The Best Stable Diffusion Models [Unique List With Prompts]

Stable Diffusion is a text-to-image model whose weights are available to the public.

This means anyone can download the weights and fine-tune them – using methods such as LoRA – to generate specific types of images.

This has led to an explosion of Stable Diffusion models created by individuals and made available to everyone.

In this article, we will dive into the best Stable Diffusion models for different use cases such as photorealism, fantasy art, anime, and others.

Best Stable Diffusion Models

Below we discuss the best Stable Diffusion models on Civitai. These models can be downloaded and run locally on your PC or on online platforms such as mage.space.

1. Realism Engine SDXL: Best Stable Diffusion model for photorealism

Detail	Description
Creator	razzz
Base Model	SDXL 1.0
NSFW friendly?	Yes
Downloads	54K

Realism Engine SDXL is a mind-blowing engine for generating photorealistic AI images for almost any use case you can imagine. It generates spectacular images for landscapes, faces, cities, NSFW, and much more.

Here’s a prompt I tried on this Stable Diffusion checkpoint.

amateur photography of people at market . casual, f/16, noise, bad light

Here’s the result.

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2. AniVerse: Best Stable Diffusion model for anime

Detail	Description
Creator	Samael1976
Base Model	SD 1.5
NSFW friendly?	Yes
Downloads	53K

AniVerse generates incredible Anime images that are colorful with sharp contrast. It also generates unique costumes for your anime characters. Anime fans will be hooked on this model. You can also use it to generate landscapes and manga.

I tested the model using this prompt.

(best quality, masterpiece, colorful, dynamic angle, highest detailed) upper body photo, fashion photography of cute girl (\Rei Ayanami\), red eyes, dressing high detailed Evangelion white suit, in dynamic pose, light passing through hair, perfect night, (abstract background:1.3), (official art)

Here’s the negative prompt that goes with it.

bad-image-v2-39000, moles, freckles, bad-hands-5, scars on face, wings

Here’s the AI-generated image.

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3. Juggernaut XL: Overall best Stable Diffusion model

Detail	Description
Creator	KandooAI
Base Model	SDXL
NSFW friendly?	Yes
Downloads	335K

Juggernaut XL is the latest and greatest of all previous Juggernaut and SDXL models in terms of image quality. It is my go-to for general image generation.

It is a juggernaut in generating ultra-realistic and high-quality images of anything you can imagine. From animals, landscapes, fantasy, faces, you name it, it does it all.

I took it for a spin using the following prompt.

Nikon RAW photo,8 k,Fujifilm XT3,masterpiece, best quality, realistic, photorealistic,ultra detailed, dog wearing a super hero cap close up portrait, walking, urban city, rain

Here’s the result.

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4. DreamShaper XL: Best alternative to Midjourney

Detail	Description
Creator	Lykon
Base Model	SDXL Lightning
NSFW friendly?	No
Downloads	233K

DreamShaper is one of the best Stable Diffusion models, so much so that it’s been adopted by major AI image-generating platforms such as Leonardo.ai.

The creator describes it as, “a general-purpose model that aims to go against other general-purpose models and pipelines like Midjourney and DALL-E.”

Yes, you read that right. The creator is single-handedly challenging the industry titans.

Here’s a prompt I used shared by the creator.

(masterpiece, best quality, ultra-detailed, best shadow), cinematic film still, photo of a man wearing a high tech scifi armor, mecha armor, male focus, armor, solo, facial hair, cape, beard, looking at viewer, blue eyes, blurry background, power armor, knee protection, standing, brown hair, science fiction <lora:aesthetic_anime_v1s:1.2>

And the negative prompt

(low quality, worst quality:1.4), cgi, text, signature, watermark, extra limbs, ((nipples))

Here’s the result.

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5. Monster Diffusion SDXL: Best Stable Diffusion model for horror

Detail	Description
Creator	razzz
Base Model	SDXL 1.0
NSFW friendly?	No
Downloads	2.7K

Horror and scary images fans are going to love this one. Monster Diffusion SDXL is the best Stable Diffusion model for generating scary and horror-based AI images.

