image model · stable-diffusion · macOS
SD Can I run Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large on Apple M1 (8GB)?
Needs ~7 GB at Q4 GGUF, but only ~5.5 GB is usable on Apple M1 (8GB). With aggressive CPU offload it can run on as little as ~5 GB, much slower.
Needs ~7 GB at Q4 GGUF, but only ~5.5 GB is usable on Apple M1 (8GB). With aggressive CPU offload it can run on as little as ~5 GB, much slower.
- Peak VRAM
- ~7 GB
- Usable on device
- ~5.5 GB
- Device memory
- 8 GB
- Quant
- Q4 GGUF
- Type
- image (MMDIT)
- Parameters
- 8.1B
- Peak VRAM
- ~7 GB at Q4 GGUF
- Resolution
- 1024×1024
- License
- Stability Community License
- 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 3.5 Large on other hardware
FAQ
Can Apple M1 (8GB) run Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large?
Needs ~7 GB at Q4 GGUF, but only ~5.5 GB is usable on Apple M1 (8GB). With aggressive CPU offload it can run on as little as ~5 GB, much slower.
How much VRAM does Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large need?
Apple M1 (8GB) does not have enough memory. At Q4 GGUF the realistic peak is ~7 GB of VRAM, versus ~19 GB with every component kept resident (no offload). With aggressive CPU offload it drops to ~5 GB, much slower.
What do I use to run Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large locally?
Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large runs in ComfyUI or Draw Things (among others). It loads as a diffusion checkpoint plus its text 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.