# Noise-Free Score Distillation

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.17590 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.17590/

## Key facts

- Cited by 101 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 28 of its 33 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 26 Oct 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 28 of 28)

- [Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.11239/) (2020)
- [High-Resolution Image Synthesis with Latent Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.10752/) (2021)
- [Score-Based Generative Modeling through Stochastic Differential Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.13456/) (2020)
- [Diffusion Models Beat GANs on Image Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.05233/) (2021)
- [Deep Unsupervised Learning using Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1503.03585/) (2015)
- [Hierarchical Text-Conditional Image Generation with CLIP Latents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.06125/) (2022)
- [Photorealistic Text-to-Image Diffusion Models with Deep Language Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.11487/) (2022)
- [Classifier-Free Diffusion Guidance](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.12598/) (2022)
- [SDXL: Improving Latent Diffusion Models for High-Resolution Image Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.01952/) (2023)
- [DreamFusion: Text-to-3D using 2D Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.14988/) (2022)
- [Scaling Autoregressive Models for Content-Rich Text-to-Image Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.10789/) (2022)
- [Magic3D: High-Resolution Text-to-3D Content Creation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.10440/) (2022)
- [ProlificDreamer: High-Fidelity and Diverse Text-to-3D Generation with Variational Score Distillation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.16213/) (2023)
- [MaskGIT: Masked Generative Image Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.04200/) (2022)
- [eDiff-I: Text-to-Image Diffusion Models with an Ensemble of Expert Denoisers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.01324/) (2022)
- [CogView: Mastering Text-to-Image Generation via Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.13290/) (2021)
- [Fantasia3D: Disentangling Geometry and Appearance for High-quality Text-to-3D Content Creation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.13873/) (2023)
- [Score Jacobian Chaining: Lifting Pretrained 2D Diffusion Models for 3D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.00774/) (2022)
- [Latent-NeRF for Shape-Guided Generation of 3D Shapes and Textures](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.07600/) (2022)
- [Scaling up GANs for Text-to-Image Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.05511/) (2023)
- [Make-A-Scene: Scene-Based Text-to-Image Generation with Human Priors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.13131/) (2022)
- [TextMesh: Generation of Realistic 3D Meshes From Text Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.12439/) (2023)
- [Delta Denoising Score](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.07090/) (2023)
- [VectorFusion: Text-to-SVG by Abstracting Pixel-Based Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.11319/) (2022)
- [HiFA: High-fidelity Text-to-3D Generation with Advanced Diffusion Guidance](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.18766/) (2023)
- [DreamTime: An Improved Optimization Strategy for Diffusion-Guided 3D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.12422/) (2023)
- [Word-As-Image for Semantic Typography](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.01818/) (2023)
- [DS-Fusion: Artistic Typography via Discriminated and Stylized Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.09604/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 101)

- [Adversarial Diffusion Distillation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.17042/) (2023)
- [LucidDreamer: Towards High-Fidelity Text-to-3D Generation via Interval Score Matching](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.11284/) (2023)
- [Align Your Gaussians: Text-to-4D with Dynamic 3D Gaussians and Composed Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.13763/) (2023)
- [VD3D: Taming Large Video Diffusion Transformers for 3D Camera Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.12781/) (2024)
- [AC3D: Analyzing and Improving 3D Camera Control in Video Diffusion Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.18673/) (2024)
- [Self-Rectifying Diffusion Sampling with Perturbed-Attention Guidance](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.17377/) (2024)
- [HumanGaussian: Text-Driven 3D Human Generation with Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.17061/) (2023)
- [IM-3D: Iterative Multiview Diffusion and Reconstruction for High-Quality 3D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.08682/) (2024)
- [TC4D: Trajectory-Conditioned Text-to-4D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.17920/) (2024)
- [GAvatar: Animatable 3D Gaussian Avatars with Implicit Mesh Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.11461/) (2023)
- [DreamMesh4D: Video-to-4D Generation with Sparse-Controlled Gaussian-Mesh Hybrid Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.06756/) (2024)
- [TextureDreamer: Image-guided Texture Synthesis through Geometry-aware Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.09416/) (2024)
- [Director3D: Real-world Camera Trajectory and 3D Scene Generation from Text](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.17601/) (2024)
- [Lyra 2.0: Explorable Generative 3D Worlds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.13036/) (2026)
- [How Far are VLMs from Visual Spatial Intelligence? A Benchmark-Driven Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.18905/) (2025)
- [Score Distillation via Reparametrized DDIM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.15891/) (2024)
- [Lyra: Generative 3D Scene Reconstruction via Video Diffusion Model Self-Distillation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.19296/) (2025)
- [Rethinking Score Distillation as a Bridge Between Image Distributions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.09417/) (2024)
- [Text-to-Image Rectified Flow as Plug-and-Play Priors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.03293/) (2024)
- [HeadStudio: Text to Animatable Head Avatars with 3D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.06149/) (2024)
- [LLMs Meet Multimodal Generation and Editing: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.19334/) (2024)
- [PALP: Prompt Aligned Personalization of Text-to-Image Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.06105/) (2024)
- [Accelerated Diffusion Models via Speculative Sampling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.05370/) (2025)
- [Stable Score Distillation for High-Quality 3D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.09305/) (2023)
- [Score Distillation Sampling with Learned Manifold Corrective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.05293/) (2024)
- [DreamDPO: Aligning Text-to-3D Generation with Human Preferences via Direct Preference Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.04370/) (2025)
- [Controllable Text-to-3D Generation via Surface-Aligned Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.09981/) (2024)
- [Generating Physically Stable and Buildable Brick Structures from Text](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.05469/) (2025)
- [Atlas3D: Physically Constrained Self-Supporting Text-to-3D for Simulation and Fabrication](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.18515/) (2024)
- [Diffusion Time-step Curriculum for One Image to 3D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.04562/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Score Distillation Sampling (SDS) has emerged as the de facto approach for text-to-content generation in non-image domains. In this paper, we reexamine the SDS process and introduce a straightforward interpretation that demystifies the necessity for large Classifier-Free Guidance (CFG) scales, rooted in the distillation of an undesired noise term. Building upon our interpretation, we propose a novel Noise-Free Score Distillation (NFSD) process, which requires minimal modifications to the original SDS framework. Through this streamlined design, we achieve more effective distillation of pre-trained text-to-image diffusion models while using a nominal CFG scale. This strategic choice allows us to prevent the over-smoothing of results, ensuring that the generated data is both realistic and complies with the desired prompt. To demonstrate the efficacy of NFSD, we provide qualitative examples that compare NFSD and SDS, as well as several other methods.