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Palette vs Stable Diffusion

A side-by-side look at Palette and Stable Diffusion: ratings, pricing, features, pros and cons.

Palette

Add realistic color to black and white photos in seconds

Freemium $72/yr
Stable Diffusion

Open image models you can download, fine-tune and run yourself

Free Free
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At a glance

Feature
Palette
Stable Diffusion
Pricing modelFreemiumFree
Pricing$72/yrFree
Free planNoYes
CategoryImage GenerationImage Generation
PlatformsWebSelf-hosted, API
Best forFamilies restoring old photos, History and genealogy fansDevelopers building image apps, AI hobbyists and tinkerers
Company—Stability AI

Key Features

Palette
  • AI colorization: Turns black and white photos into realistic color images.
  • 21+ color filters: Choose between filter styles for different looks.
  • Keyword color tuning: Adjust the descriptive key words to steer the colors.
  • Batch upload: Drag and drop multiple images at once.
  • Full-resolution output: Paid credits give downloads up to 5000x5000 pixels without a logo.
Stable Diffusion
  • Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large: An 8.1 billion parameter model with strong prompt adherence at 1 megapixel.
  • Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large Turbo: A distilled model that generates images in just 4 steps.
  • Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium: A 2.5 billion parameter model for consumer GPUs, producing 0.25 to 2 megapixel images.
  • Customizability: Query-Key Normalization helps make fine-tuning and further development more stable.
  • Diverse outputs: Produces a range of people and styles without heavy prompting.
  • Versatile styles: Covers 3D, photography, painting, line art and many other looks.

Pricing Plans

Palette
  • Free$0
  • Pay once$49 one-time
Stable Diffusion
  • Community License$0

Best For

Palette
Families restoring old photosHistory and genealogy fansPhoto editors
Stable Diffusion
Developers building image appsAI hobbyists and tinkerersResearchers

Pros & Cons

Palette
  • +Try without paying: Free previews and one free trial credit let you test results first.
  • +Many filters: Over 21 color filters plus keyword tweaks to adjust the look.
  • +Batch uploads: You can upload many photos at once.
  • +One-time option: A pay-once credit pack avoids a subscription.
  • −Free output is limited: Free previews are resized to 500x500 pixels and watermarked.
  • −Credit-based: Each full-resolution photo uses one credit.
  • −Ads on free use: The free plan shows ads.
Stable Diffusion
  • +Free under a permissive license: Commercial and non-commercial use is allowed under the Community License.
  • +Runs on consumer hardware: Medium needs about 9.9 GB of VRAM, excluding text encoders.
  • +Built to customize: The models are designed for fine-tuning and LoRA training.
  • +Choice of size: Large, Large Turbo and Medium trade quality against speed.
  • −Needs technical setup: You download weights and run inference code yourself.
  • −Output can vary: Vague prompts may give less predictable results and mixed aesthetics.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Palette pricing compare to Stable Diffusion?

Palette: $72/yr. Stable Diffusion: Free. See each tool's plans above for what every tier includes.

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