REALTEST / 2026" hand-carved typography on the wooden sign with 100% spelling accuracy (25/25)) · Count & Color Binding (19/20: Strictly 3 red apples on the left + 2 stacked blue ceramic mugs on the right (slight twin-handle / 3rd rim artifact behind the lower mug, -1 pt) (19.0/20)) · 5-Finger Hand & Structure (20/20: Vintage brass robotic right hand supporting the bottom of the wooden sign displays 5 crystal-clear, distinct articulated brass fingers (20/20)) |
| Deliverable specifications | 20 / 20 Clean unwatermarked export (8/8); Export & Max deliverable spec: 1600×1600 (Playground default high-res unwatermarked PNG export, 4.7 MB) | 20 / 20 Clean unwatermarked export (8/8); Export & Max deliverable spec: 2048×2048 (2K Original Size Unwatermarked JPEG · Ideogram 4.0) |
| Processing speed | 6 / 15 Network-observed server wait: 19.41s (API mode: sync; end-to-end 19.98s shown for reference only, never penalized) | 3 / 15 Network-observed server wait: 33.9s (API mode: async_poll; end-to-end 34.45s shown for reference only, never penalized) |
