Qwen-Image vs Stability AI (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Qwen-Image grades higher than Stability AI: 2.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Qwen-Image grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Stability AI
Stable Diffusion image models to self-host or call through an API
Free plan
Which one is for you
Pick Qwen-Image if
- Fits if you have a GPU and want to run an image model yourself
- Works for developers who want text drawn inside pictures
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you have no GPU, since local use needs a capable one
- Skip it if you do not code, as the quick start is Python with Diffusers and PyTorch
- Watch out: the README says the official demo is heavily used and points to third-party hosts
- Watch out: the 2.0 model is announced there but its weights are not confirmed as open
Pick Stability AI if
- Fits if you're a developer adding image generation and editing to your own app
- Works for teams who can run open image models on their own hardware or call them on Bedrock or Azure
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you just want to type a prompt and get a picture, as there's no app; Start creating leads to enterprise partnerships
- Not for you if your company makes over $1M a year, as that needs an Enterprise License priced by sales
- Too light for developers who want video by API, as the price list has none; Stable Video Diffusion is self-host only
- Watch out: the API is pay per use at a cent a credit, 2.5 to 8 credits an image and 60 for the Creative Upscaler
- Tight if you have no hardware of your own, as the free license means running the models yourself, and the API start is 25 credits
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAQwen-ImageFair | 1.8GPAStability AIWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe weights are free, but you supply the hardware. Self-hosting needs a capable GPU, so it is not free in the way a download-and-run program is. | CNothing a person can subscribe to. The models are free to run yourself under $1M yearly revenue, which takes your own hardware, and the API charges $0.025 to $0.08 an image at a cent a credit. There's no plan to set against this category's. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe weights are free to download under Apache-2.0 with no cap. The cost is your own GPU, and hosted limits were not readable. | CThe Community License lets people and companies under $1M a year run the core models free, commercial use included. That needs your own hardware, and the API's free start is 25 credits. |
| Features | CText rendering, image editing and tool support, with 2K output in 2.0. The 2.0 weights are not confirmed as open in the README. | DBuilding blocks only: SD 3.5 models, editing, upscaling, sketch and style control, and 3D. There's no app for a person, and the image page's Start creating link goes to enterprise partnerships, so it needs code or another product to be useful. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. The quick start uses Diffusers and PyTorch, which means Python and a GPU. | DNo app and no rating. Using it means calling an API from code or running the models on your own hardware. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA model rather than an app, with ComfyUI, Hugging Face, ModelScope, Diffusers, vLLM-Omni and SGLang listed. | BAn API plus the models on Amazon Bedrock, SageMaker JumpStart and Microsoft Azure AI Foundry, and downloads for your own machines. No phone or desktop app. |
| Best for | open-weights image model for text and editing | developers building on open image models |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Qwen-Image and Stability AI. How we grade
Where they differ
- Qwen-Image is open source, according to its own site.
- Stability AI also covers video generation.
In commonFree planWebSelf-hostableImage generation
At a glance
| Qwen-Image | Stability AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | Not published |
| Free plan | The model weights are free to download and run under the Apache-2.0 license; you supply the hardware. | Community License: free self-hosted use of the core models, commercial use included, for people and organizations under $1M in yearly revenue. |
| Free trial | None listed | 25 free API credits on sign-up |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Qwen (QwenLM) | Stability AI Ltd |
| Price read from | github.com | stability.ai |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Qwen-Image
- Running the model locally needs a capable GPU and a Python setup; the quick start uses Diffusers and PyTorch.
- Hosted use goes through Qwen Chat; its limits and any paid tiers were not readable, so they are not recorded here.
- The README says demand on the official demo is heavy and points to third-party hosts such as DashScope, WaveSpeed and LibLib.
- The newest 2.0 model is announced in the README; its weights are not confirmed there as open.
Stability AI
- The API is pay per use: 1 credit is $0.01, an image costs 2.5 to 8 credits, and the Creative Upscaler costs 60 credits per image.
- Organizations with more than $1M in yearly revenue need an Enterprise License, priced only through sales.
- The API price list has image, 3D and audio services but no video; Stable Video Diffusion is offered for self-hosting only.
- There is no image app sold to consumers: the image page's "Start creating" link leads to the enterprise partnerships page.
Key features
Qwen-Image
- Text rendering
- The project describes strong rendering of text inside images, especially Chinese, and newer releases add typography for posters and infographics.
- Image editing
- Separate Qwen-Image-Edit releases cover editing, with multi-image input in the 2511 version.
- Open weights
- Weights for Qwen-Image, Qwen-Image-2512 and the edit models are released on Hugging Face and ModelScope.
- Native 2K output in 2.0
- Qwen-Image-2.0, announced in February 2026, is described as supporting native 2K resolution and 1,000-token instructions.
- Tool support
- The README lists support in ComfyUI, Diffusers, vLLM-Omni, SGLang-Diffusion and LoRA fine-tunes.
Stability AI
- Stable Diffusion 3.5 models
- Large, Large Turbo and Medium versions of the image model to download and run yourself; Medium is designed to run on consumer hardware.
- Image generation API
- Stable Image Ultra, Stable Image Core, the Stable Diffusion 3.5 family and SDXL, each billed per image in credits.
- Editing API
- Erase objects, inpaint, outpaint, remove or replace a background and relight, and find an object by name to recolor or replace it.
- Upscaling and control
- Creative, Conservative and Fast upscalers, plus sketch, structure and style tools that guide a new image from one you supply.
- Video and 3D models
- Stable Video Diffusion turns text into short clips for self-hosting; Stable Fast 3D and SPAR3D make 3D assets from one image through the API.
- Cloud partners
- The models are also offered on Amazon Bedrock, Amazon SageMaker JumpStart and Microsoft Azure AI Foundry, and in NVIDIA-optimized versions.
Plans
Qwen-Image
Open weights$0
Download the weights from Hugging Face or ModelScope and run them yourself; hardware costs are yours.
Stability AI
Community License$0
Run Stable Diffusion 3.5, SDXL Turbo, Stable Fast 3D and Stable Audio 3.0 on your own hardware; for those under $1M in yearly revenue.
Enterprise LicenseCustom
Commercial use above $1M in yearly revenue, with implementation support; custom model training and consulting cost extra.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Qwen-Image or Stability AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Qwen-Image is free, and Stability AI publishes no starting price.
Which has a free plan, Qwen-Image or Stability AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Qwen-Image and Stability AI have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.