Stable Diffusion pricing starts at $0 with the Community License. Under it, a business making under USD $1M in annual revenue doesn’t need to pay to use the models, commercial use included. Above that line, commercial use needs an Enterprise License at Custom Pricing. Stability AI’s hosted API is billed separately: API usage is based on credits, and 1 credit = $0.01.
Quick pricing answer
Stable Diffusion pricing in one look (USD, checked Nov 2026):
- Self-hosted: no license fee under the Community License, commercial use included, for a business under USD $1M in revenue.
- Larger companies: the Enterprise License, at Custom Pricing.
- Stability AI API: prepaid credits, billed per call, at 1 credit = $0.01; an image costs 0.9 to 8 credits.
- Free to start: Stability AI gets new accounts started with 25 free credits. ThinkDiffusion’s Hobby plan starts with 15 free minutes.
- Small team: the license if you own a GPU, API credits if you don’t.
- Watch: API credits are non-refundable, and self-hosting means your own hardware.
In This Article (13 sections)
Stable Diffusion Pricing at a Glance
| Plan | Price | Billing basis | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community License | Free | No fee under USD $1M annual revenue | Hobbyists, small businesses | Your hardware; commercial users register |
| Enterprise License | Custom Pricing | Quote | Companies over USD $1M, API providers | No published price |
| Stability AI API pay-as-you-go | 1 credit = $0.01 | Prepaid credits, per call | Developers without a GPU | Credits are non-refundable |
| ThinkDiffusion Hobby | $0.99 to $2.50 an hour | No Subscription | Occasional cloud use | Files deleted after 48 hr inactivity |
| ThinkDiffusion TD-Pro, Yearly view | $19.99/mo | Per account, plus hourly rates | Heavy solo cloud use | Hours still billed past the $10 credit |
| ThinkDiffusion TD-Pro, Monthly view | $29.99/mo | Per account, plus hourly rates | Heavy solo cloud use | Hours still billed past the $10 credit |
| ThinkDiffusion TD-Teams | $59.99/mo for 2 members; $6/member/mo after | Per team, monthly, plus hourly rates | Teams sharing files | No yearly price printed |
Sources: Stability AI license page, Stability AI API pricing, ThinkDiffusion pricing, checked Nov 2026.
Prices are USD, read on November 1, 2026. docs.stability.ai shows one USD list with no regional tier and says “Pricing is subject to change”.
Stable Diffusion Pricing Plans Explained
Stability AI offers two licenses and sells API credits, and a cloud host can rent you the GPU. For image quality and features, see my Stable Diffusion review.
Community License
Stability AI offers the Community License “For researchers, developers, small businesses, and creators with less than $1M in annual revenue.”
Yes, that makes Stable Diffusion free for business use below the line. Research and non-commercial use are free at any size, and commercial use stays free until you or your organization pass that line, counting revenue from any source.
The Community License Agreement counts “You or Your Affiliate(s), either individually or in aggregate”, so a studio controlled by a larger group is measured by the group’s revenue.
Commercial users must register with Stability AI, through what the license update post calls a brief form, and anyone distributing the models or a product built on them must ship a “Notice” file and display “Powered by Stability AI”.
There is no cap on the number of images, and the license page lists the Stable Diffusion 3.5 Suite and SDXL Turbo among the covered models.
Enterprise License: custom pricing above USD $1M
Commercial use above that line needs an Enterprise License; the license page prints only “Custom Pricing” and “Get in touch”. The card lists commercial use and implementation support, with custom model training and consulting services as upgrades.
Research that later feeds a commercial product needs registration and may need this license.
Stability AI API: pay-as-you-go credits at $0.01
The API bills prepaid credits, bought in your Billing dashboard at $1 USD per 100 credits, and each call deducts its service’s price. docs.stability.ai/pricing lists no monthly plan and no monthly free allowance, so a quiet month costs nothing.
At a zero balance, calls fail with a 402 error.
What happened to the $20 Professional membership?
Stability AI’s Membership announcement, dated Dec 14 with no year shown, priced a Professional tier at $20 USD a month for self-hosted commercial use.
