📝 Executive Summary
Stable Diffusion 3.5 (SD3.5) is a flagship model that symbolizes the "democratization" and "freedom"
of AI image generation.
Since its release in 2024, it has significantly improved upon the issues in SD3.0 and returned as an
"open source that professionals can use." While there are cases where it yields to cloud-dedicated
models (like Midjourney) in terms of realism and artistry, there is nothing that surpasses this
model in terms of "being able to modify it yourself," "not sending data externally," and "being able
to perform additional training." It is a unique platform that realizes a shift from being a consumer
of AI to being an "owner" and "controller" of AI.
💰 Pricing Details
- Personal Use (Free): For non-commercial purposes or companies with a certain revenue scale (under $1M annually), weights can be downloaded from Hugging Face etc. and used without limit for free.
- Creator License ($20/mo): For professionals who meet revenue requirements and engage in commercial use. By paying the license fee, you secure official support, legal protection, and commercial use rights.
- Self-hosted Cost: While service fees are basically free, a PC equipped with an NVIDIA GPU with 12GB or more of VRAM is required for comfortable operation. Electricity bills and hardware investment are the practical costs.
🎯 Key Benchmark Results
| Metric | Evaluation | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Inference Efficiency | 9.0 / 10 | Overwhelming time saving via Turbo model |
| Composition Control | Highest | Precise composition via ControlNet |
| Community Support | Excellent | Massive accumulation of LoRAs and derivative models |
✅ Pros and Cons
👍 Pros
- Execution in a local environment. Ultimate privacy performance where no internet connection is required and generation data does not remain on servers.
- A hub for commercial asset production where you can build your own custom AI by learning "your own art style" or "specific products."
- Deep affinity and extensibility with powerful free tools developed by volunteers around the world, such as ComfyUI and Automatic1111.
👎 Cons
- Over-pursuit of "safety" means that certain prompts (swimsuits, skin exposure, specific verbs, etc.) are easily bounced in the official model, tending to restrict expression.
- A "pro-oriented" specification that requires some degree of engineering knowledge, such as building a Python environment and handling errors, for introduction.
- Weakness where finger defects and anatomical contradictions are more likely to occur than in the latest competing models like Flux without training.
💭 Reddit User Sentiment
Positive Comments
"Building a custom workflow in ComfyUI turns SD 3.5 into a magic wand. You can do things in SD that are absolutely impossible in MJ."
"Even on an RTX 3060, you can output in seconds with Turbo. For the local faction, this practicality is justice."
Negative Comments
"The official censorship filters are too much. What kind of freedom is there in a model that can't even generate a woman wearing a swimsuit on a beach?"
"After seeing Flux, the texture of SD 3.5 feels a bit dated. You need to wait a bit for the community to start fixing the model."
🎯 Recommended Use Cases
- Building LoRAs specialized for in-house products - Teach AI your products or characters to give birth to consistent brand images.
- Privacy-oriented creative work - Safely create confidential concept art or materials in the planning stage locally.
- Batch generation of massive amounts of eye-catchers and materials - Generate experimental visuals in units of thousands without worrying about costs or API limits.
📊 Conclusion & Overall Rating
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.0/5.0)
Stable Diffusion 3.5 is the **"ultimate sandbox for engineers and developers."**
The phase of competing with cloud forces just on image beauty is over. The true value of this
model lies in the process of modifying it yourself, incorporating it into your workflow, and
growing it into your own specialized AI.
If you wish to dominate even the behind-the-scenes of AI image generation and fully control it,
Stable Diffusion 3.5 will be the best and most sincere partner.
