Stable Diffusion

Category: AI Image/Design

The open-source image model, for marketers who want control, not a chatbot.

Stable Diffusion is the open-source image model (now Stable Diffusion 3.5) that powers a huge chunk of the AI imaging ecosystem, Leonardo, Krea, Civitai, and most fine-tuned commercial models. For most marketers, you'll use it indirectly through a wrapper tool. For the technical, running SD locally or on ComfyUI gives you unmatched control, custom LoRA training, and zero per-generation cost once you have GPU access. Stability AI offers commercial API access. The model isn't ahead of Midjourney or Firefly on out-of-the-box quality, it's ahead on what you can do when you don't want a black box.

Our verdict

The open-source foundation behind most image-gen tools, run it yourself for unlimited generation and full control. Worth the setup if you have technical skill and volume; otherwise use a hosted layer like Leonardo or Krea.

Best for: Technical marketers and creative teams who want full control over generation pipelines.

Pros

• Open-source, local, customisable, no per-use cost once running
• Massive ecosystem of fine-tunes, LoRAs, and tools
• Full control for advanced workflows

Cons

• Self-hosting has a steep technical bar
• Out-of-the-box quality is less developed than Midjourney or Firefly
• Commercial use of community fine-tunes has legal grey areas worth checking

Pricing: Free (open-source) + API from $0.04/image (Freemium)

Rating: 4/5