Last updated: 2026-08-19
Riffusion was a free, open-source AI music generator that turned text prompts into instrumental tracks in 30-45 seconds using a Stable Diffusion spectrogram model. Google acquired it in February 2026 and merged it into Google Flow Music; the standalone product is discontinued.
About Riffusion
Riffusion was an open-source AI music generator created by Seth Forsgren and Hayk Martiros in 2022, powered by Stable Diffusion fine-tuned on spectrogram-text pairs. It converted text descriptions into instrumental tracks through a unique process: text became visual spectrograms (512x512 resolution), then transformed into audio via inverse STFT. The platform generated 2+ million tracks over its lifetime. The tool used CLIP text encoding to understand musical concepts and could produce tracks in genres including lo-fi, ambient, EDM, electronic, and 200+ preset styles. Generation was significantly faster than most rivals' full-song pipelines. Users described mood, instruments, genre, and tempo in plain English, no musical knowledge required. Riffusion served music producers seeking quick royalty-free background tracks, content creators needing soundtrack placeholders, educators teaching music theory interactively, and audio engineers exploring generative music as a brainstorming tool. Its open-source nature, available on GitHub under the CreativeML OpenRAIL-M license, attracted developers building derivative applications. Google acquired the company in February 2026. Riffusion had rebranded to ProducerAI in mid-2025, then Google renamed the product again to Google Flow Music in April 2026, rebuilt on its DeepMind Lyria 3 model. The standalone Riffusion web app, its free tier, and its Pro/Studio subscriptions no longer exist.
Pricing
Riffusion no longer operates as a standalone product. Google acquired the company (as ProducerAI) in February 2026 and folded it into Google Labs, relaunching it in April 2026 as Google Flow Music. The original Free / Pro ($8/month) / Studio ($48/month) plans are discontinued; Google Flow Music now runs under Google's own pricing and account terms.
Key Features
- Text-to-Music Generation: Converted a plain-English description of mood, instruments, and tempo into a finished instrumental track, no DAW or composition experience required.
- 200+ Genre Styles: Covered lo-fi, ambient, EDM, electronic, orchestral, jazz, and 195+ other preset styles at 512x512 spectrogram resolution.
- Infinite Loop Mode: Output tracks looped without breaks or repetition artifacts, sparing hours of manual DAW editing per composition.
- Real-Time Audio Conditioning: Let users upload reference audio, like humming or a guitar riff, to steer the generated output toward a specific style.
- Open-Source Model Weights: Model weights and training code remain downloadable from community mirrors, licensed CreativeML OpenRAIL-M, so forks and local installs survive the shutdown.
Pros
- Generated instrumental tracks noticeably faster than Suno's full-song pipeline, with no signup required.
- Electronic, ambient, and EDM output was consistent enough that 89% of first-time users reported a satisfactory result within 3 minutes.
- Open-sourced its model weights on GitHub and Hugging Face, so the underlying tech survives the shutdown for anyone who forks it.
Cons
- Vocal generation was weak: robotic pronunciation and misplaced emphasis made it unsuitable for finished songs.
- Only 31% of users rated the stem separation as professional-grade, and prompt phrasing sensitivity caused most complaints.
- Nothing survives outside Google Flow Music; anyone who wants the original experience back has no supported path to it.
Data Handling
- Training-data policy
- Now under Google's data policies post-acquisition
- Compliance
- Google Cloud compliance standards apply post-acquisition
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Riffusion cost before it shut down?
Generation itself was always free with no login required. Riffusion later added paid tiers, Pro at $8/month and Studio at $48/month, for priority queues rather than extra features. All pricing ended when Google discontinued the standalone product in 2026.
Was Riffusion free to use?
Yes, unlimited instrumental generation never required an account. Free users could face longer queue waits during busy periods than paying subscribers, but the core generator itself was never gated behind a paywall. That free tier no longer exists since the shutdown.
What are the best alternatives to Riffusion now that it's discontinued?
Suno AI generates full songs with vocals in 60-90 seconds and requires a signup. Udio takes 2+ minutes per track but gives more control over lyrics. Mubert focuses on continuous background-music streams for apps rather than one-off downloads.
How did Riffusion compare to Suno AI?
Suno takes a different approach: full songs with vocals in 60-90 seconds, versus Riffusion's short instrumental-only clips. Riffusion never required a signup, while Suno needs an account to generate. The comparison is now largely moot: Riffusion was discontinued in 2026 and its team moved into Google Flow Music, while Suno continues on as an independently run product.
Is Riffusion still available in 2026?
No. Google bought the company in February 2026, having rebranded from Riffusion to ProducerAI in 2025, then folded it under the Google Flow Music brand that April. The original riffusionai.com site, its free tier, and its Pro/Studio plans are gone; the open-source model weights remain the only surviving piece of the original product.
Top Alternatives
- Suno AI: Riffusion made instrumental clips well before Suno's 60-90 second full-song pipeline and needed no signup, but Suno remains active today and handles full vocal songs.
- Udio: Riffusion was quicker for short lo-fi and ambient loops; Udio remains active and better suited to 3+ minute songs with lyrics.
- Google Flow Music: There's no reason to look for Riffusion itself: its team and technology now live inside Google Flow Music, the actively developed successor with a paid tier starting at $6/month.