Stable Audio
B Tier · 7.4/10
Stability AI's music + sound-effects model family -- Stable Audio 3.0 (2026-05-20) ships open weights on its small/medium models, generates full 6-minute compositions, and is trained on fully licensed Warner + Universal data. **A Stable Audio DAW plugin (macOS AU/VST3, Logic and Ableton, tempo-synced) and a multi-track web editor shipped in beta on 2026-08-18**, and Stability closed a **$76M Series B on 2026-08-25** ($232M total) with EA, Sony Music, Universal and Warner Music investing
Score Breakdown
The Good and the Bad
What we like
- +Trained on FULLY LICENSED data (Warner Music + Universal Music partnerships) -- the cleanest copyright story in AI music while Suno and Udio fight UMG/Sony litigation
- +Open weights on the Small + Medium tiers means you can self-host and fine-tune -- rare in AI music, where Suno, Udio, and ElevenMusic are all closed
- +Medium and Large generate full ~6:20 compositions that maintain structure and melodic tone, not just short loops
- +Small variants (459M) are light enough to run on-device, opening up local/offline SFX and music generation
What could be better
- −The best model (Large 2.7B) is API-only -- the open-weight story doesn't extend to the flagship
- −No vocal/lyric generation like Suno or Udio -- this is instrumental music plus sound effects, not 'type lyrics, get a sung song'
- −Brand new (2026-05-20) -- independent quality benchmarking against established Suno/Udio output isn't available yet
- −Companies over $1M in revenue need a paid enterprise license even for the open-weight models -- 'open' comes with commercial strings
Pricing
Open Weights (Small SFX, Small, Medium)
- ✓Small SFX + Small (459M) and Medium (1.4B) released with open weights
- ✓Small variants generate up to ~2 minutes and are light enough for on-device use
- ✓Self-host and fine-tune; commercial use is subject to Stability's licensing terms
API / Large (2.7B)
- ✓The Large model is API-only (via partners such as fal.ai) or paid self-hosting
- ✓Generates full compositions up to 6 min 20 sec that hold musical structure
- ✓Per-token / per-second pricing not disclosed at launch
Enterprise License
- ✓Required for companies exceeding $1M in annual revenue
- ✓Commercial self-hosting + enterprise terms
- ✓Contact Stability AI
Known Issues
- STABILITY AI CLOSES A $76M SERIES B -- EA, SONY MUSIC, UMG AND WARNER MUSIC ALL INVEST, TOTAL FUNDING $232M (2026-08-25, vendor-primary; unrecorded until 2026-09-17): Stability announced 'a Series B fundraise of $76M in new capital', bringing total funding under CEO Prem Akkaraju to **$232M** 'inclusive of two equity rounds and convertible notes'. **New investors: Electronic Arts, Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, AMD Ventures and Pacific Alliance Ventures**; Coatue, Greycroft, Kadmos, Sean Parker and Eric Schmidt re-up. Coatue co-founder Thomas Laffont joins a board that already includes James Cameron and Sean Parker. **What it means for Stable Audio:** all three majors now hold equity in the vendor whose music model is trained on licensed Warner and Universal catalogues -- the licensing relationship recorded on this page is now also an ownership relationship, which cuts both ways (deeper catalogue access; less likelihood of an adversarial rights posture, but also less independence). Stability describes itself in the release as 'the leader in purpose-built AI products for professional creatives across music, gaming, and entertainment' -- the image-model-first identity of the SD3.5 era is gone from the positioning.Source: Stability AI (stability.ai/news-updates/stability-ai-latest-funding-backed-by-entertainment-industry-biggest-names, JSON-LD datePublished 2026-08-25, on-page 'August 25, 2026', by Louisa Marshall) -- rendered via Firecrawl 2026-09-17 · 2026-08-25
- STABLE AUDIO DAW PLUGIN AND MULTI-TRACK WEB EDITOR SHIP IN BETA -- MACOS AU/VST3 FOR LOGIC AND ABLETON, TEMPO SYNC, SIX-MINUTE GENERATIONS (2026-08-18, vendor-primary; unrecorded until 2026-09-17): Stability released two ways to work with Stable Audio 3.0. **The Stable Audio plugin** loads as an instrument in a DAW (Logic's Instrument slot, Ableton's Instrument-track PlugIns), syncs to session BPM, generates 'from a short section to a full six-minute song', and keeps multiple takes in a playlist; **macOS AU and VST3 only, Apple Silicon and Intel** -- no Windows build stated. **The web app on StableAudio.com** adds iterative direction in plain language, audio-to-audio variation, per-track level/pan/mute/solo plus per-track and master effects, and bouncing individual parts or the mix. Both run on Stability's 'commercially-safe models' with the standing promise that 'you own your outputs, and can distribute outputs freely'. **Explicitly 'an early beta, so some features are experimental'.** This is the first time Stable Audio has been positioned as a production tool inside the musician's existing session rather than a prompt box, and it is the surface the Series B (8/25) release points to.Source: Stability AI (stability.ai/news-updates/sharing-a-new-way-to-work-with-stable-audio, JSON-LD datePublished 2026-08-18, on-page 'August 18, 2026', by Louisa Marshall) -- rendered via Firecrawl 2026-09-17 · 2026-08-18
- Stable Audio 3.0 launched 2026-05-20 as a family of four models: Small SFX and Small (459M), Medium (1.4B), and Large (2.7B). Medium and Large produce full compositions up to 6 minutes 20 seconds; the small models target up to ~2 minutes and on-device use. Small SFX, Small, and Medium ship with open weights; Large is restricted to API access, paid self-hosting, and enterprise licensing. Stability states the models are built on fully licensed data, backed by previously announced Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group partnerships. No public pricing was disclosed at launchSource: TechCrunch (2026-05-20), The Decoder · 2026-05-20
- As a brand-new release, third-party quality comparisons vs Suno v5 / Udio are not yet available -- vendor demos look strong on structure and licensing is the headline differentiator, but independent evaluation is pending. Treat output-quality scoring here as preliminarySource: AIToolTier editorial note · 2026-05
Best for
Developers and music/SFX creators who want a copyright-clean, license-backed AI audio model -- especially anyone who needs to self-host or fine-tune (Small/Medium open weights), or who is wary of the UMG/Sony litigation hanging over Suno and Udio.
