ComfyUI vs Automatic1111 SD WebUI
ComfyUI uses 30–50% less VRAM, launches in seconds, and supports Flux, SD3.5, and Hunyuan Video natively on day one.
Updated Oct 17, 2026 · 1 min read
- Compared Against
- Automatic1111 SD WebUI
- ComfyUI Edge
- Lower VRAM, Flux/Video support, node graph
- Shared Models
- Yes via extra_model_paths.yaml
- Windows Build
- Free download at /download
How ComfyUI compares to Automatic1111 SD WebUI
ComfyUI uses 30–50% less VRAM, launches in seconds, and supports Flux, SD3.5, and Hunyuan Video natively on day one.
**Where ComfyUI pulls ahead:** Asynchronous node graph, smart model offloading, lower VRAM floor, and embedded PNG/WebP workflow metadata.
**Where Automatic1111 SD WebUI fits:** Traditional single-screen tab layout familiar to early 2023 SD 1.5 users.
Running both tools on the same Windows PC without duplicating checkpoints
You do not need to delete Automatic1111 SD WebUI or duplicate 100 GB of `.safetensors` files to switch to ComfyUI. Configure extra_model_paths.yaml so ComfyUI reads your existing checkpoints, LoRAs, VAEs, and ControlNets directly from disk.
Install the Windows desktop or portable build from /download and point it at your existing model library in under two minutes.
ComfyUI vs Automatic1111 SD WebUI Feature Matrix
| Capability | ComfyUI (Windows) | Automatic1111 SD WebUI |
|---|---|---|
| 8 GB RTX 4060 Flux support | Smooth with FP8 / GGUF | Not supported / OOM |
| Startup time on Windows | 2–4 seconds | 20–45 seconds |
| Video models (Hunyuan, Wan, LTX) | Native core nodes | Requires legacy extensions |
| Reproducibility | Drag PNG onto canvas to load full graph | Text infotext snippet only |
FAQs
Can ComfyUI and Automatic1111 SD WebUI share the same models folder on Windows?
Yes. Edit `extra_model_paths.yaml` in your ComfyUI root folder to point `base_path` at your existing models directory so both apps load the exact same files.
Does ComfyUI use less VRAM than Automatic1111 SD WebUI?
ComfyUI only keeps the active node's sub-model (CLIP, UNet, or VAE) in VRAM at each step and supports native FP8 and GGUF quantization, making it significantly lighter on 8 GB and 12 GB GPUs.
Run on your hardware. Free forever.
The full ComfyUI engine: open source, fast, extensible, and yours to run however you want. Download the desktop app and open this workflow on your own machine.
