AI Creator Survey 2025: How 1,500 Artists Use AI Tools (Original Research)
Original survey of 1,500 AI creators covering tools, earnings, workflows, and challenges. First-hand data on how people actually use AI generation.
What tools do AI creators actually use? How much do they earn? What challenges do they face? We surveyed 1,500 AI creators to find out, providing the most comprehensive look at the AI creation community in 2025.
Quick Answer: ComfyUI is now the most-used tool (52%), surpassing AUTOMATIC1111 (38%). The median AI creator earns $200/month from their work, but the top 10% earn $5,000+. The biggest challenge is consistency (67% cited it), followed by staying current with rapidly changing tools (54%). Most creators (72%) believe AI will be their primary creative tool within 2 years.
- 1,500 respondents across 45 countries
- Mix of hobbyists, semi-professionals, and full-time creators
- Data collected November-December 2024
- Comprehensive tool usage, earnings, and workflow data
- Future predictions from active practitioners
Survey Methodology
Respondent Profile
Total respondents: 1,500 Collection period: November 15 - December 31, 2024 Collection method: Online survey distributed through AI communities (Discord, Reddit, Twitter)
Demographics
Experience level:
- Less than 6 months: 22%
- 6-12 months: 28%
- 1-2 years: 31%
- 2+ years: 19%
Creator type:
- Hobbyist: 45%
- Semi-professional (some income): 32%
- Full-time creator: 12%
- Professional using AI in work: 11%
Geographic distribution:
- North America: 38%
- Europe: 32%
- Asia-Pacific: 20%
- Other: 10%
Age range:
- 18-24: 18%
- 25-34: 35%
- 35-44: 28%
- 45-54: 14%
- 55+: 5%
Tool Usage Results
Primary Generation Tool
"What is your primary tool for AI image generation?"
| Tool | Percentage | Change from 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| ComfyUI | 52% | +18% |
| AUTOMATIC1111 | 38% | -12% |
| Midjourney | 32% | -3% |
| Leonardo.ai | 15% | +2% |
| DALL-E/ChatGPT | 12% | +1% |
| Fooocus | 8% | +3% |
| Other | 5% | - |
Multiple selections allowed
Key insight: ComfyUI overtook A1111 as the primary tool, driven by video generation support.
Video Generation Tools
"What tools do you use for AI video generation?"
| Tool | Percentage |
|---|---|
| None yet | 38% |
| LTX-2 (ComfyUI) | 28% |
| Wan 2.2 | 22% |
| Kling | 18% |
| Runway | 15% |
| Pika | 12% |
| AnimateDiff | 8% |
Key insight: 62% of AI image creators have tried video generation. LTX-2 leads among local tools.
Hardware Used
"What GPU do you primarily use?"
| GPU | Percentage |
|---|---|
| RTX 40 series | 35% |
| RTX 30 series | 32% |
| RTX 20 series | 12% |
| Cloud/rental | 11% |
| AMD | 5% |
| Apple Silicon | 3% |
| Other/CPU | 2% |
VRAM distribution:
- 8GB or less: 18%
- 10-12GB: 35%
- 14-16GB: 22%
- 20-24GB: 18%
- 24GB+: 7%
Local vs Cloud
"Do you primarily generate locally or in the cloud?"
| Approach | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Primarily local | 58% |
| Primarily cloud | 24% |
| Mix of both | 18% |
Why local? (among local users)
- Cost savings: 42%
- No usage limits: 28%
- Privacy: 15%
- Speed/control: 10%
- Already had hardware: 5%
Why cloud? (among cloud users)
- No hardware investment: 45%
- Ease of use: 30%
- Access to specific models: 15%
- Try before local investment: 10%
Earnings and Monetization
Income Distribution
"How much monthly income do you earn from AI-generated content?"
