image model · stable-diffusion · macOS
SD Can I run Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 on Apple M1 (8GB)?
Needs ~7.5 GB at fp16, but only ~5.5 GB is usable on Apple M1 (8GB). With aggressive CPU offload it can run on as little as ~4 GB, much slower.
Needs ~7.5 GB at fp16, but only ~5.5 GB is usable on Apple M1 (8GB). With aggressive CPU offload it can run on as little as ~4 GB, much slower.
- Peak VRAM
- ~7.5 GB
- Usable on device
- ~5.5 GB
- Device memory
- 8 GB
- Quant
- fp16
- Type
- image (UNET)
- Parameters
- 2.6B
- Peak VRAM
- ~7.5 GB at fp16
- Resolution
- 1024×1024
- License
- CreativeML OpenRAIL++-M
- Memory
- 8 GB unified
- Usable for weights
- ~5.5 GB
- Best runtime
- Ollama (llama.cpp Metal backend)
What you can run instead
Run Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 on other hardware
FAQ
Can Apple M1 (8GB) run Stable Diffusion XL 1.0?
Needs ~7.5 GB at fp16, but only ~5.5 GB is usable on Apple M1 (8GB). With aggressive CPU offload it can run on as little as ~4 GB, much slower.
How much VRAM does Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 need?
Apple M1 (8GB) does not have enough memory. At fp16 the realistic peak is ~7.5 GB of VRAM, versus ~8.5 GB with every component kept resident (no offload). With aggressive CPU offload it drops to ~4 GB, much slower.
What do I use to run Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 locally?
Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 runs in ComfyUI or AUTOMATIC1111 / Forge (among others). It loads as a diffusion checkpoint plus its image encoder and VAE, not a single chat command.
Sources
VRAM figures are sourced peak-usage anchors at the noted quant, validated 2026-06-15. See methodology.