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DATASHEET // SD-3-5-LARGE

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large

Stability's MMDiT flagship at 8B params.

OPEN SOURCE12–24 GB VRAMRuns locally
Actually FreeWatermark-FreeHobbyist-OKAPIPlugin

Requires: ComfyUI, SwarmUI

Visit Stable Diffusion 3.5 LargeUPDATED 2026-03-18 · DIRECT LINK
huggingface.co/stabilityai/stable-diffusion-3.5-large
Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large — preview image

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS //

Runs locally · Mid GPU (12 GB)

12–24 GB VRAM
Min VRAM
12 GB
Rec. VRAM
24 GB
Min RAM
16 GB
Rec. RAM
32 GB
Disk
20 GB
GPU class
Mid GPU
11.8+Apple Silicon ✓GPU RequiredQuant: FP16, FP8, GGUF

FP8 fits in 12 GB; FP16 comfortable at 24 GB.

[ EDITORIAL PICK ]

Why we recommend Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large

DERIVED FROM METADATA — NOT SPONSORED
  • Genuinely free

    Has a free tier you can actually finish a project on, not the 3-credits-then-paywall pattern.

  • Runs on 12 GB

    Comfortable on a mid-range consumer card — no need to remortgage for an A100.

  • Apple Silicon

    Native Metal / MPS support — runs on M-series Macs without CUDA gymnastics.

  • 3 quant formats

    Supports FP16, FP8, GGUF — you can dial VRAM use up or down to match your card.

[ EVIDENCE NOTE ]

Documentation-led datasheet

This page summarizes upstream documentation, release information, and editorially reviewed catalogue fields. It is not presented as a hands-on benchmark. Verify changing requirements at the official project; report stale data through our corrections channel.

VRAM guide →

AT-A-GLANCE SIGNALS //

DERIVED FROM THIS PAGE'S DATA
  • Install difficulty
    Plugin

    Drops into comfyui — assuming the host is already set up.

  • Hardware comfort
    Mainstream

    Needs 12 GB minimum — RTX 3060 12GB or 4070 territory.

  • Ecosystem
    API-first

    Exposes a stable API — you can build on top of it programmatically.

  • Verification
    Ageing

    120 days since the last catalogue refresh — flagged for re-verification.

[ COMMUNITY GUIDES & WORKFLOWS ]

Tutorials & deep-dives for Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large

Hand-picked from YouTube, Reddit, GitHub, and the wider web. Each link goes straight to the source — we don't intercept or rewrite anything.

[ MORE IN THIS NICHE ]

Other heavy image generation tools we rate

Three picks across different tradeoffs — so you don't end up with three near-clones of Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large.

LIGHTEST HARDWARE //

FaceFusion

The most active open face-swap toolkit.

OPEN SOURCE2–8 GB VRAM
BEST FREE OPTION //

ComfyUI

The nodal workflow engine for serious diffusion.

OPEN SOURCE6–16 GB VRAM
TOP QUALITY //

FLUX.1 [dev]

12B parameter open-weight diffusion model.

OPEN SOURCE8–24 GB VRAM

What is Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large?

SD 3.5 Large is the model Stability shipped after the SD3 launch missteps. 8B MMDiT params, dramatically improved prompt adherence over SDXL, and the Community Licence is workable for most uses (revenue cap before commercial licence kicks in). The OSS counterweight to Flux in 2025+.

Pros & cons

✓ PROS

  • Best-in-class typography and text rendering
  • Strong prompt adherence vs. SDXL
  • Multi-aspect-ratio out of the box (no upscaling required)
  • MMDiT shares architecture with Flux — workflows transfer

– CONS

  • Heavier than SDXL — 12 GB VRAM floor in FP8
  • Community Licence has a revenue threshold; not strictly OSI-OSS

What's actually free?

Stability AI Community License — free up to $1M annual revenue.

✓ Actually FreeWatermark-Free

Alternatives

FLUX.1 [dev]

12B parameter open-weight diffusion model.

OPEN SOURCE8–24 GB VRAM
VRAM fit8–24 GB