With the artificial intelligence sector continuing to thrive, we’ve seen plenty of creativity and productivity-oriented apps add AI-powered features to their arsenal of tools and services. This includes the ultra-useful generative fill facility Adobe integrated into Photoshop back in 2023. If you’re unfamiliar with this game-changing feature, generative fill leverages the Adobe Firefly model to simplify the process of editing images. Besides allowing you to switch backgrounds, generative fill lets you add and even delete entire objects from a photo!

As it turns out, Stable Diffusion also lets you harness the power of generative fill into your workflow. Unfortunately, it’s a bit lacking compared to what we have on Photoshop, and here are three reasons why you might want to stick to Adobe's premium solution over Stability AI’s all-popular image generation model.

4 You’ll need a beefy GPU to run Stable Diffusion locally

The VRAM requirements on the high-end SD models are off-the-charts

Although the Adobe Creative Cloud lets you install Photoshop locally on your system, the generative fill facility runs on the company’s servers. As such, it can only be accessed when you’re connected to the Internet. On paper, this may sound like a drawback, but since none of the processing is handled by your PC, you can run generative fill on low-end systems.

On the other hand, if you wish to run Stable Diffusions and the generative fill extensions on a local machine, you’ll need a powerful graphics card with mind-boggling amounts of VRAM. Of course, you can also go the online SD model route. But for professional tasks, running it on a local server is preferable.

3 No need to jump through hoops to enable generative fill on Photoshop

Most Stable Diffusion models require complex extensions to use generative fill

Since generative fill is built into the latest versions of Photoshop, you don’t have to look for extensions to use it with your projects. In contrast, you’ll have to undergo a painstakingly long process to add generative fill extensions to your preferred Stable Diffusion model.

And that’s assuming everything will work as expected. Adobe’s products may be infamous for their constant crashes, but setting up SD models on your system is already a hectic process. Couple that with the extra effort to set up complex extensions, and it’s easy to see why Photoshop is the better option for creative professionals who aren’t familiar with the technical side of Stable Diffusion.

2 Photoshop has a simpler UI for generating images

And gets the images right most of the time

Photoshop’s easy-to-use nature is one of the prime reasons why it has dominated the image editing industry for decades. Leveraging generative fill is an extremely straightforward process on Adobe’s golden app: all you have to do is highlight parts of the image with an image selection tool and choose the Generative Fill option when it pops up.

Meanwhile, even the simplest Stable Diffusion GUI client requires you to fine-tune your prompts for the ideal results. While your experience may vary depending on the SD model, I’ve had much better luck generating the ideal backgrounds with Photoshop’s generative fill.

1 Photoshop is just as amazing for editing images

Photopea + Stable Diffusion can't hold a candle to the industry standard

Unlike Stable Diffusion, Photoshop is built to process raster images. As such, it’s equipped with all the features you’ll ever need to touch-up a photo after using the generative fill facility. From handy layers to a multitude of brushes and filters, Photoshop provides a convenient option for those who want to quickly edit their images - with or without using AI features.

By default, most Stable Diffusion clients aren’t equipped with image editors. So, your only choices are to look into integrations that let you connect Stable Diffusion to a photo editing tool, or import the pictures to a Photoshop alternative after running the generative fill extension. Again, both choices are far more cumbersome, when you can perform all the modifications within seconds inside Photoshop’s sleek UI.

Stable Diffusion does have its pros in certain aspects

I’ll admit that I’ve been too hard on Stable Diffusion in this article, but the truth is that it’s not good enough if you’re looking for a suitable Photoshop replacement for generative fill. However, Stable Diffusion has its own set of merits. If you’re concerned about your privacy, it might be a good idea to move away from Adobe’s product suite, especially after the company’s numerous anti-consumer actions.

Plus, most of the local models are free, and assuming you’re the proud owner of a pixel-pushing graphics card, you shouldn’t encounter too many performance issues even when using generative fill extensions with Stable Diffusion.