The license page I read on November 1, 2026 lists only Community (Free) and Enterprise (Custom Pricing), so check stability.ai/license before trusting an older guide’s Professional tier.
Does Stable Diffusion Have a Free Plan or Trial?
Yes, there are three free starting points:
- Community License: a license, not a trial, for anyone under the revenue line above.
- Stability AI credits: 25 free credits when you create the account with Google sign-in.
- ThinkDiffusion: on the Hobby plan, 15 minutes free with every sign-up.
The 25 credits are a test: they buy 6 SD 3.5 Large Turbo calls (6 x 4 = 24 credits) or 8 Stable Image Core calls (8 x 3 = 24 credits). For a free web tool with no GPU or code, see my list of the best free AI image generators.
What Each Stability AI API Call Costs
One Stable Diffusion image on the API costs from 0.9 x $0.01 = $0.009 (SDXL 1.0) to 8 x $0.01 = $0.08 (Stable Image Ultra).
| Service | Cost per call |
|---|---|
| Stable Image Ultra (based on SD 3.5 Large) | 8 x $0.01 = $0.08 |
| Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large | 6.5 x $0.01 = $0.065 |
| Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large Turbo | 4 x $0.01 = $0.04 |
| Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium | 3.5 x $0.01 = $0.035 |
| Stable Diffusion 3.5 Flash | 2.5 x $0.01 = $0.025 |
| Stable Image Core | 3 x $0.01 = $0.03 |
| SDXL 1.0 | From 0.9 x $0.01 = $0.009 |
| Creative Upscaler | 60 x $0.01 = $0.60 |
| Conservative Upscaler | 40 x $0.01 = $0.40 |
| Fast Upscaler | 2 x $0.01 = $0.02 |
| Erase Object, Inpaint, Remove Background, Search and Recolor, Search and Replace, Structure, Sketch, Style Guide | 5 x $0.01 = $0.05 |
| Outpaint | 4 x $0.01 = $0.04 |
| Replace Background & Relight, Style Transfer | 8 x $0.01 = $0.08 |
Sources: Stability AI API pricing, checked Nov 2026.
The API FAQ allows 150 requests every 10 seconds, with a 429 response and a 60-second block past that; a higher limit, invoice payment and large credit purchases go through sales.
Running Stable Diffusion Yourself: Hardware or a Cloud Host
Running Stable Diffusion yourself costs no license fee below the revenue line. Stability AI says its Medium model is “designed to run on consumer hardware”, so the GPU you buy or already own is the real cost.
Without a GPU, rent one: ThinkDiffusion gives each user a dedicated machine running Automatic1111, ComfyUI, Fooocus or Kohya with Stable Diffusion 1.5, SDXL and Flux models. Hobby, TD-Pro and TD-Teams all bill machine hours.
ThinkDiffusion Hobby: no subscription, hourly GPU
ThinkDiffusion’s standard machine rates are $0.99 an hour for a Quick GPU, $1.75 for Turbo and $2.50 for Ultra. Hobby has no subscription and pays those standard rates. Files are deleted after 48 hours of inactivity.
ThinkDiffusion TD-Pro: a subscription with lower hourly rates
Billed monthly, ThinkDiffusion’s TD-Pro plan costs $29.99 a month. Billed yearly, ThinkDiffusion’s TD-Pro plan costs $19.99 a month.
ThinkDiffusion’s TD-Pro plan bills what ThinkDiffusion calls 20% discounted machine rates. TD-Pro’s Quick machine rate is $0.79/hr. TD-Pro’s Turbo machine rate is $1.49/hr. TD-Pro’s Ultra machine rate is $1.99/hr. TD-Pro also adds a $10 monthly balance credit, and unused credits roll over each month.
Monthly billing costs $29.99 – $19.99 = $10.00 more a month than yearly, or $10.00 x 12 = $120.00 a year.
I assume the $10 credit pays for machine hours, since the page lists it beside the rates.
Monthly TD-Pro then costs $29.99 – $10.00 = $19.99 on top of its hours and saves $1.75 – $1.49 = $0.26 per Turbo hour, so it wins past $19.99 / $0.26 = 76.88 Turbo hours a month.
