Stable Diffusion Cost Calculator
Estimate the total cost of generating images with Stable Diffusion based on image count, resolution, and sampling steps.
Inputs
Total Cost
$0.2000
Effective Cost per Image
$0.002000
Resolution Multiplier
1.00
Steps Multiplier
1.00
Step by step
Resolution factor (relative to 512px)
512px
= 1×
Steps factor (relative to 20 steps)
20 ÷ 20
= 1.00×
Effective cost per image
$0.0020 × 1 × 1.00
= $0.002000
Total cost
100 × $0.002000
= $0.2000
How it works
Stable Diffusion inference cost scales with both output resolution and the number of denoising sampling steps, since both increase the GPU compute required per image. This calculator applies resolution and step multipliers to a baseline 512px/20-step cost to estimate the real cost of larger or higher-fidelity batches. Self-hosted GPU costs and hosted API pricing (e.g. Stability AI, Replicate) can both be modeled by adjusting the base cost per image.
Formula
total_cost = images × base_cost_per_image × resolution_factor × (steps / 20)
- images
- Number of images to generate
- base_cost_per_image
- Cost per image at 512px and 20 steps
- resolution_factor
- Multiplier based on output resolution
- steps
- Number of denoising sampling steps
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does resolution affect cost so much?
Diffusion models operate on a latent grid proportional to image dimensions, so compute (and cost) scales roughly with the square of resolution, not linearly.
Does more sampling steps always improve quality?
Quality gains diminish after 20-30 steps for most samplers (e.g. DPM++), so doubling steps rarely doubles perceived quality — but it does roughly double cost.
How do I model my own GPU's hosting cost?
Divide your GPU's hourly rental cost by the number of 512px/20-step images it can generate per hour to get a base cost per image, then enter that here.