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SDXL Lightning

by ByteDance · Released 2024

ByteDance's ultra-fast distilled SDXL model. Generates images in a fraction of the time of standard diffusion models. The most affordable image model on the platform.

Image Generation

SDXL Lightning

Powered by ByteDance · Distilled SDXL

Context Window

N/A

Parameters

Undisclosed

Max Output

N/A

Category

Image Generation

Overview

SDXL Lightning is ByteDance's ultra-fast distilled variant of Stable Diffusion XL, designed to generate images in a fraction of the time of standard diffusion models. By using progressive distillation techniques, it reduces the number of inference steps needed from 20-50 down to just 1-4 steps, achieving near-instant image generation.

The distillation process trains a student model to match the output of the full SDXL model in fewer steps, resulting in dramatically faster generation with only a modest quality trade-off. The model produces good-quality images suitable for rapid prototyping, thumbnail creation, and high-volume generation where speed and cost matter more than maximum fidelity.

At $0.04 per image (tied with DreamShaper 8 LCM as the cheapest option), SDXL Lightning is the go-to choice for applications that need to generate large volumes of images quickly and cheaply — think real-time preview generation, rapid iteration on design concepts, and batch processing pipelines.

Pricing

MetricPrice
Price /image₹4.0000

1 credit = ₹1 = $0.01 USD. Prices shown from provider; CallMissed passes through with ~35% markup.

Key Highlights

  • Ultra-fast generation
  • Lowest cost at $0.04/image
  • Distilled SDXL architecture
  • Good for rapid iteration

Benchmarks

BenchmarkScore
Generation Speed1-4 steps
Price$0.04
Resolution1024×1024
Quality/SpeedGood

Technical Details

  • Progressive distillation of Stable Diffusion XL
  • Reduces inference from 20-50 steps to 1-4 steps
  • Near-instant image generation
  • Default resolution: 1024×1024 pixels (SDXL native)
  • Tied cheapest image model at $0.04 per image
  • OpenAI-compatible API for easy integration

Strengths

  • Ultra-fast generation — near-instant with 1-4 inference steps
  • Tied cheapest at $0.04/image — ideal for high-volume workloads
  • SDXL-based quality in a fraction of the generation time
  • Great for rapid iteration and real-time preview generation

Limitations

  • Lower fidelity than full SDXL or Flux 2 models
  • Less detail and coherence on complex multi-subject scenes
  • Limited fine-grained control over generation parameters

Use Cases

Rapid prototypingHigh-volume generationThumbnail creationTesting and iteration

API Example

curl https://api.callmissed.com/v1/images/generations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer cm_YOUR_KEY" \
  -d '{"model": "sdxl-lightning", "prompt": "A cute cartoon cat", "n": 1}'

Endpoint: POST /v1/images/generations · Model ID: sdxl-lightning

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