Billed yearly, the fixed gap is $19.99 – $10.00 = $9.99, and the break-even falls to $9.99 / $0.26 = 38.42 Turbo hours. Below those hours Hobby costs less, and TD-Pro is really buying storage: 200 GB kept for the life of the plan instead of 10 GB wiped after 48 hours of inactivity.
On a ThinkDiffusion Ultra GPU, TD-Pro saves $2.50 – $1.99 = $0.51 an hour. Billed monthly, its fee net of the $10 credit is $29.99 – $10.00 = $19.99, which pays off from $19.99 / $0.51 = 39.2 Ultra hours; billed yearly, $19.99 – $10.00 = $9.99 pays off from $9.99 / $0.51 = 19.59 hours.
ThinkDiffusion TD-Teams: $59.99 a month for 2 members
ThinkDiffusion’s TD-Teams plan includes 2 team members. More team members can be added for $6/member/mo. TD-Teams gets the same machine rates as TD-Pro. TD-Teams adds a $20 balance credit every month. Members share models, settings and files in workspaces. TD-Edge, ThinkDiffusion’s training and consulting offer, is Contact sales.
For 3 members, ThinkDiffusion’s TD-Teams plan costs $59.99 + $6 x 1 = $65.99 a month, billed monthly. Three ThinkDiffusion TD-Pro accounts cost 3 x $29.99 = $89.97 billed monthly, or 3 x $19.99 = $59.97 billed yearly.
At 4 members, the ThinkDiffusion TD-Teams bill rises to $59.99 + $6 x 2 = $71.99 a month, billed monthly. Four ThinkDiffusion TD-Pro accounts billed yearly cost 4 x $19.99 = $79.96.
On subscription fees alone, I would pick TD-Teams over monthly TD-Pro from the third member and over yearly TD-Pro from the fourth.
Each ThinkDiffusion TD-Pro account brings a monthly credit, and ThinkDiffusion’s FAQ says credits only run down while a machine is running. A team that spends them on hours pays $79.96 – 4 x $10 = $39.96 for 4 yearly TD-Pro accounts, against $71.99 – $20 = $51.99 for ThinkDiffusion TD-Teams.
Additional Stable Diffusion Costs to Consider
| Cost type | When it applies | Pricing basis | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise License | Commercial use above USD $1M annual revenue | Custom Pricing | Affiliates’ revenue counts in aggregate |
| Registration and attribution | Commercial use or distribution | No fee stated | Notice file and “Powered by Stability AI” |
| Taxes | API purchases | No rate stated | The Terms allow applicable fees and taxes |
| Extra TD-Teams members | Above 2 members | $6/member/mo | ThinkDiffusion |
| Additional TD-Teams workspace, Small | More shared storage | $10/mo for 50 GB | ThinkDiffusion |
| Additional TD-Teams workspace, Medium | More shared storage | $15/mo for 100 GB | ThinkDiffusion |
| Additional TD-Teams workspace, Large | More shared storage | $20/mo for 200 GB | ThinkDiffusion |
| Each additional 100 GB of workspace storage | Beyond the Large workspace | $20/mo per 100 GB | ThinkDiffusion |
Sources: Community License Agreement, Stability AI Terms of Service, ThinkDiffusion pricing, checked Nov 2026.
The API has no usage statistics per account or key yet, so a team sharing one balance should set a credit budget per project.
Billing, Credit Expiry and Refunds
Stability AI’s refund policies for the Platform API state: “Service credits are not currency and are not redeemable for money or any sum of monetary value. Service credits are non-refundable.”
The Terms of Service, “Effective: September 30, 2026”, add: “Unused service credits (that were issued on or after the effective date of these Terms) expire one year after the date of purchase or issuance, unless otherwise specified.” The clause says nothing about older credits.
The Terms also prohibit “any purported transfers, sales, gifts, or trades of service credits”, state that “All payments are non-refundable, except where required by law”, and allow fee increases “with advance notice”.
So buy no more credits than about 12 months of your workload uses; the 25 free credits are issued credits too.
ThinkDiffusion’s pricing page states no cancellation or refund terms, so read ThinkDiffusion’s terms before paying for TD-Pro yearly ($19.99 x 12 = $239.88).
