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ACE-Stepv1.5Reported

ACE-Step: what’s new in v1.5 and our verdict

Open-source (Apache-2.0) music generation foundation model you can run yourself.

Official site

Release Ruler for ACE-Step: marked at its Reported release date on the timeline of every AI model we track.

At a glance

Evidence
Reported
Released
Jan 28, 2026
Last verified
Oct 25, 2026
Pricing
Not verified
Best for
music

Evidence and ranking

Evidence behind this verdict

  1. Sources read2 cited sources, latest fetched Oct 25, 2026. (done)
  2. Facts re-checkedLast verified Oct 25, 2026. (done)
  3. Not run by us yetWe have not run it, so this is labelled Reported. (not done)

Where we rank it (editorial)

Editorial picks, not benchmark scores. How we rank.

Pricing: We have not verified pricing for this tool; see the official site.

Our verdict

The pick if you want open weights and local control; expect a manual setup and no recent updates.

Good for

  • Tinkerers who want to run music generation locally
  • Developers who want to fine-tune with LoRA
  • People who need Apache-2.0 licensing

Skip if

  • You want a polished app with no setup
  • You need active weekly releases

Status: Reported. This write-up is based on official release notes and docs; we have not run this release ourselves yet.

Best for

What’s new

ACE-Step v1.5 was released on Jan 28, 2026 per the README. The repository's last push we saw was in February 2026, so treat it as a stable open option rather than a fast-moving one.

  • 2026-01-28: README announces ACE-Step v1.5 as the latest and most advanced model.
  • The model targets many styles and 19 languages, with ComfyUI nodes and LoRA training instructions listed in the README.
  • The README notes a memory optimization that reduced maximum VRAM to 8GB for consumer devices.

How to set it up: Run ACE-Step locally

Steps come from the vendor's own pages or docs. We have not run them ourselves.

  1. Clone the repo

    The README starts by cloning the repository.

    git clone https://github.com/ace-step/ACE-Step.git
cd ACE-Step

  2. Create an environment and install

    Use a virtual environment and an editable install. Install the PyTorch build that matches your GPU first, as the README describes.

    python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

  3. Launch the UI

    Start the Gradio UI. The README recommends extra flags on lower-VRAM GPUs.

    acestep --port 7865

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Apache-2.0 open source
  • Runs locally; README says as little as 8GB VRAM with optimizations
  • ComfyUI nodes and LoRA training available

Cons

  • No GitHub releases found; last push Feb 2026
  • Setup needs a GPU and technical comfort
  • We did not listen-test it

Alternatives and comparisons

  • Suno: AI music creation: text, audio, images or video in, finished songs out.
  • ElevenLabs: Voice, speech, music and voice-agent platform with a detailed API changelog.

See all alternatives to ACE-Step

FAQ

What is ACE-Step?

An open-source foundation model for music generation, with v1.5 announced on 2026-01-28 in the README.

How much VRAM does ACE-Step need?

The README says a memory optimization reduced maximum VRAM to 8GB.

Is ACE-Step actively updated?

Our check found the repository last pushed in February 2026 and no recent releases.

What we have not verified

  • Audio quality compared with Suno (not tested)
  • Whether newer versions exist outside the repo
  • Hardware needs for v1.5 specifically

Sources

Last verified · Agentic Weekly

Part of the week of Jan 26, 2026 archive.

  • ElevenLabs: Best for builders adding voice or music to products; the Video to Music API is the interesting new piece for creators.
  • Suno: The most complete song-making tool we track; the v6 editing features are the draw. Rights and licensing questions are yours to check.

How to cite this page

Agentic Weekly, "ACE-Step v1.5: what's new, verdict & setup", last updated 2026-10-25, https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/ace-step

Keep the Reported or Tested label when you quote a verdict. Plain-text version: https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/ace-step.md. More for AI assistants: /ai, /tools.json, /llms.txt.