Best ComfyUI image models (2026): from SD 1.5 to Qwen-Image 2.1

This is part of our AI and ComfyUI tutorials. For every model you'll find a link to its official page, where you should always check the current licence. Our guide to models for creating video has its own page.

Every time we open Hugging Face there's a new image model, and every time we ask ourselves the same questions: is it worth downloading? Will it run on our 12 GB RTX 3060? And above all: can we use it for paid work? That's where this guide comes from. It's the cheat sheet we use ourselves.

Stable Diffusion, SDXL, Flux, Qwen-Image, Z-Image, LongCat, ERNIE-Image, Ideogram, Boogu, Krea 2… Here we put them in order, from oldest to newest: who made them, what they're good at, how much video memory they need and what their licence allows. Because "free to download" doesn't always mean "free to use for work".

All the models in one table

This page is a plain-language guide, not legal advice. Licences can change: before using a model for a job, always read the full text on the official page linked in each section.

Licences explained in plain words

Every model on this page is free to download, but the licence decides what you can do with it. We always separate two things: the model (the file you download and run) and the images you create with it.

• Apache 2.0 and MIT — the most permissive: you can use both the model and the images for work, modify the model and build it into a product, as long as you keep the copyright notices.
• OpenRAIL (Stable Diffusion 1.5 and SDXL) — commercial use is allowed, but there's a list of prohibited uses (illegal content, defamation, disinformation and so on) that you must respect, and pass on if you redistribute the model.
• "Community" licences with a threshold (SD 3.5, Krea 2) — free for work too, as long as your business stays below an annual revenue threshold ($1 million for both); above that you need a paid licence.
• Non-commercial, but images are free to use (FLUX.1 Dev, FLUX.2 Dev, FLUX.2 Klein 9B, Anima) — the model itself is for non-commercial use only, but the licence states that the generated images can be used commercially. Without a licence from the developer, you can't use the model itself in a paid product or service.
• Non-commercial only (Qwen-Image 2.1, Ideogram 4.0) — no work use without a separate licence from the developer. Be careful with Ideogram 4.0: the images stay yours, but the free licence specifically excludes generating images for revenue-generating products.
• Geographic exclusions (HunyuanImage 2.1 and 3.0) — Tencent's licence explicitly says it does not apply in the European Union, the United Kingdom or South Korea. If you live in the EU, there is simply no licence covering your use of the model.

How much VRAM you need

Your graphics card's memory (VRAM) decides which models you can use. In ComfyUI almost every recent model also comes in reduced versions: fp8 (about half the memory, nearly identical quality) and GGUF (even lighter, with a small loss in quality). The figures in each section are rough guidelines for ComfyUI with these versions.

• 6–8 GB: Stable Diffusion 1.5, SDXL and Anima; some recent models only in GGUF, and with patience.
• 12 GB: FLUX.1 in fp8 or GGUF, Z-Image Turbo, FLUX.2 Klein 4B, Chroma, Ideogram 4.0 in a reduced version.
• 16 GB: almost all mid-sized models in fp8, with room to spare.
• 24 GB and up: the biggest models (Qwen-Image, HiDream, FLUX.2 Dev) with fewer compromises.

If you need to pick a graphics card, read our guide to the best GPUs for AI. If you don't have ComfyUI yet, start with our guide on how to install ComfyUI on Windows.

The first generation: Stable Diffusion

Stable Diffusion 1.5 (2022)

The model that made it possible to generate images on your own computer. Released in October 2022 by Runway together with Stability AI, it's small (about 1 billion parameters), very fast and works at a base resolution of 512 pixels. Hands and text are unreliable and it only understands simple prompts, but the community has built thousands of fine-tunes and styles (LoRA), ControlNet and tools that still make it useful today for learning and for low-VRAM cards.

• VRAM: 4 GB or more.
• Licence: CreativeML OpenRAIL-M. Commercial use allowed, as long as you respect the licence's list of prohibited uses.
• Where to get it: model page · ComfyUI-ready version

SDXL (2023)

Stable Diffusion XL, released in July 2023, raises the base resolution to 1024 pixels and brings near-photographic quality. It's still one of the most used models today, thanks to its huge ecosystem of fine-tuned checkpoints (like DreamShaper XL or Juggernaut XL), LoRA and ControlNet, plus the fast Lightning and Turbo versions that generate in 4–8 steps. It's the best compromise if you have 8 GB of VRAM.

• VRAM: 8 GB or more.
• Licence: CreativeML OpenRAIL++-M, similar to SD 1.5's: commercial use allowed, with prohibited uses. Fine-tuned checkpoints may have their own licences: check each page.
• Where to get it: SDXL base 1.0

Stable Diffusion 3.5 (2024)

Stability AI's latest generation (October 2024), available as Large (8 billion parameters), Large Turbo (fast) and Medium (lighter). Compared to SDXL it follows prompts better and writes text better, but it was quickly overtaken by Flux and the models that came after, and its ecosystem of styles is smaller.