Not for
Anyone who wants to type lyrics and get a finished vocal song -- Suno and Udio are built for that. Also not for users who need the top-quality model open-weight (Large is API-only) or a polished one-click consumer app over a developer-leaning toolset.
Our Verdict
Stable Audio 3.0 is the most interesting AI music release of the moment for one reason: it's built on fully licensed data and ships open weights on three of its four models -- the opposite of the closed, litigation-shadowed approach of Suno and Udio. Medium and Large generating coherent 6-minute compositions is a real step up from loop-length generation, and on-device-capable small models open up local workflows. The catches are that the flagship Large model stays API-only, there's no vocal-song generation, and as a brand-new release it hasn't been independently benchmarked yet. If copyright cleanliness, self-hosting, or fine-tuning matter to you, it's an immediate A-list option; if you want one-click vocal songs, stick with Suno.
Sources
- Stability AI: The Entertainment Industry's Biggest Names Back Stability AI in Latest Funding Round -- $76M Series B, $232M total, EA/Sony/UMG/WMG (2026-08-25) (accessed 2026-09-17)
- Stability AI: Sharing a new way to work with Stable Audio -- DAW plugin (macOS AU/VST3) and multi-track web editor, beta (2026-08-18) (accessed 2026-09-17)
- TechCrunch: Stability AI releases a new audio model that can create six-minute songs (2026-05-20) (accessed 2026-05-26)
- The Decoder: Stability AI launches Stable Audio 3.0 (accessed 2026-05-26)
- Stability AI official site (accessed 2026-05-26)
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Alternatives to Stable Audio
Suno
Type a sentence, get a full song back -- vocals, instruments, and all. **Speech (beta) opened to everyone on 2026-10-01: Suno's first audio model that generates a spoken voice and original background music as one track -- type a poem or script, describe the voice and musical style, and get a scored reading; it is explicitly a beta (accents can wander) and no pricing or credit cost is stated.** **Suno v6 launched 2026-09-09**: the first model generation developed with industry partners (Warner Music Group, BMG, Believe), in three variants -- **v6** (Pro/Premier), **v6-wild** (Pro/Premier, more varied) and **v6-mini** (everyone, now the free model). Section-level edits, mashups and sampling by plain-language prompt; text/audio/image/video input. **All previous models (v4-v5.5) will be retired as v6 rolls out.** Download caps and a new ToS took effect 2026-09-03: Free 7 lifetime trial downloads, Pro 20/month, Premier 60/month (unlimited via Suno Studio), retroactive
Udio
AI music generation that leans harder into audio fidelity and sonic detail than the competition
AIVA
AI music composer specializing in orchestral and cinematic scores -- one of the oldest players in AI music **Pricing is in euros and was verified 2026-10-06: Free (3 downloads a month, AIVA keeps the copyright, credit required), Standard EUR 11/month billed annually, Pro EUR 33/month billed annually for full copyright, 300 downloads and WAV export; monthly billing costs more, and AIVA now claims 250+ styles.**
Soundraw
AI music generator that builds royalty-free tracks you can customize beat by beat
Lyria 3.5 (Google)
**Two new surfaces in two days: Lovable apps can generate music with Lyria 3 Clip Preview (about 30 s) and Lyria 3 Pro Preview (up to 184 s) from 2026-10-05, credits charged per finished track; and Google Flow Music now exports custom Spaces as VST3/AU plugins for DAWs (2026-10-06).** Google DeepMind's music generation model. **Lyria 3.5 launched 2026-07-29 into Google Flow Music only** -- and on **2026-09-04 it finally reached the Gemini app and the Gemini API**, closing the availability caveat this page has carried since July. Now **available to all users globally on web and mobile**, plus Flow Music, AI Studio and Google Vids, with genre and vocal/instrumental selection, starter templates and a choice of short or longer tracks. Still no API rate card, track-length spec or commercial-rights statement. The Lyria 3 Pro line brought 3-minute structured songs with intro, verse, chorus and outro control
ElevenMusic
ElevenLabs' AI music platform -- commercially licensed from day one, voice-cloning stack built in. Web platform launched 2026-04-29 alongside iOS (originally iOS-only at 2026-04-02 launch). $11M paid to creators via the ElevenLabs voice library, 4,000+ independent artists creating on the platform, and Eleven Album Vol. 2 curated release with Danger Twins, Justin Love, and partner Jonas Group Entertainment