Stable Diffusion

Image models with version-specific licences

by Stability AI

Overview

Stable Diffusion is a family of image models, not one web subscription. You can deploy an eligible checkpoint with compatible local tools or use paid hosted services. The exact model version determines its licence; the interface and deployment determine supported controls, output formats and hardware requirements. LoRA, ControlNet-style guidance, inpainting and other workflows depend on model and tool compatibility rather than being native to every checkpoint. Two licence limits bear on commercial work: the community licence is revocable if you breach its terms, and you cannot use a core model or its outputs to create a new model architecture, while LoRAs, fine-tunes and retrains sit outside the foundational-model restriction.

SDXL 1.0 Base uses CreativeML Open RAIL++-M. SD 3.5 Medium, Large and Large Turbo are listed as Core Models under the Stability Community License, which offers eligible users a free licence subject to its conditions. Commercial use requires registration and an annual-revenue test covering the user and affiliated entities, not just the AI product. The public explanation uses below US$1 million; users at exactly US$1 million should obtain clarification because official wording differs at the boundary. Users exceeding the threshold need an Enterprise licence. Model redistribution and derivatives carry additional conditions; generated pictures are distinct from model weights.

There is no family-wide monthly or annual subscription. A free model licence does not pay for local hardware, electricity, cloud GPUs or maintenance. Hosted Stability API calls are separately metered: the official pricing information lists US$0.01 per credit and 25 initial credits for new users, not a recurring monthly allowance. Examples are SD 3.5 Large at 6.5 credits (US$0.065), Large Turbo at 4 (US$0.04), Medium at 3.5 (US$0.035) and Flash at 2.5 (US$0.025) per generation; editing and upscaling have separate operation prices. Confirm the live rate before budgeting.

Local inference and hosted API use have different data paths. Running locally can give you control of the deployment, but plugins, telemetry and external endpoints still need checking before claiming that nothing leaves the machine. The September 23, 2026 review used the 2025 terms/privacy references while the September 30 version was still future. The now-effective hosted terms were read on October 14; the current privacy policy was not re-read. We did not verify a complete current API output-format or resolution matrix.

Editor's take

Consider Stable Diffusion when you want to choose a checkpoint and manage a compatible image workflow. Check the exact licence before commercial deployment: SDXL and SD 3.5 have different terms, and SD 3.5 commercial use involves registration and combined annual revenue. Hosted APIs add usage charges and their own data terms; local use is not automatically offline.

Our reading of who this suits, based on the sources above. Opinion, offered to help you decide - not a lab result.

Key Features

An image-model family with downloadable checkpoints and paid hosted routes
SDXL 1.0 Base: CreativeML Open RAIL++-M, subject to that version’s restrictions
SD 3.5 Medium/Large/Large Turbo: Community License eligibility, commercial registration and combined-revenue conditions
Local customisation and workflows such as LoRA or structural guidance where the selected model and tool support them
Hosted API uses credits; official pricing information lists 1 credit = US$0.01 and 25 initial new-user credits
Output formats and resolutions depend on the selected checkpoint and tool; a full current API matrix was not verified

Use Cases

Build a local image pipeline after checking the exact checkpoint licence and tool support
Adapt a compatible model for a style under its training and redistribution terms
Automate hosted generation with a per-call API budget
Explore model behaviour and deployment options without assuming benchmark superiority

Pros

✓Eligible checkpoints can be integrated into a deployment you manage
✓SDXL and SD 3.5 have published version-specific licence documents
✓Hosted API access provides a route that does not require operating a local GPU

Cons

✕Open weights do not give every organisation a free, unrestricted commercial licence
✕SD 3.5 commercial use requires registration and aggregate-revenue eligibility; exactly US$1 million needs clarification
✕Self-hosting still has hardware, hosting and maintenance costs; hosted API usage is separately charged
✕Local plugins or external services may send data out; current hosted terms allow training/improvement use with an opt-out route
✕Historical review: the September 30 terms were future on September 23; now effective and read October 14. Export and compatibility still vary by route

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Stable Diffusion free and open source?

It is a model family with downloadable weights, not one unrestricted licence. SDXL 1.0 Base uses CreativeML Open RAIL++-M. SD 3.5 Core Models use the Community License subject to eligibility, registration for commercial use and revenue conditions. Hardware or hosted compute is a separate expense.

What does the US$1 million threshold apply to?

For Community-licensed models such as the listed SD 3.5 variants, the test covers the user and affiliated entities’ combined annual revenue, not only AI-product revenue. Commercial users must register. Public guidance says below US$1 million; at exactly US$1 million, ask Stability to clarify the differing boundary wording. Above the threshold, obtain an Enterprise licence. Do not apply this rule as though it were SDXL’s licence.

How are hosted API calls priced?

The official pricing information lists 1 credit = US$0.01 and an initial 25 credits for new users. SD 3.5 Large is 6.5 credits (US$0.065), Large Turbo 4 (US$0.04), Medium 3.5 (US$0.035) and Flash 2.5 (US$0.025) per generation; other operations have their own rates. Confirm the current rate before budgeting. These are usage prices, not a monthly or annual subscription.

