Stable Diffusion Online

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium

Stable Diffusion 3 Medium is Stability AI’s most advanced text-to-image open model yet, comprising two billion parameters. The smaller size of this model makes it perfect for running on consumer PCs and laptops as well as enterprise-tier GPUs. It is suitably sized to become the next standard in text-to-image models.

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Frequently asked questions about SD3 Medium

What is Stable Diffusion 3 Medium?
Stable Diffusion 3 Medium (SD3 Medium) is an advanced 2.5 billion parameter text-to-image AI model developed by Stability AI. It uses a Multimodal Diffusion Transformer (MMDiT-X) architecture that excels at understanding complex prompts, generating high-quality images with accurate typography, and delivering photorealistic results. SD3 Medium is specifically designed to run efficiently on consumer-grade hardware, making professional-level AI image generation accessible to creators, hobbyists, and small businesses.
What are the key differences between SD3 Medium and SD3 Large?
SD3 Medium has 2.5 billion parameters compared to SD3 Large's 8 billion parameters, making it significantly more resource-efficient. While SD3 Large excels in depth, perspective, imagination, and artistic style rendering, SD3 Medium performs better with portraits and people in certain scenarios. SD3 Medium requires only 9.9GB of VRAM versus SD3 Large's higher requirements, allowing it to run on consumer GPUs. The models also have different training data distributions, so they may respond differently to the same prompts. SD3 Medium strikes a balance between quality and accessibility, while SD3 Large maximizes output quality for users with powerful hardware.
What makes SD3 Medium's 2.5 billion parameter architecture special?
SD3 Medium's 2.5 billion parameter Multimodal Diffusion Transformer (MMDiT-X) architecture represents a significant advancement in efficient AI image generation. The model uses three text encoders (CLIP L/14, OpenCLIP bigG/14, and T5-v1.1-XXL) for superior prompt understanding, a 16-channel AutoEncoder similar to SDXL, and a rectified flow-matching sampling process. This architecture enables SD3 Medium to generate images ranging from 0.25 to 2 megapixel resolution with exceptional prompt adherence, improved typography rendering, and detailed texture quality while maintaining lower computational requirements than larger models.
How resource-efficient is Stable Diffusion 3 Medium?
SD3 Medium is highly resource-efficient, requiring only 9.9GB of VRAM (excluding text encoders) to unlock its full performance. It can run effectively on GPUs with as little as 6GB VRAM using optimization techniques, and standard generation typically uses around 5.2GB VRAM for a 1024x1024 image at 20 steps. The model is designed to run "out of the box" on consumer hardware, including laptops and mid-range desktop GPUs with at least 12GB VRAM for optimal performance. This efficiency makes SD3 Medium approximately 40% more VRAM-efficient than its predecessors, allowing more creators to access advanced AI image generation without expensive hardware.
What are the best use cases for SD3 Medium?
SD3 Medium excels in multiple use cases including professional graphic design, marketing content creation, concept art development, portrait generation, product visualization, and social media content. It is particularly effective for creating images with text elements thanks to its superior typography capabilities, making it ideal for posters, banners, and promotional materials. The model performs exceptionally well with portraits and detailed textures, making it perfect for character design and fashion visualization. Its balance of quality and efficiency makes SD3 Medium the go-to choice for small businesses, freelance creators, content marketers, and hobbyists who need high-quality results without enterprise-level computing resources.
What hardware do I need to run SD3 Medium?
To run SD3 Medium effectively, you need a GPU with at least 6-8GB of VRAM, though 12GB is recommended for optimal performance. Compatible GPUs include NVIDIA RTX 3060 (12GB), RTX 4060 Ti, RTX 4070 and above, or AMD equivalents optimized for SD3. The model works on both Windows and Linux systems with consumer-grade hardware. For generation speeds, a mid-range GPU like the RTX 4070 can produce a 1024x1024 image in seconds. SD3 Medium is specifically optimized to work with NVIDIA RTX GPUs using TensorRT and has been optimized for AMD devices as well, ensuring broad hardware compatibility for most modern gaming PCs and workstations.
Can I fine-tune Stable Diffusion 3 Medium?
Yes, SD3 Medium is one of the most customizable AI image models available and supports both full fine-tuning and LoRA (Low-Rank Adaptation) training. Stability AI provides quick-start configurations for both methods. While fine-tuning SD3 Medium out of the box on 16GB VRAM GPUs requires optimization techniques like quantizing text encoders, it is achievable for most creators. LoRA training is particularly popular as it requires less VRAM and training time while still delivering excellent results for custom styles, characters, or concepts. The model's architecture is designed for extensibility, allowing creators to develop custom models for specific artistic styles, brand aesthetics, or specialized content generation needs.
How does SD3 Medium compare to SDXL in performance?
