Cheapest Stable Diffusion API in 2026: Full Price Comparison

Image generation API costs add up fast at scale. At 10,000 images/day, a $0.04/image API costs $400/day — $12,000/month. Choosing the right cheapest stable diffusion API isn't just a technical decision; it's a financial one. This guide compares every major provider so you can make an informed choice before you scale. Stable Diffusion API Price Comparison (2026) Provider SD 1.5 SDXL SD 3.5 Large Free Tier SD Models NexaAPI ~$0.004/img ~$0.008/img $0.065/img $5 free credits 56+ models Replicate ~$0.0023/img ~$0.0046/img ~$0.13/img Limited 1,000s Stability AI N/A ~$0.02/img $0.065/img 25 free/month SD family DeepInfra ~$0.002/img ~$0.004/img ~$0.08/img None Limited Segmind ~$0.003/img ~$0.006/img ~$0.09/img 100 free/day SD variants fal.ai ~$0.003/img ~$0.006/img ~$0.08/img None Moderate Pricing sourced from official provider pages, March 2026. Key finding: NexaAPI's credits-based system (1/5 of official pricing) makes it the cheapest stable diffusion API alternative — especially for SDXL