Only your imagination and how much you can stomach can limit you here. It can generate monsters, creatures, and realism.

Here’s a prompt you can try.

Horror-themed cinematic film still the cat in the hat, scary, concept art by greg rutkowski high budget, bokeh, cinemascope, moody, epic, gorgeous, film grain, grainy . Eerie, unsettling, dark, spooky, suspenseful, grim, highly detailed

The negative prompt:

cheerful, bright, vibrant, light-hearted, cute, 3d render

The resulting image.

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6. DucHaiten-AIart-SDXL: Best Stable Diffusion SDXL model

Detail	Description
Creator	DucHaiten
Base Model	SDXL 1.0
NSFW friendly?	No
Downloads	28K

I recently discovered DucHaiten-AIart-SDXL and quickly grew addicted to it. It generates super high-quality images with amazing lighting and texture. It’s a general-purpose, all-in-one model for any use case. So go all in with your imagination.

Even though it can generate human faces, I find the results to be too polished and unrealistic. Otherwise, it’s a great model for bringing your imagination to life.

I went with a super simple prompt to see what I’d get

john wick holding a big gun cyberpunk

The resulting image.

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7. RealCartoon3D: Best Stable Diffusion Model for Cartoons

Detail	Description
Creator	7whitefire7
Base Model	SDXL 1.5
NSFW friendly?	No
Downloads	133K

RealCartoon3D is the best Stable Diffusion model for cartoons. It is the go-to for those interested in creating cartoon characters for a story or show.

The generated cartoons are detailed and perfect in a 3D-cartoony way. I also experimented with landscapes and buildings and the results were just as amazing.

However, I noticed the model favors female models more than male models despite my prompt specifying females.

Here’s a prompt for a castle I generated using this model.

A castle in medieval france 

Here’s the negative prompt.

(worst quality:2), (low quality:2), (normal quality:2), lowres, normal quality,bad-artist ,((monochrome)), ((grayscale))

Here’s the AI-generated image.

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8. Absolute Reality: Best Stable Diffusion Model for Faces

Detail	Description
Creator	Lykon
Base Model	SD 1.5
NSFW friendly?	Yes
Downloads	209K

Absolute Reality is one of the most downloaded Stable Diffusion models on Civitai. It’s also created by the top model creator on the platform.

All this is to tell you that this is an incredible model for generating ultra-realistic faces, people, animals, cars, fantasy creatures, and much more.

This is one of those models I find myself playing with for hours thanks to its versatility and quality. I especially like the lighting and contrast it produces in images.

Here’s a simple prompt I used to test the model.

beautiful lady a cyberpunk ninja assasin with a katana

Here’s the negative prompt.

(worst quality:2), (low quality:2), (normal quality:2), lowres, normal quality,bad-artist ,((monochrome)), ((grayscale))

Make sure to use a negative prompt to avoid cartoonish images. Here’s the resulting image.

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9. majicMIX realistic: Best Stable Diffusion model for K-pop

Detail	Description
Creator	Lykon
Base Model	SD 1.5
NSFW friendly?	Yes
Downloads	209K

majicMIX is hands down the best Stable Diffusion model for generating Asians. It also doubles as a great Stable Diffusion celebrity model. For example, I mostly use it to recreate K-pop stars such as IU and JENNIE. I also find the model fantastic at generating clothes and fashion design.

Remember, this model is fine-tuned to generate Asians only. With that said, here’s a prompt you can try.

1boy,handsome male,face,beard,white background

Here’s the negative prompt.

(worst quality:2),(low quality:2),(normal quality:2),lowres,watermark

Here’s the AI-generated image.

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10. Cheese Daddy’s Landscapes mix: Best Stable Diffusion model for landscapes

Detail	Description
Creator	cheesedaddy
Base Model	SD 1.5
NSFW friendly?	Yes
Downloads	37K

Cheese Daddy’s Landscapes mix is an incredible Stable Diffusion checkpoint for generating artistic landscapes. It gives a watercolor result to landscapes making it perfect for artists.

The downside is it takes a few trials to get used to it, especially with the V4.1 checkpoint. You should try Cheese Daddy’s Landscapes mix | OFFSET NOISE by the same creator for more realistic landscapes.

