Overview
- Tool name: GPT Image 2.5
- Developer: OpenAI
- Official website: https://openai.com/api
- Pricing page: https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing
- Category: AI image models
GPT Image 2.5 is OpenAI's current image generation model, released September 8, 2026 and the official successor to DALL-E 3 - whose API was shut down on May 12, 2026, with the ChatGPT version retired on August 30, 2026. The model ships in two variants, flare and sunburst (different quality/speed orientations), served via the OpenAI API and ChatGPT.
API pricing (official, per million image tokens)
- Input $8 / output $30
- Verified against OpenAI's official pricing page developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing (October 2026)
- Image tokens are computed from resolution and dimensions, a different billing basis from text tokens
Relationship to DALL-E 3
- DALL-E 3 is retired: API closed May 12, 2026; ChatGPT version pulled August 30, 2026
- Migration: point calls at GPT Image 2.5. Prompt style is broadly compatible, but output style and compositional understanding changed noticeably - re-run visual review on key assets
- These are not the same generation of architecture; do not carry over old prompt-length or step expectations
Who it is for
- All-in-one generation inside ChatGPT: conversation to image with no tool switching
- Projects already on OpenAI: same API key and SDK, lowest integration cost
- Assets where typography and complex composition matter: closed flagships still lead the open-weight tier here
Limitations
- Closed source, no weights, no self-hosting
- Per-image-token billing ($8/$30) is markedly more expensive at batch volumes than open-weight tiers like FLUX 3 Klein (from $0.009 per image)
- No LoRA/fine-tuning equivalent to the Stable Diffusion ecosystem
Frequently asked questions
Is GPT Image 2.5 the same as DALL-E 4?
No. OpenAI named it GPT Image 2.5 (with flare and sunburst variants), not a continuation of the DALL-E line; DALL-E 3 is fully retired.
What does it cost?
Official pricing is $8 input / $30 output per million image tokens (OpenAI's official pricing page).
Is DALL-E 3 still available?
No. The API closed on May 12, 2026 and the ChatGPT version was retired on August 30, 2026 - migrate to GPT Image 2.5.
GPT Image 2.5 vs Nano Banana vs FLUX 3?
GPT Image 2.5 if you are already in the OpenAI ecosystem or need the strongest typography; Nano Banana 2 for the Google ecosystem and low cost; FLUX 3 Image Klein for private deployment and precise control.
*This page is not affiliated with OpenAI. Pricing verified as of October 2026 (OpenAI's official pricing page); confirm current figures on the official site.*