Stability AI Review 2026: API Credits, Brand Studio, Stable Audio and the $1M License

What Stability AI sells in October 2026

There are four ways to use Stability AI today, and they are billed separately. Credits from one do not carry over to another.

• Developer Platform API - pay-per-call image, audio and 3D generation at $0.01 per credit, with 25 free credits to start.
• Brand Studio (formerly DreamStudio) - a web app for brand and marketing teams, from free to $50 per month, plus Enterprise.
• Stable Audio - music and sound generation on stableaudio.com and in a DAW plugin, from $12 to $199 per month.
• Self-hosted open weights - Stable Diffusion 3.5, SDXL Turbo, Stable Audio 3.0 Small and Medium, 3D and video models, free under the Community License for organisations under $1M in annual revenue.

If you are coming back to Stability after a year or two, the practical upshot is simple: developers go to the API, marketing teams go to Brand Studio, musicians and sound designers go to Stable Audio, and anyone with a GPU and under $1M in revenue can run the open models for free.

Developer Platform API: pricing and limits

The API is the most transparent part of the lineup. Usage is billed in credits at a flat 1 credit = $0.01, and new accounts get 25 free credits. Stability notes that pricing is subject to change as models and infrastructure improve, so check the live pricing page before you budget a large job.

Image generation cost per image

• Stable Image Ultra - 8 credits ($0.08)
• Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large - 6.5 credits ($0.065)
• Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large Turbo - 4 credits ($0.04)
• Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium - 3.5 credits ($0.035)
• Stable Image Core - 3 credits ($0.03)
• Stable Diffusion 3.5 Flash - 2.5 credits ($0.025)
• SDXL 1.0 - from 0.9 credits, based on a 1024x1024 generation and variable steps

Put another way, $10 of credits buys about 125 Ultra images, about 333 Stable Image Core images or 400 SD 3.5 Flash images. Stable Image Ultra and Stable Image Core are API-only - they are not part of the downloadable model list.

Upscaling, editing and control

• Upscale: Creative Upscaler 60 credits ($0.60), Conservative Upscaler 40 ($0.40), Fast Upscaler 2 ($0.02)
• Edit: Erase Object, Inpaint, Remove Background, Search and Recolor, Search and Replace 5 credits each; Outpaint 4; Replace Background and Relight 8
• Control: Structure, Sketch and Style Guide 5 credits each; Style Transfer 8

The Creative Upscaler is the line item to watch. At $0.60 per call it costs seven and a half times an Ultra generation, so a pipeline that upscales every output will spend most of its budget on upscaling.

Audio and 3D

Stable Audio 3.0 costs 26 credits ($0.26) per generation through the API and Stable Audio 2.5 costs 20. For 3D, Stable Fast 3D is 10 credits and SPAR3D is 4. There is no video section on the pricing page.

Rate limits and filtered outputs

The API allows 150 requests per 10 seconds. Going over returns a 429 and a 60-second timeout, so batch jobs need a client-side throttle. When the content filter blurs or blocks an output, you are not charged for the blurred image.

Brand Studio (formerly DreamStudio)

Brand Studio launched on April 8, 2026 as the renamed and repositioned DreamStudio. Stability describes it as the creative production platform for professional teams, powered by your brand. The headline features are Brand Central, which stores brand assets and guidelines, Producer Mode for producing campaign variations, and Precision Inpainting for targeted edits.

Brand Studio plans

• Trial - free, 500 credits as a one-time allocation
• Creator - $19 per month, 2,000 credits per month
• Core - $50 per month, 6,000 credits per month (raised from 5,000)
• Enterprise - custom pricing

Unused monthly credits expire at the end of the billing period, so there is no banking credits for a busy month. Cancelling takes effect at the end of the billing cycle and refunds are generally not issued.

The verdict on Brand Studio depends on who you are. For a solo creator who just wants images from a prompt, the API or a self-hosted model is cheaper and more flexible. For a small marketing team that needs consistent on-brand output without building tooling, $19 to $50 per month is reasonable, and the free 500-credit trial is enough to judge whether Brand Central actually keeps output on brand.

Stable Audio: plans and the new DAW plugin

Stable Audio relaunched on August 18, 2026 with a DAW plugin and a more advanced generation experience on stableaudio.com. Stability calls it an early beta, so some features are experimental - expect changes.

Stable Audio plans

• Free - 50 credits on signup
• Creator - $12 per month, 660 credits
• Pro - $30 per month, 1,800 credits
• Studio - $90 per month, 6,000 credits
• Max - $199 per month, 14,000 credits

These are the names in Stability's knowledge base. The app itself may label the tiers differently (Solo, Session, Producer, Studio), so match on price and credit count when you subscribe.

What a credit buys

Starting a Full Mix session costs 4 credits and a Multi-Track session 6. Adding a track, regenerating, replacing a section or extending costs 4 credits each. That makes the $12 Creator plan worth roughly 165 full-mix sessions a month if you never iterate - realistically far fewer, since most tracks need several regenerations.

Subscription credits renew each billing cycle and do not roll over. Separately purchased credit packs never expire, which makes packs the better choice for occasional use.