• VRAM: Medium about 8–10 GB; Large 12–16 GB in fp8.
• Licence: Stability AI Community License. Free for research, personal use and commercial use by companies and freelancers with less than $1 million in annual revenue; above that you need the Enterprise licence.
• Where to get it: SD 3.5 Large · SD 3.5 Medium

The Flux revolution (2024–2025)

FLUX.1 Schnell and Dev

In August 2024 Black Forest Labs, a German company founded by some of the original Stable Diffusion authors, releases FLUX.1: 12 billion parameters and a huge leap in prompt adherence, hands and text inside images. It comes in two downloadable versions: Schnell (fast, 1–4 steps) and Dev (higher quality, about 20–30 steps).

• VRAM: 12 GB in fp8, 8 GB in GGUF.
• Schnell licence: Apache 2.0, free for commercial use too.
• Dev licence: FLUX.1 [dev] Non-Commercial License. The model is for non-commercial use only, but the official page states that generated images can be used "for personal, scientific and commercial purposes" as set out in the licence. To build the model into a paid product or service you need a commercial licence from Black Forest Labs.
• Where to get them: FLUX.1 Schnell · FLUX.1 Dev

FLUX.1 Kontext and FLUX.1 Krea Dev

FLUX.1 Kontext Dev (June 2025) is the first major open model for editing images with written instructions: "change the background", "make it night", "put the same person in a kitchen", while keeping characters and style consistent. FLUX.1 Krea Dev (summer 2025), born from a collaboration with Krea, is a version of FLUX.1 Dev tuned for a more natural photographic look, less "AI-ish".

• VRAM: same as FLUX.1 Dev.
• Licence: both use the FLUX.1 [dev] Non-Commercial License, with the same rules as FLUX.1 Dev.
• Where to get them: FLUX.1 Kontext Dev · FLUX.1 Krea Dev

2025: the big open models arrive

HiDream-I1

Released in April 2025 by HiDream.ai, with 17 billion parameters and a fully permissive licence. It also uses a language model (Llama 3.1 8B) as a prompt "translator", so it handles long descriptions well. It comes in Full, Dev and Fast versions, plus a companion editing model (HiDream-E1.1). It's heavy: you'll want at least 16 GB.

• VRAM: 16–24 GB with fp8/GGUF versions.
• Licence: MIT, free for commercial use too.
• Where to get it: HiDream-I1

Chroma

A community project, trained starting from FLUX.1 Schnell and therefore under a permissive licence. People love it because it's a Flux-style model without the limits of the Dev licence, with a wide range of styles. Heads-up: it's an uncensored model, flagged as not safe for all audiences.

• VRAM: similar to FLUX.1 (12 GB in fp8).
• Licence: Apache 2.0.
• Where to get it: Chroma · Chroma1-HD (the high-resolution version, August 2025)

Qwen-Image and Qwen-Image-Edit

In August 2025 Alibaba's Qwen team releases Qwen-Image: 20 billion parameters, excellent at rendering text in images (even long text) and at following complex prompts. With Qwen-Image-Edit and its updates (versions 2509 and 2511) it becomes one of the go-to models for editing: replacing objects, changing text on signs and posters, combining several images. In December 2025 comes Qwen-Image-2512, the update to the generation model: much more realistic people (less of that "AI look"), better natural details (fur, water, foliage) and even more accurate text.

• VRAM: 24 GB in fp8; 12–16 GB with GGUF.
• Licence: Apache 2.0, free for commercial use too.
• Where to get them: Qwen-Image · Qwen-Image-2512 · Qwen-Image-Edit 2511

HunyuanImage 2.1 and 3.0 (watch the licence)

In September 2025 Tencent released two models: HunyuanImage 2.1 (17 billion parameters, generates natively at 2K) and HunyuanImage 3.0, an 80-billion-parameter giant (13 active at a time) that combines image understanding and generation, built more for servers than home PCs. Technically solid, but with a problem if you live in the EU: the Tencent Hunyuan Community License states right at the start that it "does not apply in the European Union, United Kingdom and South Korea". Its territory is defined as "the worldwide territory, excluding" those areas. In practice, from the EU there's no licence covering its use, so we recommend picking another model.

• Licence: Tencent Hunyuan Community License, excluding the EU, UK and South Korea.
• Where to get them: HunyuanImage 2.1 · HunyuanImage 3.0 (to read the licence)

Z-Image and Z-Image Turbo

The breakout hit of late 2025. Z-Image Turbo, released in November 2025 by Alibaba's Tongyi-MAI group, has "only" 6 billion parameters but produces top-tier photorealistic images in 8 steps and renders English and Chinese text well. The developer says it fits on a 16 GB card, and with the reduced versions it runs well on 12 GB too. In January 2026 Z-Image followed: the base model, better suited to LoRA training and to more varied results.