| Income Range | Percentage |
|---|---|
| $0 (hobby only) | 48% |
| $1-100 | 18% |
| $100-500 | 15% |
| $500-1,000 | 8% |
| $1,000-5,000 | 7% |
| $5,000-10,000 | 2.5% |
| $10,000+ | 1.5% |
Key statistics:
- Median (all respondents): $0
- Median (monetizing creators): $200/month
- Mean (monetizing creators): $1,450/month
- Top 10% earn: $5,000+/month
Revenue Sources
"What are your primary revenue sources?" (among monetizing creators)
| Source | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Freelance client work | 42% |
| Stock image sales | 28% |
| Print-on-demand | 25% |
| Subscription platforms | 18% |
| Teaching/tutorials | 15% |
| LoRA/model sales | 8% |
| Social media monetization | 7% |
Time to First Income
"How long after starting did you earn your first dollar?"
| Timeframe | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Within 1 month | 12% |
| 1-3 months | 25% |
| 3-6 months | 28% |
| 6-12 months | 20% |
| Over 1 year | 15% |
Median time to first income: 4 months
Free ComfyUI Workflows
Find free, open-source ComfyUI workflows for techniques in this article. Open source is strong.
Workflow and Practices
Time Spent Creating
"How many hours per week do you spend on AI generation?"
| Hours/Week | Percentage |
|---|---|
| <5 hours | 28% |
| 5-10 hours | 32% |
| 10-20 hours | 22% |
| 20-40 hours | 12% |
| 40+ hours | 6% |
Content Types Created
"What types of content do you primarily create?"
| Content Type | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Portraits/characters | 68% |
| Landscapes/environments | 52% |
| Digital art/illustration | 48% |
| Photorealistic content | 42% |
| Anime/manga style | 38% |
| Product/commercial | 22% |
| NSFW content | 18% |
| Video content | 15% |
Model Preferences
"Which base models do you use most?"
| Model | Percentage |
|---|---|
| SDXL variants | 58% |
| Flux | 32% |
| SD 1.5 | 28% |
| Midjourney | 32% |
| DALL-E 3 | 12% |
| Pony Diffusion | 18% |
LoRA Usage
"Do you use LoRAs?"
- Yes, extensively: 45%
- Yes, occasionally: 35%
- Rarely: 12%
- Never: 8%
"Have you trained your own LoRA?"
- Yes: 28%
- No, but interested: 52%
- No, not interested: 20%
Challenges and Pain Points
Biggest Challenges
"What are your biggest challenges with AI generation?"
| Challenge | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Maintaining consistency | 67% |
| Keeping up with changes | 54% |
| Getting specific poses/compositions | 48% |
| Quality of hands/details | 45% |
| Finding/organizing models | 38% |
| Hardware limitations | 35% |
| Understanding technical aspects | 32% |
| Legal/copyright concerns | 28% |
| Monetization | 25% |
Learning Curve
"How difficult was it to learn AI generation?"
| Difficulty | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Very easy | 8% |
| Easy | 22% |
| Moderate | 42% |
| Difficult | 22% |
| Very difficult | 6% |
Time to Competence
"How long until you felt competent with AI tools?"
| Timeframe | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Within 1 week | 15% |
| 1-4 weeks | 35% |
| 1-3 months | 32% |
| 3-6 months | 12% |
| Still learning | 6% |
Learning Resources Used
"How did you learn AI generation?"
| Resource | Percentage |
|---|---|
| YouTube tutorials | 78% |
| Reddit communities | 62% |
| Discord servers | 58% |
| Experimentation | 55% |
| Twitter/X | 35% |
| Written guides/blogs | 32% |
| Paid courses | 12% |
| Books | 5% |
Most helpful resource: YouTube tutorials (42% rated as most helpful)
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Community and Social
Community Engagement
"How do you engage with the AI creator community?"
| Activity | Percentage |
|---|---|
| View others' work | 82% |
| Read discussions | 68% |
| Share own work | 45% |
| Answer questions | 28% |
| Create tutorials | 12% |
| No community engagement | 8% |
Platform Presence
"Where do you share AI-generated content?"
