What is Stability AI?

Stability AI sells access to its image, audio and 3D generation models through a pay-per-use developer API (Stability AI Platform), a credit-based Stable Audio web app, and self-hosted model licenses. It also lists Stable Assistant and Brand Studio (formerly DreamStudio) as credit-based apps, though their plan details could not be read.

Who it's for

Developers and businesses that want to call image, audio or 3D models over a REST API, and music or sound creators who want a subscription web app. Creators, researchers and organizations under $1M in annual revenue can self-host core models for free; larger organizations are directed to an Enterprise License.

Pros & cons

Strengths

The API docs say usage is billed in credits at 1 credit = $0.01 and that new accounts get 25 free credits; the platform page adds that no credit card is required for those.
The API pricing page lists per-call credit costs for image generation (for example Stable Image Core 3, Stable Image Ultra 8, SD 3.5 Large 6.5), editing and control tools (4 to 8 each), upscaling (2 to 60), 3D (Stable Fast 3D 10) and audio (Stable Audio 3.0 8).
The platform page says Stability AI Platform exposes audio and image models through one REST API, with docs, an API reference, an OpenAPI spec and a changelog.
The license page says the free Community License covers research, non-commercial and commercial use of the Core Models, including self-hosting and selling fine-tunes, for organizations under $1M in annual revenue.
The license FAQ says users own outputs from Core Models and derivative works, subject to applicable law and the Acceptable Use Policy; the terms of service say Stability assigns its rights in outputs to you.
The Stable Audio help page lists four monthly subscription tiers (Creator, Pro, Studio, Max) and says extra credit packs can be bought and never expire.

Limitations

Everything is metered in credits and the API pricing page says pricing is subject to change; Stability announced higher prices for select API services effective August 1, 2025 and discontinued the Stable Video API and Stable Diffusion 1.6 API on July 24, 2025.
The terms of service say unused credits expire one year after purchase or issuance unless otherwise specified, and that credits are non-refundable and non-transferable. The Stable Audio help page says its extra credit packs never expire, and the Brand Studio refund page says credits are kept after a subscription lapses, so the pages are not consistent.
Stable Audio subscription credits renew each billing cycle and do not roll over; the help page lists monthly billing only and gives no annual option. The help page lists $12, $30 and $90 for Creator, Pro and Studio, while another help page on legacy accounts lists $11.99, $29.99 and $89.99 for the same credit amounts.
The terms of service say refunds are not given except where required by law; the refund help page says Stable Assistant and Stable Audio refunds are discretionary, must be requested within 48 hours and need usage under 2% of the monthly allotment, and Brand Studio cancellations take effect at the end of the billing cycle without a refund.
The terms of service say Stability may use your inputs and outputs to improve its services and to train models unless you opt out via its privacy center. Stable Assistant plan names, prices and credit allowances could not be read, and Stable Assistant credits cannot be used in the API or Brand Studio. Over $1M in revenue, self-hosting requires an Enterprise License at custom pricing.

Plans and pricing

Platform API credits: $0.01 per credit (about $10 per 1,000 credits). Pay as you go. New accounts get 25 free credits, which the platform page says need no credit card. Per-call costs vary by model, for example 3 credits for Stable Image Core and 8 for Stable Image Ultra.
Stable Audio Creator: $12 a month. 660 credits a month, monthly billing. New accounts get 50 free credits at signup. Credits do not roll over; extra credit packs never expire.
Stable Audio Pro: $30 a month. 1,800 credits a month, monthly billing.
Stable Audio Studio: $90 a month. 6,000 credits a month, monthly billing.
Stable Audio Max: $199 a month. 14,000 credits a month, monthly billing.
Self-hosted Community License: $0. For researchers, developers, small businesses and creators under $1M in annual revenue. Covers Core Models such as the Stable Diffusion 3.5 suite, SDXL Turbo, Stable Fast 3D and Stable Audio 3.0. Commercial use of research work requires registering with Stability AI.
Self-hosted Enterprise License: Custom pricing. For organizations over $1M in annual revenue and API providers. Includes commercial use and implementation support; custom model training and consulting are optional extras. Contact Stability AI.

Prices were read from the official API pricing page, the Stable Audio and refund help pages, and the license and self-hosted pages. The Stable Assistant page and the Stability AI pricing page on platform.stability.ai could not be fetched, and no Stable Assistant or Brand Studio plan prices were found, so they are not listed. Prices are in US dollars; the help pages disagree slightly on Stable Audio prices ($12 vs $11.99, and so on). Confirm on the live pricing page.

Details checked October 2026 against the vendor's own pages. Prices and limits change, so confirm before you buy. Official pricing page ↗

Sources

This profile was compiled from these public pages. We have not run hands-on tests.

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