Easy Diffusion vs Fooocus-API
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted ai image generation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Easy Diffusion | Fooocus-API |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 60 · Good |
| Category | AI Image Generation | AI Image Generation |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 8,192 MB |
| Deployment | one-click, bare-metal | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,464 | ★ 674 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Midjourney, DALL-E | DALL-E API, Midjourney |
What are Easy Diffusion and Fooocus-API?
Easy Diffusion
Easy Diffusion is a beginner-friendly tool for generating images with Stable Diffusion using a one-click installer. It hides technical complexity behind a simple browser interface for text-to-image creation.
- One-click install
- Simple browser UI
- Inpainting and upscaling
- No technical knowledge needed
Fooocus-API
Fooocus-API is an open-source project that wraps the Fooocus image generation engine in a REST API. It allows other applications to request Stable Diffusion image generation from a self-hosted backend.
- REST API for image generation
- Async job queue
- OpenAPI documentation
- Docker deployment
Easy Diffusion vs Fooocus-API: key differences
Easy Diffusion is written in JavaScript, while Fooocus-API is built with Python. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Easy Diffusion versus GPL-3.0 for Fooocus-API. Easy Diffusion has the considerably larger community, at 10,464 GitHub stars versus 674. Fooocus-API lists first-class Docker deployment; Easy Diffusion does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Easy Diffusion if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Mature project with 10.5k GitHub stars
Choose Fooocus-API if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Easy Diffusion or Fooocus-API better?
Easy Diffusion is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Fooocus-API if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Easy Diffusion and Fooocus-API free and open-source?
Yes. Easy Diffusion is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Fooocus-API under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Easy Diffusion and Fooocus-API with Docker?
Easy Diffusion: check the project docs for container support. Fooocus-API: yes.