DATASHEET // SDXL
Stable Diffusion XL
The workhorse open-weight image model.
OPEN SOURCE6–12 GB VRAMRuns locally
Actually FreeNo SignupOpen SourceWatermark-FreeHobbyist-OKAPIPlugin
Requires: ComfyUI, AUTOMATIC1111 (stable-diffusion-webui), InvokeAI, Stable Diffusion WebUI Forge
Visit Stable Diffusion XLUPDATED 2026-04-10 · DIRECT LINK
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS //
Runs locally · Mid GPU (12 GB)
Min VRAM
6 GB
Rec. VRAM
12 GB
Min RAM
16 GB
Rec. RAM
32 GB
Disk
15 GB
GPU class
Mid GPU
CUDAApple Silicon ✓GPU RequiredQuant: FP16, FP8
Comfortable on RTX 3060 12GB or M-series 16 GB Macs.
[ EDITORIAL PICK ]
Why we recommend Stable Diffusion XL
- Open source
Source is public — you can audit it, fork it, and you'll never lose access to your workflows if Stable Diffusion XL the company changes direction.
- Runs on 6 GB
Fits on entry-level cards (GTX 1660, RTX 3050, RTX 4060). Rare for this category.
- Apple Silicon
Native Metal / MPS support — runs on M-series Macs without CUDA gymnastics.
- Top-tier pick
Power-user score 89/100 — consistently rated highly by people who use this every day, not just benchmark chasers.
[ 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.
AT-A-GLANCE SIGNALS //
DERIVED FROM THIS PAGE'S DATA- Install difficultyPlugin
Drops into comfyui — assuming the host is already set up.
- Hardware comfortEntry-level
Fits on 6 GB cards — GTX 1660 / RTX 3050 territory.
- EcosystemStrong devkit
Open-source AND ships an API — easy to integrate, possible to host yourself.
- VerificationAgeing
97 days since the last catalogue refresh — flagged for re-verification.
[ COMMUNITY GUIDES & WORKFLOWS ]
Tutorials & deep-dives for Stable Diffusion XL
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 XL.
What is Stable Diffusion XL?
SDXL 1.0 + refiner. Still the most LoRA- and ControlNet-supported open model. Runs on 6–8 GB with optimization; 12 GB+ is comfortable. Pairs with thousands of community fine-tunes (Pony, Juggernaut, etc).
Pros & cons
✓ PROS
- Largest ecosystem of LoRAs/ControlNets
- Runs on modest hardware
- Battle-tested
– CONS
- Beaten by Flux on quality
- Hands & text are still rough without LoRAs
What's actually free?
Open weights, CreativeML license — commercial use allowed.
✓ Actually FreeNo SignupOpen SourceWatermark-Free