How Much Does Stable Diffusion Cost for Your Team?
On the API, a month costs calls x credits per call x $0.01; on ThinkDiffusion, the plan fee plus machine hours beyond the balance credit; self-hosting costs $0 in license fees under USD $1M in revenue.
The calculator below prices ThinkDiffusion subscriptions only, not machine hours, tax or API credits.
ThinkDiffusion subscription cost calculator for Stable Diffusion
This calculator needs JavaScript. The scenario table below gives the same estimate for typical workloads.
Enter what you need. The calculator prices it on every plan at list prices and names the cheapest plan that covers it.
- List prices in USD from Stable Diffusion’s official pricing pages, checked Nov 1, 2026. Tax and regional prices are not included.
- 12-month figures are 12 times the monthly cost at the billing you choose.
- A planning estimate at list prices, not a quote.
Enter a member count to see TD-Pro and TD-Teams side by side, with the cheaper subscription.
It assumes one TD-Pro account per member, since the TD-Pro card lists no team members, and prices TD-Teams monthly.
These workloads are invented for illustration, not typical: 100, 300, 1,000 and 5,000 images, 30 upscales, 12 and 100 machine hours, and 1, 3 and 10 members.
| Team size and workload | Plan | Billing | Monthly equivalent | Annual total | Assumptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobbyist: 100 SD 3.5 Large Turbo images | Stability AI API pay-as-you-go | Prepaid credits | 100 x 4 x $0.01 = $4.00 | 100 x 4 x $0.01 x 12 = $48.00 | Usage only |
| Freelancer: generate 300 Core images and 30 Conservative upscales | Stability AI API pay-as-you-go | Prepaid credits | 300 x 3 x $0.01 + 30 x 40 x $0.01 = $21.00 | $21.00 x 12 = $252.00 | Usage only; the upscales cost more than the images |
| Small team: generate 1,000 SD 3.5 Large images | Stability AI API pay-as-you-go | Prepaid credits | 1,000 x 6.5 x $0.01 = $65.00 | $65.00 x 12 = $780.00 | Usage only |
| App feature: generate 5,000 Stable Image Ultra images | Stability AI API pay-as-you-go | Prepaid credits | 5,000 x 8 x $0.01 = $400.00 | 5,000 x 8 x $0.01 x 12 = $4,800.00 | Usage only; check the rate limit, invoices via sales |
| Self-hosted small business | Community License | No fee | $0 | $0 | Under USD $1M revenue; hardware excluded |
| Cloud GPU solo: 12 Quick hours | ThinkDiffusion Hobby | Hourly | 12 x $0.99 = $11.88 | $11.88 x 12 = $142.56 | TD-Pro’s fee alone is $29.99 |
| Cloud GPU heavy: 100 Turbo hours | ThinkDiffusion TD-Pro | Monthly | $29.99 + 100 x $1.49 – $10.00 = $168.99 | $168.99 x 12 = $2,027.88 | $10 credit spent on hours; Hobby: 100 x $1.75 = $175.00 |
| ThinkDiffusion, 1 member | TD-Pro | Monthly | $29.99 | $29.99 x 12 = $359.88 | Fee only; machine hours extra |
| ThinkDiffusion, 3 members | TD-Teams | Monthly | $59.99 + $6 x 1 = $65.99 | $65.99 x 12 = $791.88 | 2 members included; 3 TD-Pro accounts: 3 x $29.99 = $89.97, or 3 x $19.99 = $59.97 billed yearly |
| ThinkDiffusion, 10 members | TD-Teams | Monthly | $59.99 + $6 x 8 = $107.99 | $107.99 x 12 = $1,295.88 | 2 members included; 10 TD-Pro accounts: 10 x $29.99 = $299.90 |
Sources: Stability AI API pricing, ThinkDiffusion pricing, checked Nov 2026. Illustrative example usage levels; estimates from list prices, with tax and the 25 free credits excluded.