SD3 Medium outperforms SDXL in prompt adherence, detail quality, and typography rendering according to benchmarks using Google's Parti Prompts. SD3 Medium demonstrates significantly better understanding of complex prompts and generates more detailed textures in complex scenes. However, SDXL is more than 10 times cheaper to run in terms of API costs, offering strong value for budget-conscious users. SD3 Medium has similar VRAM requirements to SDXL but delivers superior results for text generation, prompt accuracy, and photorealistic imagery. The choice between them depends on your priorities: SD3 Medium for best quality and prompt adherence, SDXL for cost-effectiveness and a mature ecosystem of community models.
What is the commercial licensing for SD3 Medium?
Stable Diffusion 3 Medium is available under the Stability AI Community License, which allows free use for non-commercial purposes and free commercial use for individuals and organizations with annual revenue up to $1 million USD. For businesses exceeding $1M in annual revenue, an Enterprise License is required. The license permits distribution and monetization of work across the entire pipeline, including fine-tuned models, LoRA adaptations, applications, and generated artwork. This flexible licensing structure makes SD3 Medium accessible to independent creators, startups, and small businesses while ensuring proper licensing for larger commercial operations.
How do I use Stable Diffusion 3 Medium online?
You can use Stable Diffusion 3 Medium directly through web-based platforms like https://stable-diffusion-web.com without any installation or setup. Simply visit the website, select the SD3 Medium model from the playground options, enter your text prompt describing the image you want to create, adjust any optional parameters like image dimensions or sampling steps, and click generate. The online platform handles all the computational requirements, allowing you to create professional-quality AI images from any device with a web browser, including laptops, tablets, or desktop computers.
What image quality can I expect from SD3 Medium?
SD3 Medium produces high-quality, photorealistic images with exceptional detail, accurate colors, and superior prompt adherence. The model excels at rendering realistic textures, natural lighting, and complex compositions. It delivers unprecedented text quality within images, making it ideal for creating graphics with typography. While SD3 Medium produces excellent results, it may have slightly less depth and perspective accuracy compared to SD3 Large in highly complex artistic scenes. However, for portraits, product shots, marketing materials, and most creative applications, SD3 Medium delivers professional-grade output that rivals more resource-intensive models while maintaining faster generation times.
Does SD3 Medium support inpainting and outpainting?
Yes, SD3 Medium supports advanced image editing capabilities including inpainting (replacing or modifying specific parts of an image) and outpainting (extending images beyond their original boundaries). These features allow you to refine generated images, remove unwanted elements, add new objects to existing compositions, or expand images to different aspect ratios. The model's strong prompt understanding and consistent style generation make it excellent for seamless inpainting and outpainting results that blend naturally with the original image content, enabling iterative creative workflows.
How fast is image generation with SD3 Medium?
SD3 Medium offers fast image generation speeds thanks to its optimized architecture and rectified flow-matching sampling process. On a mid-range GPU like the NVIDIA RTX 4070, you can generate a 1024x1024 pixel image in just a few seconds using 20-28 sampling steps. The model performs particularly well when reducing the number of sampling steps while maintaining quality, with some workflows producing acceptable results in as few as 4-8 steps. Generation time varies based on your hardware, image resolution, sampling steps, and whether you're using optimization techniques like TensorRT, but SD3 Medium generally offers 2-3x faster generation compared to previous versions.
What safety measures are implemented in SD3 Medium?
Stability AI has implemented extensive safety measures in SD3 Medium through rigorous internal and external testing and multiple safeguards to prevent misuse. The model has built-in content filtering to prevent generation of harmful, illegal, or explicitly inappropriate content. Stability AI updated its Acceptable Use Policy (effective July 31, 2025) to prohibit generation of sexually explicit content and other harmful materials. The company is committed to responsible AI practices, including preventing deepfakes, misinformation, and other potential misuses. These safety measures balance creative freedom with ethical considerations, ensuring SD3 Medium remains a tool for positive creative expression.
Can I run SD3 Medium locally on my computer?
Yes, you can run SD3 Medium locally on your computer if you have compatible hardware (GPU with 8-12GB+ VRAM). Popular options include using ComfyUI, Automatic1111 WebUI, or the official Diffusers library from Hugging Face. Local installation gives you complete control over generation parameters, privacy for your creative work, unlimited generations without API costs, and the ability to use custom fine-tuned models or LoRA adaptations. The model files are available for download from Stability AI and Hugging Face, with comprehensive documentation for setup on Windows, Linux, and Mac systems. Local deployment is ideal for professional creators who need consistent access and full customization capabilities.