diff --git a/examples/cli/main.cpp b/examples/cli/main.cpp
index f9e4928ea..440c5b044 100644
--- a/examples/cli/main.cpp
+++ b/examples/cli/main.cpp
@@ -750,7 +750,8 @@ int main(int argc, const char* argv[]) {
                     gen_params.pm_id_embed_path.c_str(),
                     gen_params.pm_style_strength,
                 },  // pm_params
-                ctx_params.vae_tiling_params,
+                ctx_params.get_tiling_params(gen_params.get_resolved_width(),
+                                             gen_params.get_resolved_height()),
                 gen_params.cache_params,
             };
 
@@ -776,7 +777,8 @@ int main(int argc, const char* argv[]) {
                 gen_params.seed,
                 gen_params.video_frames,
                 gen_params.vace_strength,
-                ctx_params.vae_tiling_params,
+                ctx_params.get_tiling_params(gen_params.get_resolved_width(),
+                                             gen_params.get_resolved_height()),
                 gen_params.cache_params,
             };
 
diff --git a/examples/common/common.hpp b/examples/common/common.hpp
index 50f35aed8..ecffb0479 100644
--- a/examples/common/common.hpp
+++ b/examples/common/common.hpp
@@ -475,6 +475,7 @@ struct SDContextParams {
     prediction_t prediction           = PREDICTION_COUNT;
     lora_apply_mode_t lora_apply_mode = LORA_APPLY_AUTO;
 
+    int vae_tiling_threshold             = 0;
     sd_tiling_params_t vae_tiling_params = {false, 0, 0, 0.5f, 0.0f, 0.0f};
     bool force_sdxl_vae_conv_scale       = false;
 
@@ -588,10 +589,6 @@ struct SDContextParams {
         };
 
         options.bool_options = {
-            {"",
-             "--vae-tiling",
-             "process vae in tiles to reduce memory usage",
-             true, &vae_tiling_params.enabled},
             {"",
              "--force-sdxl-vae-conv-scale",
              "force use of conv scale on sdxl vae",
@@ -728,6 +725,33 @@ struct SDContextParams {
             return 1;
         };
 
+        auto on_tiling_threshold = [&](int argc, const char** argv, int index) {
+            vae_tiling_threshold = 1;
+            if (++index >= argc) {
+                return 0;
+            }
+            size_t pos                = 0;
+            std::string threshold_str = argv[index];
+            int result                = -1;
+            try {
+                result                = std::stoi(threshold_str, &pos);
+            } catch (const std::invalid_argument&) {
+                // check if it's likely to be another flag
+                return (threshold_str.rfind("-", 0) == 0) ? 0 : -1;
+            } catch (const std::out_of_range&) {
+                return -1;
+            }
+            if (pos != threshold_str.length() || result < 0) {
+                return -1;
+            }
+            if (result > 32768) {
+                // avoid overflow if the user disabled tiling by using a huge value
+                result = 0;
+            }
+            vae_tiling_threshold = result;
+            return 1;
+        };
+
         auto on_tile_size_arg = [&](int argc, const char** argv, int index) {
             if (++index >= argc) {
                 return -1;
@@ -800,6 +824,11 @@ struct SDContextParams {
              "but it usually offers faster inference speed and, in some cases, lower memory usage. "
              "The at_runtime mode, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite.",
              on_lora_apply_mode_arg},
+            {"",
+             "--vae-tiling",
+             "process vae in tiles to reduce memory usage. Optionally receives a size threshold T, which will "
+             "turn on tiling only for images larger than TxT.",
+             on_tiling_threshold},
             {"",
              "--vae-tile-size",
              "tile size for vae tiling, format [X]x[Y] (default: 32x32)",
@@ -929,6 +958,7 @@ struct SDContextParams {
             << vae_tiling_params.target_overlap << ", "
             << vae_tiling_params.rel_size_x << ", "
             << vae_tiling_params.rel_size_y << " },\n"
+            << "  vae_tiling_threshold: " << vae_tiling_threshold << ",\n"
             << "  force_sdxl_vae_conv_scale: " << (force_sdxl_vae_conv_scale ? "true" : "false") << "\n"
             << "}";
         return oss.str();
@@ -990,6 +1020,18 @@ struct SDContextParams {
         };
         return sd_ctx_params;
     }
+
+    sd_tiling_params_t get_tiling_params(int width, int height) {
+        sd_tiling_params_t params = vae_tiling_params;
+        if (vae_tiling_threshold == 0) {
+            params.enabled = false;
+        } else {
+            int area       = width * height;
+            int threshold  = vae_tiling_threshold * vae_tiling_threshold;
+            params.enabled = (area > threshold);
+        }
+        return params;
+    }
 };
 
 template <typename T>
diff --git a/examples/server/main.cpp b/examples/server/main.cpp
index 0fb10c7a3..1eceebca0 100644
--- a/examples/server/main.cpp
+++ b/examples/server/main.cpp
@@ -500,7 +500,7 @@ int main(int argc, const char** argv) {
                     gen_params.pm_id_embed_path.c_str(),
                     gen_params.pm_style_strength,
                 },  // pm_params
-                ctx_params.vae_tiling_params,
+                ctx_params.get_tiling_params(gen_params.width, gen_params.height),
                 gen_params.cache_params,
             };
 
@@ -741,7 +741,7 @@ int main(int argc, const char** argv) {
                     gen_params.pm_id_embed_path.c_str(),
                     gen_params.pm_style_strength,
                 },  // pm_params
-                ctx_params.vae_tiling_params,
+                ctx_params.get_tiling_params(get_resolved_width(), get_resolved_height()),
                 gen_params.cache_params,
             };
 
@@ -1055,7 +1055,7 @@ int main(int argc, const char** argv) {
                     gen_params.pm_id_embed_path.c_str(),
                     gen_params.pm_style_strength,
                 },  // pm_params
-                ctx_params.vae_tiling_params,
+                ctx_params.get_tiling_params(get_resolved_width(), get_resolved_height()),
                 gen_params.cache_params,
             };