Does local deployment mean my images never leave my computer?

Only the actual workflow can establish that. Local inference can be configured under your control, but plugins, telemetry, hosted nodes and external endpoints may still transfer data. We have not measured network traffic. The hosted Stability API has separate data-processing terms.

Which data terms apply on September 23, 2026?

In that historical September 23 review, the 2025 Terms and July 31, 2025 Privacy Policy were the references used. They described improvement/training use and opt-out. The now-effective September 30 hosted terms were read October 14; the current privacy policy was not re-read.

Source: Stability — current 2025 terms on the review date · Stability — July 31, 2025 Privacy Policy · Stability — terms effective 30 September 2026

Can every version export the same files and use the same add-ons?

No universal capability was established. Saving formats, resolution, LoRA, ControlNet-style guidance and editing depend on the checkpoint and compatible UI/API. We did not verify the current API’s complete PNG/JPEG/WebP or resolution matrix, and community derivatives can add licence conditions.

Key facts and where they come from

PriceNot established: The Community route is documented as free for eligible users and separate API generation charges are recorded, but this is not a single family-wide price. The exact revenue boundary and actual hosted offer/region remain unestablished.Source: Stability — licensing overview · Stability — Community License agreement · Stability — API pricing
AvailabilityNot established: Country-by-country distribution and actual reachability of the selected product and plan are not established by the registered sources. A platform list, hosting location or payment-region note does not establish access from a particular country.Source: Stability — SDXL 1.0 Base model card · Stability — Core Models
Commercial useDocumented: Commercial use requires registration and a revenue test covering the user and affiliated entities; model distribution has further conditions. Boundary wording at exactly US$1 million needs clarification against the overview.Source: Stability — Community License agreement
Training on your dataDocumented: Hosted service terms effective 30 September 2026 permit improvement use of Content and provide an Inputs/Outputs training opt-out. They do not establish local model licensing or third-party-model policies.Source: Stability — terms effective 30 September 2026
API billingDocumented: The pricing information lists US$0.01/credit, 25 initial new-user credits, and SD 3.5 Large/Turbo/Medium/Flash at 6.5/4/3.5/2.5 credits per generation.Source: Stability — API pricing
Export formatsNot established: The registered model cards and API pricing do not establish a current PNG/JPEG/WebP output-format matrix; downloadable model weights are not generated-image export formats.Source: Stability — SDXL 1.0 Base model card · Stability — API pricing
Usage limitsNot established: A per-generation API price and the Core Models list do not establish account request quotas or local hardware capacity; there is no family-wide limit established by these records.Source: Stability — Core Models · Stability — API pricing

Official sources

The vendor pages we read for the claims on this page, what each one states, and the day we read it.

Stability — SDXL 1.0 Base model card ↗
The SDXL 1.0 Base model card identifies CreativeML Open RAIL++-M as its licence.
Read on September 23, 2026
Stability — Core Models ↗
The Core Models list includes SD 3.5 Medium, Large and Large Turbo under the Community License route.
Read on September 23, 2026
Stability — licensing overview ↗
The free Community route is described for eligible users below US$1 million annual revenue; Enterprise licensing serves users outside its conditions.
Read on September 23, 2026
Stability — Community License agreement ↗
Commercial use requires registration and a revenue test covering the user and affiliated entities; model distribution has further conditions. Boundary wording at exactly US$1 million needs clarification against the overview.
Read on September 23, 2026
Stability — API pricing ↗
The pricing information lists US$0.01/credit, 25 initial new-user credits, and SD 3.5 Large/Turbo/Medium/Flash at 6.5/4/3.5/2.5 credits per generation.
Read on September 23, 2026
Stability — current 2025 terms on the review date ↗
The current platform/API terms allow input/output use for improvement and training and describe opt-out; this differs from a local deployment.
Read on September 23, 2026
Stability — July 31, 2025 Privacy Policy ↗
The July 31, 2025 Privacy Policy is the current privacy reference used for the September 23, 2026 review.
Read on September 23, 2026
Stability — terms effective 30 September 2026 ↗
Hosted service terms effective 30 September 2026 permit improvement use of Content and provide an Inputs/Outputs training opt-out. They do not establish local model licensing or third-party-model policies.
Read on October 14, 2026
Stability AI - community licence limits ↗
Read on 12 October 2026. States that core models are free unless used commercially by an organisation with over USD $1M annual revenue, that a core model or its outputs cannot be used to create a new model architecture, and that the community licence is revocable if its terms are breached.
Read on October 12, 2026

Compare with other tools in Image Generation

Product	Maker	Pricing	Launched	Shared tags
FLUX	Black Forest Labs	Freemium	2024-08	Text-to-image
Ideogram	Ideogram	Freemium	2023-08-22	—
Recraft	Recraft	Freemium	2023-05-31	—
Adobe Firefly	Adobe	Freemium	2023-03	—
Leonardo AI	Leonardo AI	Freemium	2022-12	—
Midjourney	Midjourney	Paid	2022-07-12	—

1 discontinued entry/entries in this category are not listed above. They stay in the catalogue with their status.