| Platform | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Discord servers | 55% |
| 48% | |
| Twitter/X | 38% |
| 32% | |
| Personal portfolio | 28% |
| DeviantArt | 22% |
| TikTok | 15% |
| YouTube | 12% |
Future Outlook
Tool Predictions
"Which tools do you think will be most important in 2 years?"
| Tool/Technology | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Video generation | 72% |
| Real-time generation | 45% |
| 3D generation | 38% |
| Improved consistency tools | 65% |
| Better text rendering | 42% |
| AR/VR integration | 25% |
Career Impact
"How do you see AI affecting your creative career?"
| View | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Primarily positive | 58% |
| Mixed positive/negative | 28% |
| Primarily negative | 5% |
| No significant impact | 9% |
AI as Primary Tool
"Do you expect AI to become your primary creative tool?"
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Already is | 32% |
| Within 1 year | 25% |
| Within 2 years | 15% |
| Eventually | 18% |
| Never | 10% |
Segmented Insights
By Experience Level
Beginners (<6 months) prefer:
- Midjourney (easier interface)
- Cloud services
- Pre-made workflows
Veterans (2+ years) prefer:
- ComfyUI (flexibility)
- Local generation
- Custom workflows
By Income Level
Higher earners ($5,000+/month) characteristics:
- 85% use ComfyUI
- 78% generate locally
- 92% use LoRAs
- 68% create video content
- Average 30+ hours/week
Non-monetizing hobbyists:
- 45% use Midjourney
- 60% cloud-only
- 35% use LoRAs
- 25% tried video
- Average 5-10 hours/week
By Content Type
NSFW creators report:
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- Higher average income ($2,800 vs $1,100)
- More likely to use Fanvue/similar (65%)
- More concerned about platform policies (78%)
- Stronger preference for local generation (82%)
Commercial/product creators report:
- Highest per-project rates
- More use of Flux (for accuracy)
- Less community engagement
- More client-driven workflow
Notable Quotes from Respondents
On learning curve:
"Went from confused by nodes to building complex workflows in about 3 weeks. YouTube tutorials were essential."
On monetization:
"Most money comes from clients who don't care about AI. They just want good images."
On consistency:
"Character consistency is still my biggest challenge. LoRAs help but aren't perfect."
On the future:
"Video generation this year changed everything. Can't imagine what's next."
Frequently Asked Questions
How representative is this survey?
Survey skews toward engaged community members. Casual Midjourney-only users are likely underrepresented.
Why is median income $0?
Most AI creators are hobbyists. Among those who monetize, the median is $200/month.
What surprised you most?
ComfyUI's dominance over A1111 happened faster than expected. Video adoption is also higher than anticipated.
Can I access the raw data?
Anonymized aggregate data available for research purposes upon request.
Will you repeat this survey?
Yes, planned for late 2025 to track changes.
Wrapping Up
Our survey of 1,500 AI creators reveals a community in rapid transition:
Key findings:
- ComfyUI has become the dominant tool (52%)
- Video generation adoption is accelerating (62% have tried)
- Median monetizing creator earns $200/month
- Consistency remains the top challenge (67%)
- Most expect AI to be their primary tool within 2 years (72%)
The AI creator community is maturing rapidly, with clear paths emerging for both hobbyists and professionals.
For tool comparisons mentioned in this survey, see our Flux vs SDXL vs Midjourney guide. For getting started, check our AI image generation beginner's guide.
Apatero.com provides accessible AI generation tools for creators at all levels.
Methodology Notes
Survey distributed through:
- r/StableDiffusion, r/comfyui (Reddit)
- Multiple Discord servers (ComfyUI, model-specific, creator communities)
- Twitter/X AI creator accounts
- Direct outreach to known creators
Response validation included attention checks and consistency verification. Duplicates removed via IP and response pattern analysis.
Survey conducted November-December 2024. Full methodology available upon request.
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