• VRAM: 12–16 GB.
• Licence: Apache 2.0, free for commercial use too.
• Where to get them: Z-Image Turbo · Z-Image

FLUX.2 Dev

In November 2025 Black Forest Labs releases FLUX.2 Dev: 32 billion parameters, generation and editing in the same model, and support for multiple reference images at once (to keep characters, products and styles consistent). It's the most powerful Flux you can download, but also very heavy.

• VRAM: 24 GB and up, even in fp8.
• Licence: FLUX Non-Commercial License: same rules as FLUX.1 Dev, non-commercial model, images usable for work too.
• Where to get it: FLUX.2 Dev

LongCat-Image (Meituan)

Released in December 2025 by Meituan, LongCat-Image has 6 billion parameters but competes with much bigger models. It focuses on photorealism and text in images in English and Chinese (put the text you want rendered in quotes in the prompt). There's also LongCat-Image-Edit for editing images. ComfyUI supports it natively.

• VRAM: the developer quotes about 17 GB with part of the model offloaded to system RAM; less with the reduced versions.
• Licence: Apache 2.0, free for commercial use too.
• Where to get it: LongCat-Image · LongCat-Image-Edit

The 2026 models

FLUX.2 Klein 4B: the Flux you can use for work

In January 2026 Black Forest Labs releases FLUX.2 Klein, the compact FLUX.2 family: generation and multi-reference editing in the same model, in just 4 steps, under a second on recent cards. For many of you the 4-billion-parameter version is the most interesting one, for two reasons: it runs on consumer cards and it has an Apache 2.0 licence. That makes it the first Flux you can use worry-free in commercial projects, products and services included. There's also a Base 4B version, non-distilled, suited to training your own LoRA.

• VRAM: about 13 GB according to the developer (RTX 3090 / 4070 and up); less with fp8 versions.
• Licence: Apache 2.0, free for commercial use, for both the model and the images.
• Where to get it: FLUX.2 Klein 4B · FLUX.2 Klein Base 4B

FLUX.2 Klein 9B

The 9-billion-parameter big sister: higher quality and the same features (generation, editing, multiple references, 4 steps), but under FLUX's non-commercial licence.

• VRAM: about 29 GB at full precision according to the developer; much less with fp8 versions.
• Licence: FLUX Non-Commercial License: non-commercial model, images usable for work too.
• Where to get it: FLUX.2 Klein 9B

Anima: the model for anime and illustration

Born from a collaboration between CircleStone Labs and Comfy Org (it's the first project backed by Comfy's open-model fund), Anima is a small model, about 2 billion parameters, specialised in anime, characters and illustration styles. The preview came out in early 2026 and version 1.0 in May 2026, in three variants: Base, Aesthetic and Turbo. It's not made for photorealism or text, but in its niche it's among the best, and it runs on low-VRAM cards too.

• VRAM: lightweight, 6–8 GB is enough.
• Licence: CircleStone Labs Non-Commercial License for the model; the official page states that generated images can be used commercially.
• Where to get it: Anima · ComfyUI tutorial

ERNIE-Image (Baidu)

Released by Baidu in spring 2026, ERNIE-Image has 8 billion parameters and is one of the best open models for text in images and layouts: posters, comics, multi-panel pages, infographics. It includes a small "Prompt Enhancer" that automatically expands short prompts. The Turbo version generates in 8 steps instead of 50.

• VRAM: the developer recommends 24 GB consumer cards; less with the reduced versions.
• Licence: Apache 2.0, free for commercial use too.
• Where to get it: ERNIE-Image · ERNIE-Image Turbo

Ideogram 4.0

Ideogram, the online service famous for text in images, released the weights of its first open model in June 2026: Ideogram 4.0, 9.3 billion parameters trained from scratch. Its strength is still text (logos, posters, covers), and it adds a unique kind of control: JSON prompts, where you set the position of elements with bounding boxes and the palette with colour codes. ComfyUI has supported it since day one.

• VRAM: roughly 12–16 GB with the fp8 or nf4 versions.
• Licence: Ideogram Non-Commercial Model Agreement. Free for research, study, personal projects and testing; Ideogram claims no rights over the images, but the free licence excludes generating images for revenue-generating products and using the images to train competing models. It also requires you to disclose that the images are AI-generated. For work you need a paid commercial licence from Ideogram. To download it you have to accept the licence on Hugging Face.
• Where to get it: Ideogram 4.0 fp8 · licence text

Boogu-Image 0.1

Released in June 2026, Boogu-Image is a 10-billion-parameter family that combines generation and editing: Base, Turbo (3–4 steps, geared towards realistic photography), Edit and Edit-Turbo for editing images (adding or removing objects, changing style). It renders English and Chinese text. ComfyUI has an official tutorial for it.

