Stable Diffusion

Stability AI's Stable Diffusion 3.5 image models: free to self-host below $1M annual revenue, or called through a credit-priced API

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Decision snapshot

Fast-read signals for fit, pricing, and trust.

Category: Image Generation & Editing
Best for: ai image generator

What is this tool?

Revenue sets what a developer or small studio pays to run Stable Diffusion itself: below $1M a year, the Community License makes the models free to host and fine-tune, commercial use included; above that, Stability requires an Enterprise licence at custom pricing. Teams that would rather not host anything can call the API instead, where 1 credit is $0.01 and a Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large image costs 6.5 credits. Self-hosting means supplying and maintaining the infrastructure yourself.

By QT Desk

Read full overview

Self-hosting means running the models on your own infrastructure. The Community License (last updated July 5, 2024) makes that free for research, non-commercial and limited commercial use: commercial users must register with Stability AI and display 'Powered by Stability AI', the models and their outputs may not be used to create or improve another foundational generative AI model, and the licence terminates once the licensee and its affiliates exceed USD $1,000,000 in annual revenue from any source, at which point Stability asks for an Enterprise licence. The licence is revocable if its terms are violated.

On Stability's platform, API calls are paid from prepaid credits at 1 credit = $0.01, which the docs also give as $1 USD per 100 credits, and 25 free credits come with a new account, a grant the docs tie to signing up with Google. The price table lists Stable Image Ultra at 8 credits, Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large at 6.5, Large Turbo 4, Medium 3.5, 3.5 Flash 2.5, Stable Image Core 3 and SDXL 1.0 from 0.9; edit services such as Erase Object cost 5 and Replace Background & Relight 8. The pricing page says prices are subject to change.

Under the terms effective September 30, 2026, paid subscriptions renew automatically and the subscriber may cancel whenever they choose, no payment is refundable beyond what the law demands, and service credits are non-refundable and expire one year after purchase or issuance unless stated otherwise. Stable Assistant, the browser app, is billed as a credit-deducting subscription whose plan prices the Stable Assistant page does not print.

The hosted services are offered by Stability AI Ltd, a private limited company incorporated in England and Wales, which has announced SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 compliance. For hosted use, submitted content stays yours under the terms.

Is this right for you?

Quick fit check against how you actually work.

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Choose this if

You want image models you can host, fine-tune and keep your data on, and your organisation is below $1M in annual revenue
You need image editing, upscaling and sketch, structure or style control behind one credit-priced API
You already build on Amazon Bedrock and want Stability's image services there
Owning your outputs matters, which both the Community License and the hosted terms grant to the extent the law permits

Consider alternatives if

You want to generate locally without first troubleshooting Python and GPU errors, which some commenters on install tutorials describe running into
Your organisation is above $1M in annual revenue and you do not want to negotiate a custom Enterprise licence
You need a published subscription price for a browser app before signing up; Stable Assistant's page and FAQ print none
You want prepaid credits that can be refunded or never lapse; the terms make them non-refundable with a one-year expiry

Key features

What you can actually do with this tool.

Three 3.5 model sizes

Large is aimed at professional use at 1 megapixel, Large Turbo generates in four steps, and Medium is designed to run on consumer hardware. Stability also lists SDXL and SDXL Turbo, which generates in as few as one step.

Editing, upscaling and control

Erase object, inpaint, outpaint, remove background, search-and-recolor, search-and-replace and replace-background-and-relight, three upscalers and sketch, structure and style controls. On the API, Creative upscaling costs 60 credits, Conservative 40 and Fast 2.

Four ways to run it

Deploy the models on your own infrastructure with full control over your data, call them through Stability's API, use them inside a cloud partner such as Amazon Bedrock, or work in Stable Assistant, Stability's web-based creative platform.

Outputs belong to you

Both the Community License and the hosted-service terms say the user owns outputs to the extent the law permits. The hosted terms let Stability use content to improve its services unless you opt out of having your inputs and outputs used to train its models.

Plans & pricing

Pricing tiers and what's included in each.

Community License (self-hosted)

Free

For researchers, developers, small businesses and creators with less than $1M in annual revenue, commercial use included
Covers the Stable Diffusion 3.5 suite and SDXL Turbo
Commercial users register with Stability AI and display 'Powered by Stability AI'

Enterprise License

Custom pricing

Required for businesses with annual revenue above $1M, enterprises and API providers
Commercial use and implementation support
Obtained by contacting Stability AI

Platform API credits

1 credit = $0.01 ($1 USD per 100 credits), prepaid

25 free credits for a new account; the docs tie the grant to signing up with Google
Per-call costs in credits, such as Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large 6.5, Large Turbo 4, Medium 3.5 and Stable Image Ultra 8
Credits are non-refundable, and unused credits expire one year after purchase or issuance unless stated otherwise

Official pricing pagePricing may have changed. Always verify before purchasing.

Frequently asked

Common questions about this tool, answered.

Is Stable Diffusion free?

Running the models yourself is, provided you or your organisation earn under $1M a year, commercial use included, on the licence's registration and attribution conditions. Hosted use is paid: the API charges credits after a 25-credit opening grant, and Stability's pricing page, docs and Stable Assistant pages describe no time-limited free trial.

What does it take to run it locally?

Stability describes 3.5 Medium as designed to run on consumer hardware. Nineteen commenters on eight install tutorials, posted between October 2022 and August 2026, describe what getting the models running locally took. Six describe Python problems (the setup not finding or launching it, its installer failing, or the wrong version), one noting it needed one exact older Python release; five got the error that Torch could not use the GPU; four describe AMD cards not working with the setup they were following; and two with recent NVIDIA cards hit CUDA errors. One called the setup a headache, and one found it an easy install for anyone who does the homework, has the right equipment and tweaks it afterwards. The tutorials run the models through third-party interfaces, so these accounts describe local setup, not Stability's hosted API.

What does Stable Assistant cost?

Stable Assistant is a subscription that deducts credits per action; its FAQ gives 6.5 credits for a successful image generation and 0.1 credit per message as examples. The Stable Assistant page and FAQ print no plan name or monthly price and refer to an About page inside the app for the full list of costs. The terms say paid subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled, and the FAQ describes cancelling from Manage Subscription in the account menu.