Which Stable Diffusion Option Should You Choose?
| Your needs | Plan to consider | Why | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hobbyist with a capable GPU | Community License | Free; no upgrade needed | Hardware and power are yours |
| Small business under USD $1M, self-hosting | Community License | Commercial use at $0 | Register; attribution when distributing |
| Developer with no GPU | Stability AI API pay-as-you-go | Per-call pricing, 25 free credits | Non-refundable credits |
| Occasional cloud user | ThinkDiffusion Hobby | No subscription | Files deleted after 48 hours idle |
| Heavy solo cloud user | ThinkDiffusion TD-Pro | Beats Hobby past about 77 Turbo hours a month on monthly billing (about 38 billed yearly) | Wasted fee in light months |
| Team sharing models | ThinkDiffusion TD-Teams | On subscription fees alone, cheaper than monthly TD-Pro accounts from 3 members, and than yearly TD-Pro from 4 | No yearly price printed |
| Organizations with annual revenue exceeding $1M, commercial use | Enterprise License | Commercial Use and Implementation Support included | Custom Pricing |
| App above 150 requests every 10 seconds | Stability AI API plus sales | Higher limit on request | No published price |
Sources: Stability AI license page, API FAQ, ThinkDiffusion pricing, checked Nov 2026.
Who should skip which route: organizations with annual revenue exceeding $1M need the Enterprise License for commercial use. The API is not ideal for a team where nobody writes code. TD-Pro is not worth it below about 77 Turbo hours a month on monthly billing (about 38 billed yearly).
To cut a Stability AI credit bill, swap SD 3.5 Large for Large Turbo and the Creative Upscaler for the Fast Upscaler wherever the output allows.
Is Stable Diffusion Worth the Price?
Yes for two buyers: self-hosters under USD $1M, who pay no license fee, and developers who want per-call pricing with no monthly plan.
Skip both if you have no GPU and nobody writes code: ThinkDiffusion Hobby rents a GPU running Automatic1111, ComfyUI or Fooocus by the hour. Stability AI also lists Stable Assistant, with “all of our models and editing tools from a web-based creative platform”, as a separate route.
Web-app buyers can compare Leonardo AI pricing or, inside Adobe, Adobe Firefly pricing. For a hosted generator with no setup, see my Midjourney review, or the DALL-E review if you work in ChatGPT.
If you would rather leave Stable Diffusion for another image generator, read my Midjourney alternatives list.
How I Verified Stable Diffusion Pricing
I read every price on November 1, 2026 on Stability AI’s own pages: pricing, FAQs, Getting started, the license page and its Community License Agreement (last updated July 5, 2024), the license update and Membership posts, the Stable Image models page, the refund policies and the Terms of Service.
I read ThinkDiffusion’s pricing page, with the TD-Pro toggle on Monthly and on Yearly, and its FAQ. Region and currency: US prices in USD.
The scenarios and break-evens are my calculations, math shown; the picks are my judgment.
Stability AI does not publish an Enterprise price, and ThinkDiffusion does not publish images per machine hour, so measure your own throughput with the 25 free credits or the 15 free minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Stable Diffusion XL free?
SDXL Turbo is on the Community License’s model list, so a business under USD $1M in revenue doesn’t need to pay to use it. On Stability AI’s API, SDXL 1.0 costs from 0.9 credits a call.
Previous model releases may sit under separate licenses on Hugging Face, so check the license that ships with your download.
Can I sell the images I make?
Yes. Under the Community License you own the outputs of the Core Models, within applicable law and Stability AI’s Acceptable Use Policy.
API images can be used commercially as long as the output doesn’t violate anyone’s copyright, under the Terms of Service.
Final Pricing Verdict
Below the revenue line, the budget is the credits you buy or the GPU you own or rent, not the license.
Final recommendation
- Own a GPU, under USD $1M in revenue: the Community License, with no license fee.
- No GPU, building an app: API pay-as-you-go; budget calls x credits x $0.01.
- No GPU, want a full interface: ThinkDiffusion Hobby until you pass about 77 Turbo hours a month on monthly billing (about 38 billed yearly), then TD-Pro.
- Annual revenue exceeding $1M, commercial use: the Enterprise License, at Custom Pricing.
If none of these routes fits how you work, my ranking of the best AI image generators sorts paid tools by job.