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11. Logo.Redmond: Best Stable Diffusion model for logo design

Detail	Description
Creator	artificialguybr
Base Model	SD 1.0
NSFW friendly?	No
Downloads	31K

Logo.Redmond is the best Stable Diffusion model for creating logos for you or your client’s next venture. Even though I noticed it doesn’t always get the logos right, I mostly use it as a brainstorming companion.

Here’s a prompt I used to test it.

logo for a cleaning company include a mop

Here’s the negative prompt.

bad art, ugly, deformed, watermark, duplicated

Here’s the AI-generated logo

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12. ILLUSTRO: Best Stable Diffusion model for fantasy art

Detail	Description
Creator	artificialguybr
Base Model	SD 1.0
NSFW friendly?	No
Downloads	31K

Illustro is a highly capable model for creating all sorts of fantasy art, such as retro and modern fantasy art, photorealism, surrealism, and more.

This model works well for writers and/or artists who wish to bring their characters to life. But as mentioned, it’s not limited to that.

Here’s a prompt I tried.

(medieval fantasy art), 1girl, beautiful, perfect face, petite, torn clothes, peasant, messy hair, dirty clothes, torn fabric, lost in alley, dnd, fantasy, (masterpiece, photorealistic, absurdres), dappled sunlight, studio lighting, (photorealistic:1.6), <lora:add_detail:0.8>

Here’s the negative prompt.

BadDream amor, rich, body armor, bad-artist-anime bad-artist badhandsv5-neg badhandv4 FastNegativeEmbedding EasyNegative verybadimagenegative_v1.3, loli, child

Here’s the resulting image.

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13. Badass Cars: Best Stable Diffusion model for cars

Detail	Description
Creator	Barmagloth
Base Model	SD 1.5
NSFW friendly?	No
Downloads	13K

Badass Cars is the best Stable Diffusion model for cars. It can generate almost all types of cars: retro, modern, photorealistic, and fantasy. And the result is incredible.

I noticed, however, that the model doesn’t generate backgrounds and landscapes according to my prompt. Rather, it generates a random background for the image.

Here’s a prompt I used to test the model.

a 3/4 front view of ((futuristic cyberpunk hotrod zeekars)) (with glowing tires), at the parking lot, <lora:zeekars:0.65>

Here’s the negative prompt.

worst quality, lowest resolution, garbage, duplicates, transition of shapes, blurry, (((numbers on door)))

Here’s the result.

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What is a Stabe Diffusion Base Model?

Stable Diffusion base models are latent text-to-image models capable of generating different types of images like photorealistic and fantasy art.

A base model can be fine-tuned by training it on a specific set of images to produce those types of images.

For example, illustro is trained in fantasy art images to generate compelling fantasy art from text.

Currently, the best Stable Diffusion model for fine-tuning is Stable Diffusion 1.5. It’s versatile and consistent.

Best Stable Diffusion Model Creators on Civitai

To stay in the loop on the latest and greatest Stable Diffusion models, checkpoints, and fine-tuning techniques, I strongly advise following these creators on Civitai.

1. jjhuang: His Models focus on interior and exterior photorealistic architectural designs.

2. Lykon: Top Civitai creator responsible for Dreamshaper and Absolute Reality.

3. KandooAI: Creates incredible SDXL checkpoints that are unmatched. Examples are Juggernaut XL and LoRAs such as Juggernaut Cinematic XL. It’s no wonder he’s the top SDXL model creator on Civitai.

Conclusion: Best Stable Diffusion Models

Stable Diffusion opened up a world of possibilities by making weights available to the public. This has allowed people to fine-tune the models to generate specific types of images.

As a result, there has been an explosion of models that are capable of generating specific types of images very well. Here are the 5 best Stable Diffusion models.

1. Realism Engine SDXL: Best Stable Diffusion model for photorealism
2. AniVerse: Best Stable Diffusion model for anime
3. Juggernaut XL: Overall best Stable Diffusion model
4. DreamShaper XL: Best Alternative to Midjourney
5. Monster Diffusion SDXL: Best Stable Diffusion model for horror