Midjourney
AI image generator that creates high-quality art and photos from text prompts via web and Discord
PAID Verified JUN 11, 2026
Stable Diffusion
Open-weight AI image generation model by Stability AI with API and self-hosted deployment options
Stable Diffusion is Stability AI's open-weight image generation model, available via API or self-hosted. The API free tier includes 25 credits (about 3-7 images depending on model); paid API membership is $20/month for 6,000 credits. The Brand Studio web platform has a free trial (1,000 credits) and a Core plan at $50/month. Best for developers and studios who need flexible deployment — including on-premise — without per-seat SaaS lock-in.
Verified JUN 11, 2026 FREEMIUM Live
What is Stable Diffusion?
Stable Diffusion is a family of open-weight latent diffusion models developed by Stability AI for text-to-image generation. Unlike closed-source competitors, the model weights are publicly released, meaning developers and studios can run them locally, fine-tune them on proprietary datasets, or integrate them into products without routing traffic through a third-party cloud. The current flagship release, Stable Diffusion 3.5, is available in three size variants — Large, Medium, and Turbo — trading image quality and resource requirements against generation speed.
Beyond text-to-image, Stability AI wraps the models in an editing API that covers inpainting, outpainting, background removal, object removal, recoloring, relighting, and several upscaling modes. These endpoints are available through the Stability AI Platform API on a credit-based billing model. For teams that prefer a no-code interface, Brand Studio is a managed web platform built on the same models, intended for marketing and creative production teams rather than developers.
The open-weight release has seeded a large community of fine-tunes, LoRA adaptations, and custom checkpoints distributed through Civitai and Hugging Face. This ecosystem means the base model is frequently extended for specific styles, characters, or domain-specific imagery without requiring access to the Stability AI API at all.
Who is it for?
Stable Diffusion fits organizations and individuals who need control over the image generation stack — either because data privacy requirements prohibit external API calls, because they want to fine-tune on proprietary brand assets, or because high generation volume makes per-image API costs prohibitive at scale.
- Developers and ML engineers building image generation features into products, who need a documented REST API, predictable credit-based pricing, and the option to switch to self-hosted when volume justifies it.
- E-commerce and marketing teams using the editing endpoints (background removal, recoloring, relighting) to process product photography at scale without a per-image licensing fee.
- Game developers and concept artists who fine-tune the open-weight models on their own art style to produce consistent character and environment assets without vendor lock-in.
- Enterprise IT and compliance teams in regulated industries (finance, healthcare, legal) that require on-premise deployment and cannot send image data to external services — the self-hosted option with a commercial license addresses this directly.
How much does Stable Diffusion cost?
Starting price: $20/mo · Free tier: yes · Model: freemium
Pricing verified JUN 11, 2026
Price history tracked from June 2026
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| API Free | Free | 25 free credits on signup · Access to all API endpoints · No monthly renewal of free credits |
| API Membership | $20/mo | 6,000 credits/month (~$0.01 per credit) · Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large: 6.5 credits/image · Stable Image Ultra: 8 credits/image · Video, audio, and 3D generation endpoints included |
| Brand Studio Trial | Free | 1,000 free credits (one-time) · Core plan features during trial · Web-based generation and editing UI |
| Brand Studio Core | $50/mo | 5,000 credits/month (non-rollover) · End-to-end generation and editing workflows · Curated model routing · Option to purchase additional credits |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom credit bundles and unlimited seats · Brand Central for brand customization · SSO and enterprise governance · White-glove support and dedicated SLA |
What are Stable Diffusion's key features?