Commercial use and legacy plans

Self-hosting and the $1M license line

Stability's core models page (last updated May 20, 2026) lists the weights you can download and run yourself: Stable Diffusion 3.5 Medium, Large and Large Turbo, SD3 Medium, SDXL Turbo, SD Turbo, Stable Video Diffusion, Stable Fast 3D, SPAR3D, Stable Zero123C, Stable Video 3D, Stable Audio Open 1.0, and Stable Audio 3.0 Small and Medium.

Stable Audio 3.0, released May 20, 2026, is described as trained on fully licensed data. Small and Medium are on Hugging Face; Large is available through the API and as an enterprise self-hosting deployment.

Community vs Enterprise license

The Community License is free for researchers, developers, small businesses and creators with less than $1M in annual revenue. Two conditions matter for businesses: commercial users must register with Stability AI, and if you and your affiliates exceed $1M in annual revenue, the license terminates on that date and you need an Enterprise license. You own the outputs to the extent the law allows.

The fine print: refunds, training and acceptable use

• Refunds - the Terms say all payments are non-refundable except where the law requires. API credits are non-refundable. Brand Studio generally does not refund cancellations. Stable Audio refunds are discretionary; one qualifying case is a request within 48 hours of the charge with usage below 2% of the monthly allotment.
• Training on your data - Stability may use your inputs and outputs to improve its models unless you opt out. The opt-out is in Account Settings, and there are separate instructions for the Platform API. Do it before uploading client material.
• Output ownership - as between you and Stability, you own the output to the extent permitted by law.
• Acceptable Use Policy - effective September 30, 2026, it covers self-hosted weights and third-party hosted platforms too, and Stability may suspend or terminate access for violations.
• Credit expiry - API credits expire one year after purchase; Brand Studio and Stable Audio subscription credits expire each billing period; Stable Audio credit packs never expire.

Company health and legal risk

On August 25, 2026 Stability announced a $76M Series B, bringing total funding under CEO Prem Akkaraju (appointed June 2024) to $232M including convertible notes. New investors include EA, Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and AMD Ventures, alongside existing backers such as WPP, Coatue, Lightspeed and James Cameron. The music-label money lines up with the licensed-data pitch for Stable Audio 3.0.

Getty Images is still suing in two countries. In the UK, the High Court ruled on November 4, 2025 that model weights are not infringing copies and rejected Getty's secondary copyright claim; Getty won only a trademark point the judge called both historic and extremely limited. Getty was granted permission to appeal in December 2025 and no appeal result has been published. In the US, the case in the Northern District of California is active: on April 23, 2026 the court dismissed only the DMCA claim, with leave to amend, while trademark, dilution and unfair competition claims continue.

For most users this does not change day-to-day use, but businesses with legal exposure should note that indemnification is an Enterprise-only term.

Verdict: who should use Stability AI

• Developers building image features - yes. The API is cheap per image, clearly priced and well rate-limited. Stable Image Core at $0.03 is a strong default.
• Small businesses with their own GPUs - yes, via self-hosted SD 3.5, as long as you register and stay under $1M revenue.
• Marketing teams - try Brand Studio's free 500 credits; the $19 and $50 plans are fair if Brand Central keeps output on brand.
• Musicians and sound designers - Stable Audio's plugin is promising but in beta. Start with the free credits or a non-expiring pack before committing to a subscription.
• Anyone wanting a chat assistant or hosted video - look elsewhere. Both are gone.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the Stability AI API cost?

1 credit costs $0.01, and new accounts get 25 free credits. An image costs from about $0.009 (SDXL 1.0) to $0.08 (Stable Image Ultra), with Stable Image Core at $0.03.

What happened to DreamStudio?

It was renamed Brand Studio. dreamstudio.ai redirects to brandstudio.com, which offers a free trial with 500 credits, Creator at $19 per month and Core at $50 per month.

Is Stable Assistant still available?

No. Stability shut it down on October 1, 2026. Month-to-month subscribers are refunded for unused time minus credits consumed in the last period.

Can I use Stable Diffusion commercially for free?

Yes, if you and your affiliates have under $1M in annual revenue. You must register with Stability AI for commercial use, and above $1M you need an Enterprise license.

Can I get a refund?

Usually not. Payments and API credits are non-refundable except where law requires; Brand Studio cancellations take effect at the end of the billing cycle. Stable Audio may refund a request made within 48 hours of the charge if usage is under 2% of the allotment.

Does Stability AI train on my images and prompts?

It may, unless you opt out. You can opt out in Account Settings, and the Platform API has its own opt-out instructions.

Do Stability credits expire?

It depends on the product. API credits expire one year after purchase, Brand Studio and Stable Audio subscription credits expire at the end of each billing period, and Stable Audio credit packs never expire.

Can I make videos with Stability AI?

Not through the API. The hosted Stable Video Diffusion API was deprecated on July 24, 2025; the video models can only be self-hosted.

Key takeaways

• The API is the best value: $0.01 per credit, $0.03 for a Stable Image Core image, $0.08 for Ultra, 25 free credits to start.
• DreamStudio is now Brand Studio ($19 or $50 per month); Stable Assistant closed on October 1, 2026; hosted video is gone.
• Stable Audio runs $12 to $199 per month, allows commercial use on every plan and is still in beta.
• Self-hosted SD 3.5 and Stable Audio 3.0 Small/Medium are free under $1M annual revenue, but commercial users must register.
• Opt out of data training before uploading client work, and assume no refunds.