Best Open-Source Image Generation Models

From Stable Diffusion 1.5 to Flux to the latest video-capable models — open-source image generation has multiplied. The list below covers what you can actually run locally, with VRAM requirements that vary wildly between models.

  1. 1

    Stable Diffusion XL (CoreML)

    3.5B params

    Higher quality image generation. CoreML optimized for iOS. Requires 6GB+ usable memory (iPad/Mac recommended).

    Min VRAM: 3.34GBQuant: CoreMLSize: 2.843GBLicense: creativeml-openrail-m
  2. 2

    Stable Diffusion 1.5 (CoreML)

    0.86B params

    Classic image generation model. Pre-converted to CoreML for iOS/Mac. Downloads as zip, auto-extracts.

    Min VRAM: 2.5GBQuant: CoreML-PalettizedSize: 1.46GBLicense: creativeml-openrail-m
  3. 3

    SDXL Turbo (GGUF)

    3.5B params

    Single-step SDXL. Near-instant image generation.

    Min VRAM: 5GBQuant: Q5_0Size: 3.5GBLicense: stability-community
  4. 4

    FLUX.1 Schnell (GGUF)

    12B params

    Fast 1-4 step generation. State-of-the-art quality. Needs 16GB+ RAM.

    Min VRAM: 14GBQuant: Q5_0Size: 12GBLicense: apache-2.0
  5. 5

    FLUX.1 Dev (GGUF)

    12B params

    Highest quality FLUX model. 20-50 steps. Mac with 24GB+ RAM.

    Min VRAM: 14GBQuant: Q5_0Size: 12GBLicense: flux-1-dev-non-commercial
  6. 6

    Stable Diffusion 3 Medium (GGUF)

    2.5B params

    SD 3 with MMDiT architecture. Superior text rendering.

    Min VRAM: 9.15GBQuant: Q8_0Size: 8.653GBLicense: stability-community
  7. 7

    Stable Diffusion 1.5 (GGUF)

    0.86B params

    SD 1.5 in single-file GGUF format. Alternative to CoreML. Uses stable-diffusion.cpp with Metal acceleration.

    Min VRAM: 2.13GBQuant: Q4_0Size: 1.627GBLicense: creativeml-openrail-m
  8. 8

    Stable Diffusion 2.1 Base (CoreML)

    0.86B params

    Smallest CoreML image generation model. Palettized for minimal size (1.14GB). Runs on any iPhone with 6GB RAM. Default image generation model.

    Min VRAM: 1.56GBQuant: CoreML-PalettizedSize: 1.063GBLicense: creativeml-openrail-m
  9. 9

    Stable Diffusion 2.1 (GGUF)

    0.86B params

    SD 2.1 in GGUF format. Better quality than 1.5.

    Min VRAM: 2.66GBQuant: Q8_0Size: 2.163GBLicense: creativeml-openrail-m

Related

All image gen models