• VRAM: according to the developers it works with 12 GB by offloading part of the model to system RAM; from 24 GB up it runs without compromises. fp8 versions are available.
• Licence: Apache 2.0, free for commercial use too.
• Where to get it: Boogu-Image 0.1 Turbo · Boogu-Image 0.1 Edit · ComfyUI tutorial

Krea 2

In June 2026 Krea, known for its online platform, releases the weights of Krea 2: a 12-billion-parameter model trained from scratch, loved for its polished aesthetic and photographic look. It comes in two versions: Turbo (8 steps, for finished images straight away, up to 2048×2048) and Raw (the base model, for training your own LoRA).

• VRAM: the developer gives no official figure; roughly similar to FLUX.1, so 12–16 GB with fp8 versions.
• Licence: Krea 2 Community License. Free commercial use if the company (including affiliates) makes less than $1 million a year; above that you need the Enterprise licence. The licence also asks you to put content filters or controls in place to prevent illegal material. The images are yours.
• Where to get it: Krea 2 Turbo · Krea 2 Raw · licence

Qwen-Image 2.1

The newest model on this list (September 2026). Qwen-Image 2.1 has 7 billion parameters, so it's much lighter than the original Qwen-Image. It combines generation and editing, accepts up to 10 reference images and, best of all, generates images with a transparent background (a real alpha channel), super handy for graphics, logos, products and compositing. ComfyUI supports it natively from version 0.37, with official templates.

• VRAM: roughly 12–16 GB with the reduced versions.
• Licence: Qwen Research License, non-commercial use only. That's a big change from the original Qwen-Image (Apache 2.0): to use it for work you need to request a commercial licence from Alibaba.
• Where to get it: Qwen-Image 2.1

What about FLUX 3?

In July 2026 Black Forest Labs announced FLUX 3, a single model for images, video and audio. For now it's only available in early access through the company's own services and can't be downloaded. We'll update this page when the weights are released.

Other models worth knowing

• Lumina-Image 2.0 (January 2025, about 2.6 billion parameters) — lightweight, with an Apache 2.0 licence. Model page
• Kandinsky 5.0 Image Lite (November 2025, about 6 billion parameters) — developed in Russia by Kandinsky Lab, with an MIT licence. Model page
• NewBie Image (late 2025) — experimental anime model, with a non-commercial licence. Model page

ComfyUI also supports other, less common research models; you'll find the up-to-date list in the Comfy workflow library. Some names you'll see in the templates (like Nano Banana, Seedream, Grok Imagine or HY Image 3.5) are actually paid online services used through partner nodes, not models you can download.

Which model should you choose?

Where to download them (and how to do it safely)

• From the ComfyUI templates: the easiest way. Pick the model in the workflow menu and ComfyUI offers to download the right files into the right folders. You'll also find the workflows in the official Comfy library.
• From Hugging Face: the official pages linked in this guide, where you can also read the licence.
• From Civitai: for community fine-tunes and LoRA, with sample images and prompts. Check the licence of every file.
• Safety: stick to .safetensors and .gguf files, and avoid old .ckpt and .pt files from unknown sources, which can contain executable code.

The graphics cards we recommend

• NVIDIA RTX 3060 12 GB – the budget choice we use every day
• NVIDIA RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB – the sweet spot: 16 GB runs almost every mid-sized model in fp8
• NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB – same memory, much faster generations
• NVIDIA RTX 5090 32 GB – for the biggest models with no compromises
• Ready-made PC with RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB – if you'd rather not build one yourself

Frequently asked questions

What's the best image model for ComfyUI in 2026?

It depends on your VRAM and what you need. With 12–16 GB, Z-Image Turbo is the best balance of quality, speed and permissive licence. For text and posters, go with ERNIE-Image or Qwen-Image. With 24 GB or more, FLUX.2 Dev and Qwen-Image give you the best results.

Can I sell images made with Flux?

With FLUX.1 Schnell and FLUX.2 Klein 4B (Apache 2.0), yes, with no special restrictions. With the Dev versions the model licence is non-commercial, but it states that generated images can be used commercially. What you can't do is use the model to offer a paid service without a licence from Black Forest Labs. If in doubt, read the licence text or pick an Apache 2.0 model.

Why do some licences exclude Europe?

Some non-European companies, like Tencent with HunyuanImage, exclude the European Union from their licence. They don't say why; it's widely believed to be linked to the obligations of EU rules on artificial intelligence and data. If you live in the EU, it means those models aren't covered by a licence: better to use one of the many alternatives without exclusions.

Does Stable Diffusion 1.5 still make sense?

For learning, for 4–6 GB cards and for its huge library of styles, yes. For quality results today you're better off with at least SDXL or, if your VRAM allows, the newer models.