InvokeAI vs Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111)
Short answer
InvokeAI: Creative studio for AI image (and video) generation with canvas, layers and workflows. Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): Classic Gradio web interface for Stable Diffusion with txt2img, img2img, inpainting, upscaling and a large extension ecosystem. Both are in our Image & media generation category.
Choose InvokeAI if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)) and an actively maintained project (Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) is stale).
Choose Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) if you want: larger community (165k vs 29.0k GitHub stars).
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
InvokeAI vs Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) side by side
| InvokeAI | Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Image & media generation | Image & media generation |
| What it is | Creative studio for AI image (and video) generation with canvas, layers and workflows. | Classic Gradio web interface for Stable Diffusion with txt2img, img2img, inpainting, upscaling and a large extension ecosystem. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| License type | Permissive | Network copyleft (AGPL) |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. Each model has its own license; check before commercial use. | Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify it and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source under AGPL-3.0. Each model checkpoint has its own license; check it before commercial use. |
| Status | Active | Stale (no commit in 180+ days) |
| GitHub stars | 29.0k | 165k |
| Last commit | Nov 2, 2026 | Jul 27, 2024 |
| Latest release | v6.14.3 | v1.10.1 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Nvidia GPUs with compute capability 7.5+ (GTX 16xx, RTX 20xx and later, driver R580+), AMD via ROCm and Intel Arc are supported; Apple Silicon works with 16 GB+ memory recommended. Linux ARM64 runs CPU-only, where local generation is slow. | NVIDIA GPUs are the recommended path; AMD GPUs, Intel CPUs/GPUs, Apple Silicon and Ascend NPUs have separate install guides. With little VRAM use --medvram or --lowvram; without enough VRAM it may refuse to launch or run out of memory. |
| Est. server cost | GPU server (not estimated) | GPU server (not estimated) |
| Deploy method | Docker (Nvidia GPU) | Launch script (Linux) |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not supported (OIDC not supported) | Not documented |
| Audit log | No | Not documented |
| RBAC | Yes, free | Not documented |
| Details | Full InvokeAI guide → | Full Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) guide → |
Key differences
- License: InvokeAI: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)).
- Deploy: InvokeAI: Docker (Nvidia GPU) · single container. Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): Launch script (Linux) · Launch script (Linux).
- Status: InvokeAI: Active. Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): Stale (no commit in 180+ days).
- GitHub stars: InvokeAI: 29.0k. Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): 165k.
- Last commit: InvokeAI: Nov 2, 2026. Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): Jul 27, 2024.
- Latest release: InvokeAI: v6.14.3 (Nov 1, 2026). Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): v1.10.1 (Feb 9, 2025).
Same for both: Category: Image & media generation; Official hardware: not published; GPU: needed for practical use; Est. server cost: GPU server (not estimated).
InvokeAI vs Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): FAQ
InvokeAI or Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): which should a small business choose?
Choose InvokeAI if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)) and an actively maintained project (Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) is stale). Choose Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) if you want: larger community (165k vs 29.0k GitHub stars).
Which is cheaper to self-host, InvokeAI or Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111)?
InvokeAI: GPU server (not estimated). Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): GPU server (not estimated). Our estimate is the cheapest Hetzner Cloud plan that meets each project's official RAM and vCPU figure; it covers the server only.
How much hardware do InvokeAI and Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) need?
InvokeAI: not published. Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): not published. InvokeAI and Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) needs a GPU for practical use.
What is the license difference between InvokeAI and Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111)?
InvokeAI: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. Each model has its own license; check before commercial use. Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)). Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify it and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source under AGPL-3.0. Each model checkpoint has its own license; check it before commercial use. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is InvokeAI or Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) more actively maintained?
InvokeAI: Active, last commit Nov 2, 2026. Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111): Stale (no commit in 180+ days), last commit Jul 27, 2024. GitHub data refreshed Nov 2, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, InvokeAI or Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111)?
InvokeAI installs via Docker (Nvidia GPU) (single container); Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) via Launch script (Linux) (Launch script (Linux)). InvokeAI lists 4 known gotchas and Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- InvokeAI self-hosting guide · Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) self-hosting guide
- All InvokeAI alternatives, ranked
- All Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) alternatives, ranked
- ComfyUI vs InvokeAI
- ComfyUI vs Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111)
- InvokeAI vs MoneyPrinterTurbo
- InvokeAI vs Rembg
- MoneyPrinterTurbo vs Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111)
- Rembg vs Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111)
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- InvokeAI GitHub repository: github.com/invoke-ai/InvokeAI
- InvokeAI documentation: invoke.ai/
- InvokeAI license: github.com/invoke-ai/InvokeAI/blob/main/LICENSE
- InvokeAI hardware requirements: invoke.ai/start-here/system-requirements/
- InvokeAI deploy instructions: invoke.ai/configuration/docker/
- Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) GitHub repository: github.com/AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webui
- Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) documentation: github.com/AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webui/wiki
- Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) license: github.com/AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webui/blob/master/LICENSE.txt
- Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) hardware requirements: github.com/AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webui/wiki/Install-and-Run-on-NVidia-GPUs
- Stable Diffusion web UI (AUTOMATIC1111) deploy instructions: github.com/AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webui#automatic-installation-on-linux
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-11-02): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub REST API (stars, commits, releases): docs.github.com/en/rest
Every value is generated from the same verified data as the app pages. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.