- Stable Diffusion 3.5 available in Large, Medium, and Turbo variants for quality/speed tradeoffs
- Full editing API: inpainting, outpainting, background removal, object removal, recoloring, and relighting
- Upscaling endpoints: Creative (60 credits), Conservative (40 credits), and Fast (2 credits)
- Control tools for structure, sketch, and style-guided generation
- Open-weight model releases downloadable for local or self-hosted use
- Stable Video and Stable Audio 3.0 available on the same API platform
- Brand Studio web UI for non-developer teams with guided generation and editing workflows
What people use Stable Diffusion for
- 01 Generating marketing and advertising visuals at scale without per-image licensing fees
- 02 E-commerce product photography: background removal, scene generation, and relighting via API
- 03 Game asset creation including textures, concept art, and environment sketches
- 04 Fine-tuning on brand assets to produce on-brand imagery with DreamBooth or LoRA workflows
- 05 Self-hosted deployment inside enterprise environments where data cannot leave the network
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Open weights mean zero API dependency — models can run fully on-premise with no usage fees | Platform API free tier is only 25 credits — too limited for meaningful evaluation before committing |
| Broad editing API surface (inpaint, outpaint, relight, remove background) in a single platform | Brand Studio Core at $50/month does not roll over unused credits, penalizing irregular usage |
| Credit-based API pricing scales from hobbyist ($20/mo) to enterprise without per-seat overhead | Prompt adherence on SD 3.5 Medium lags behind flagship competitors on complex multi-subject scenes |
| Active open-source ecosystem with thousands of community fine-tunes on Civitai and Hugging Face | Self-hosted deployment requires significant GPU hardware (16GB+ VRAM for SD 3.5 Large) |
What are the best Stable Diffusion alternatives?
Adobe Firefly
Commercially safe AI image generator trained on licensed content with Creative Cloud integration
FREEMIUM Verified JUN 11, 2026
Leonardo.Ai
AI image generator with custom model training, canvas editor, and token-based generation
FREEMIUM Verified JUN 11, 2026
Ideogram
AI image generator specializing in accurate text rendering and layout-aware design output
FREEMIUM Verified JUN 11, 2026
FLUX
API-first AI image generator from Black Forest Labs with per-image pay-as-you-go pricing
USAGE-BASED Verified JUN 11, 2026
Recraft
AI image and vector generator with custom styles, mockups, and design-ready output
FREEMIUM Verified JUN 11, 2026
How people make money with Stable Diffusion
- Sell AI-generated stock images on Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, or Pond5 — high-volume sellers focus on in-demand niches like business, healthcare, and technology
- Offer product photography and background replacement services for e-commerce sellers on Fiverr or Upwork using Stable Diffusion's inpainting and relighting APIs
- License fine-tuned LoRA or DreamBooth model checkpoints on Civitai or Hugging Face — popular checkpoints attract tips and Patreon support from the open-source community
- Run a self-hosted Stable Diffusion API for agencies or game studios that need on-premise image generation; freelance API integration work is in demand on Toptal and Upwork
Frequently asked questions
Is Stable Diffusion free?
The model weights are free to download and run locally with no usage fees. The Stability AI cloud API gives new users 25 free credits on signup (roughly 3-7 images). Brand Studio offers a one-time free trial of 1,000 credits. Ongoing free monthly credits are not included in either tier.
What is the difference between Stable Diffusion and Midjourney?
Midjourney is a closed, subscription-only service accessible via Discord or its web app; it does not provide an API or self-hosting option. Stable Diffusion releases open weights that can run locally or via API, making it better suited to developers and businesses that need programmatic access or data-privacy guarantees.
Can I use Stable Diffusion images commercially?
Images generated via the Stability AI API are licensed for commercial use under the API terms. Self-hosted use of open-weight models is governed by the Stability AI Community License, which permits commercial use for most users; organizations with over $1 million in annual revenue must obtain a separate commercial license.
How much does the Stable Diffusion API cost per image?
Credits cost $0.01 each. Stable Image Ultra costs 8 credits ($0.08/image); SD 3.5 Large costs 6.5 credits ($0.065/image); SD 3.5 Medium costs 3.5 credits ($0.035/image); SD 3.5 Turbo costs 4 credits ($0.04/image). The $20/month API membership includes 6,000 credits.
What is Stable Diffusion 3.5?
Stable Diffusion 3.5 is Stability AI's current flagship image model, released in late 2024. It comes in three sizes: Large (highest quality, up to 1 megapixel), Medium (balanced for consumer hardware), and Turbo (fastest, lower cost). All three are available via the API and as downloadable open weights.
Does Stability AI offer a self-hosted or on-premise option?
Yes. Stability AI releases open-weight model files that can be downloaded from Hugging Face and run on local hardware or private cloud infrastructure. Enterprise customers can also obtain self-hosted licenses with dedicated support through the Enterprise plan.
What editing features does the Stable Diffusion API support?
The API includes inpainting, outpainting, background removal, object removal/erase, search-and-replace, recoloring, relighting, and upscaling (creative, conservative, and fast modes). Control tools for structure, sketch, and style guidance are also available.
Public signals
- ★ 27.2k GitHub stars as of Jun 22, 2026