Solar Pro vs SD 3.5 Medium
Compare Solar Pro and SD 3.5 Medium: pricing, performance, context window, latency, and best use cases. Side-by-side comparison on XALEN.
Updated 2026-05-21 · By Abhishek Raj · Our methodology
| Feature | Solar Pro | SD 3.5 Medium |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Open Source | Image |
| Parameters | 22B | 2.5B |
| Context Window | 32K | N/A |
| Input Price | $0.02/1M tokens | $0.003/image/1M tokens |
| Output Price | $0.04/1M tokens | N/A/1M tokens |
| Latency | ~180ms | ~2s |
Choose Solar Pro when:
- ✓ General purpose
- ✓ Korean content
- ✓ Chatbots
Good instruction following, Compact, Efficient
Choose SD 3.5 Medium when:
- ✓ General imagery
- ✓ Batch generation
- ✓ Prototyping
Good quality, Fast, Open weights
Verdict: Solar Pro vs SD 3.5 Medium
For cost efficiency, SD 3.5 Medium wins at $0.003/image/1M input tokens. For speed, Solar Pro is faster at ~180ms. Solar Pro excels at General purpose while SD 3.5 Medium is better for General imagery. Both are available on XALEN through a single API — try them in the Playground to see which fits your workload.
Detailed Analysis
Pricing Comparison
Solar Pro costs $0.02/1M input tokens and $0.04/1M output tokens. SD 3.5 Medium costs $0.003/image input and N/A output. SD 3.5 Medium is 6.7x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.
Performance & Context
Solar Pro has a 32K context window with ~180ms latency. SD 3.5 Medium offers N/A context at ~2s. Solar Pro has the larger context window.
Best For
Solar Pro (Open Source) is optimized for: General purpose, Korean content, Chatbots. SD 3.5 Medium (Image) works best for: General imagery, Batch generation, Prototyping.
Try Both on XALEN
Both models are available through XALEN's OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between them by changing the model parameter:
from xalen import XALEN
client = XALEN(api_key="xln_test_YOUR_KEY")
# Use Solar Pro
response_a = client.chat.completions.create(
model="solar-pro",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)
# Use SD 3.5 Medium
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
model="stable-diffusion-3-5-medium",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Solar Pro or SD 3.5 Medium?
Solar Pro (Open Source, 22B) offers Good instruction following. SD 3.5 Medium (Image, 2.5B) offers Good quality. Choose Solar Pro for General purpose or SD 3.5 Medium for General imagery.
How much does Solar Pro cost vs SD 3.5 Medium?
Solar Pro: $0.02/1M input, $0.04/1M output. SD 3.5 Medium: $0.003/image/1M input, N/A/1M output. Both available on XALEN with batch processing at 50% discount.
Can I use both models on XALEN?
Yes. XALEN provides 200+ models through a single OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between Solar Pro and SD 3.5 Medium by changing the model parameter. No code changes needed.
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Last updated: 2026-05-21. Pricing and specifications may change. Check pricing page for latest rates.