Stable Diffusion

Open-source AI image generation

As of 30 August 2026, Stable Diffusion is free to use. Powerful open-source text-to-image model available for free use and local deployment. Softwr lists it under AI. Stable Diffusion is made by Stability AI, launched in 2021, available on Web.

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Overview

What Stable Diffusion does

Powerful open-source text-to-image model available for free use and local deployment. Highly customizable with support for community models, LoRA fine-tuning, and extensive modification.

What people use it for

ai tools management
Workflow automation
Reporting

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Stable Diffusion.

Generated images have lower resolution and quality at non-standard dimensions
Struggles with complex multi-object prompts and text generation
Poor rendering of human hands, limbs, and faces due to training data limitations
Trained primarily on English-language descriptions, reinforcing Western cultural bias
Requires significant GPU computational resources for local deployment

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Stable Diffusion

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

Stable Diffusionvs
DALL-E
DALL-E: OpenAI's text-to-image model, leading proprietary alternative with higher quality outputs
Stable Diffusionvs
Midjourney
Midjourney: Premium text-to-image generator focused on artistic quality and visual consistency
Stable Diffusionvs
Leonardo AI
Leonardo AI: Open-source based alternative with customization and fine-tuning capabilities

Capabilities

Features

Text-to-image
Image-to-image
Inpainting
LoRA support
ComfyUI
Integration with ComfyUI
Automatic1111
Integration with Automatic1111
Multiple UIs
Integration with Multiple UIs
Local support
Available on local
Web support
Available on web
Api support
Available on api

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Is Stable Diffusion truly free and open-source?

Yes. Stable Diffusion is released under the CreativeML Open RAIL-M license, allowing free use for both commercial and non-commercial purposes, and the code is open-source on GitHub.

Source

Can I use Stable Diffusion commercially for free?

Yes, if your organization has less than $1M annual revenue. Organizations exceeding $1M annually must obtain an Enterprise License from Stability AI.

Source

What are Stable Diffusion's image resolution limitations?

The base model was trained on 512x512 pixel images, and image quality degrades noticeably when deviating from this resolution. Newer models like SDXL support higher resolutions.

Source

Can I run Stable Diffusion locally on my computer?

Yes. Stable Diffusion is open-source and can run locally on compatible hardware, though it requires a GPU for reasonable performance.

Source

Behind it

Who makes Stable Diffusion

Company: Stability AI
Based in: London, United Kingdom
Founders: Emad Mostaque, Cyrus Hodes

Timeline