HEAD TO HEAD
DALL-E 3 vs Stable Diffusion
Compare DALL-E 3 and Stable Diffusion side by side: pricing, compliance (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA), access methods, and how each one handles your data.
| // ATTRIBUTE | D DALL-E 3 | S Stable Diffusion |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing▲ | Freemium | Open Source |
| Free Tier▲ | Available in ChatGPT free tier with limits | Free to run locally |
| Paid Plans▲ | Via ChatGPT Plus or API | Stability AI API from $0.065/image |
| API Cost▲ | $0.040/image (1024x1024 standard) | $0.065/image via API |
| Access▲ | Web App · API | Web App · API · Desktop App · CLI |
| SOC 2 | ● Yes | ● Yes |
| ISO 27001▲ | ● Yes | n/a |
| GDPR | ● Yes | ● Yes |
| HIPAA▲ | ● Yes | n/a |
| Data Region▲ | Multiple: EU (EEA + Switzerland), UK, US, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia, UAE. Data residency available for eligible API customers and ChatGPT Enterprise/Edu customers. | Hosted products (Platform API, Brand Studio, Stable Assistant) process data on servers outside the EEA/UK/Switzerland, including in the US, per the Privacy Policy; cross-border transfer relies on Standard Contractual Clauses and Article 45 adequacy decisions. AWS is listed as a subprocessor hosting production environments and the HPC training cluster. Self-hosted/open-weight deployments keep all data inside the customer's own chosen environment. |
| Trains on Data▲ | No | Yes |
| Self-hostable▲ | No | Yes |
| Category | Image Generation | Image Generation |
| Subcategory | Text-to-Image | Text-to-Image |
DALL-E 3Stable Diffusion
// Pricing▲ differ
DALL-E 3Freemium
Stable DiffusionOpen Source
// Free Tier▲ differ
DALL-E 3Available in ChatGPT free tier with limits
Stable DiffusionFree to run locally
// Paid Plans▲ differ
DALL-E 3Via ChatGPT Plus or API
Stable DiffusionStability AI API from $0.065/image
// API Cost▲ differ
DALL-E 3$0.040/image (1024x1024 standard)
Stable Diffusion$0.065/image via API
// Access▲ differ
DALL-E 3Web App · API
Stable DiffusionWeb App · API · Desktop App · CLI
// SOC 2
DALL-E 3● Yes
Stable Diffusion● Yes
// ISO 27001▲ differ
DALL-E 3● Yes
Stable Diffusionn/a
// GDPR
DALL-E 3● Yes
Stable Diffusion● Yes
// HIPAA▲ differ
DALL-E 3● Yes
Stable Diffusionn/a
// Data Region▲ differ
DALL-E 3Multiple: EU (EEA + Switzerland), UK, US, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia, UAE. Data residency available for eligible API customers and ChatGPT Enterprise/Edu customers.
Stable DiffusionHosted products (Platform API, Brand Studio, Stable Assistant) process data on servers outside the EEA/UK/Switzerland, including in the US, per the Privacy Policy; cross-border transfer relies on Standard Contractual Clauses and Article 45 adequacy decisions. AWS is listed as a subprocessor hosting production environments and the HPC training cluster. Self-hosted/open-weight deployments keep all data inside the customer's own chosen environment.
// Trains on Data▲ differ
DALL-E 3No
Stable DiffusionYes
// Self-hostable▲ differ
DALL-E 3No
Stable DiffusionYes
// Category
DALL-E 3Image Generation
Stable DiffusionImage Generation
// Subcategory
DALL-E 3Text-to-Image
Stable DiffusionText-to-Image
// FAQ
What is the difference between DALL-E 3 and Stable Diffusion?
DALL-E 3 is Freemium (Image Generation · Text-to-Image); Stable Diffusion is Open Source (Image Generation · Text-to-Image). This page compares their pricing, compliance, access methods, and data handling side by side.
Is DALL-E 3 or Stable Diffusion free?
Both DALL-E 3 and Stable Diffusion offer a free or freemium tier.