The modern version of the liquid-drop model (LSD) is compared with the macroscopic part of the binding energy evaluated within the Hartree--Fock--Bogoliubov procedure with the Gogny force and the relativistic mean field theory. The parameters of a liquid-drop like mass formula which approximate on the average the self-consistent results are compared with other models. The limits of nuclear stability predicted by these models are discussed.

PACS numbers: 24.75.+i, 25.85.--w, 25.60.Pj, 25.70--z