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OpenAI (launched with ChatGPT Images 2.5, 8 September 2026)

GPT Image 2.5

OpenAI's newest image model in your browser, in both API versions: Flare for fast everyday images and Sunburst for precise, detailed work and edits. Five quality tiers, 1K to 4K, up to 16 reference images — no ChatGPT subscription or API key.

Versions
Flare — the fast default for everyday generation; Sunburst — precision for detailed creative work and tight edits, with longer generation times
Abilities
Text to image, image edits and inpainting; text and image in, image out
Quality
Five tiers — low, medium, high, xhigh, max — plus auto in OpenAI's API
On Kenerate
kenerate/gpt-image-2.5-flare and kenerate/gpt-image-2.5-sunburst — 15 aspect ratios, 1K / 2K / 4K, 5 quality tiers, up to 16 references, PNG, JPEG or WebP output
Try
  • GPT Image 2.5
  • GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst output: a laughing older woman with silver hair and glasses holding oranges at a Lisbon market, a yellow tram behind her
  • GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst output: a thriller book cover titled THE SILENT HARBOR with a lighthouse in fog
  • GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst output: a wedding invitation for Amara and Daniel with watercolour olive branches and gold lettering
  • GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst output: a four-panel comic strip of an orange cat chasing a laser dot, with speech bubbles
  • Real outputs
  • Official sources
  • Free to start
  • No watermark

Updated by the

Made with Kenerate

What is GPT Image 2.5?

Updated

What is GPT Image 2.5?

GPT Image 2.5 is OpenAI's image model released on 8 September 2026, the model behind ChatGPT Images 2.5. The API has two versions: GPT-Image-2.5 Flare, OpenAI's fastest model for everyday images, and GPT-Image-2.5 Sunburst, its most capable model for detailed work and precise edits, with longer generation times. On Kenerate AI both run in the browser with five quality tiers, 1K to 4K and up to 16 reference images, from 7.2 credits at medium quality and 1K.

Key facts

Official name
GPT-Image-2.5 Flare · GPT-Image-2.5 Sunburst
API IDs
gpt-image-2.5-flare · gpt-image-2.5-sunburst
Maker
OpenAI
Released
8 September 2026
Quality tiers
Low · medium · high · xhigh · max
Output
1K, 2K or 4K · 15 aspect ratios
References
Up to 16
Free plan
No
Weights
Closed (API only)

Gallery

GPT Image 2.5 examples

Real outputs made on Kenerate. Open any image to copy its prompt and run it yourself.

Same prompt

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst vs Flare

The same prompt on both GPT Image 2.5 versions on Kenerate, at medium quality and 1K — the same price for each.

PromptPhotorealistic portrait of a woman in a yellow raincoat on a rainy canal bridge with bicycles, soft overcast light, 35mm

  • GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst: Photorealistic portrait of a woman in a yellow raincoat on a rainy canal bridge with bicycles, soft overcast light, 35mmGPT Image 2.5 SunburstPrecision, slower
  • GPT Image 2.5 Flare: Photorealistic portrait of a woman in a yellow raincoat on a rainy canal bridge with bicycles, soft overcast light, 35mmGPT Image 2.5 FlareFast, everyday

Models

GPT Image 2.5 on Kenerate

Every version in the generator, and what each is good at.

  • GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst title card — glowing sunburst-coloured 3D lettering on a bold magazine-cover-style layout

    OpenAI

    GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst

    Reference images
    Up to 16
    Output
    1K to 4K

    Best for

    Precision — longer per image

    Open GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst
  • GPT Image 2.5 Flare title card — a bright

    OpenAI

    GPT Image 2.5 Flare

    Reference images
    Up to 16
    Output
    1K to 4K

    Best for

    Fast everyday generation

    Open GPT Image 2.5 Flare
  • GPT Image 2 title card — elegant gold-foil lettering pressed into thick black letterpress card

    OpenAI

    GPT Image 2

    Reference images
    Up to 16
    Output
    1K to 4K

    Best for

    Previous generation, 3 tiers

    Open GPT Image 2

  • Google

    Nano Banana 2.1

    Reference images
    Up to 14
    Output
    1K to 4K

    Best for

    Same product across shots

    Open Nano Banana 2.1
  • Qwen Image 3.0 title card — neatly written on a café blackboard menu board in a sunlit café
    Free plan

    Alibaba

    Qwen Image 3.0

    Reference images
    Up to 3
    Output
    1K or 2K

    Best for

    Free-plan option

    Open Qwen Image 3.0

From our tests

Strengths and limits

Good at

  • Text that is spelled right: Sunburst set every title and author correctly across six book-cover genres, and every detail on six invitations.
  • Readable comic lettering — speech bubbles and caption boxes came out legible in our comic tests.
  • Photographic people on the first try: all five portraits on our AI human page, including the Lisbon market scene with a yellow tram.
  • Cheaper than GPT Image 2 at the same tier: 7.2 credits at medium 1K versus 18, with the same 16 references.

Limits

  • It adds things you didn't ask for: Sunburst put an unprompted wall sign with a slogan and a flag behind the woodworker, and real-looking shop names in a street scene.
  • Not on Kenerate's free plan — use Qwen Image 3.0 for free drafts.
  • No seed control, so you can't repeat an exact image; describe what must stay and edit instead.
  • High tiers get expensive fast: max quality at 4K is 300 credits an image — draft at low or medium first.

How to

How to use GPT Image 2.5 on Kenerate

  1. Step 1

    Open the model

    Go to /app/image and pick GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst or GPT Image 2.5 Flare (the button on this page selects Sunburst). Sign in free to get started.

  2. Step 2

    Write the prompt

    Say the format, subject, setting, light and camera in plain sentences. Put every word that must appear in the image in quotes.

  3. Step 3

    Pick quality, size and ratio

    Choose one of 15 aspect ratios, 1K, 2K or 4K, and a quality tier. Draft at low (3 credits) or medium (7.2 at 1K), then re-run the keeper at high or max.

  4. Step 4

    Edit with references

    Upload up to 16 images and describe only the change and what must stay. Each reference adds 4.5 credits.

1Describe your image2Pick an image model3Set the aspect ratio and size4Click Create5Open and download your image
Kenerate AI Image Studio with a text prompt typed into the prompt box

Open Image Studio and type what you want to see — subject, style, lighting and mood.

1 / 5 · Describe your image

Watch the tour · 1:23

Prompts, styles, references, edit, Arena & chat

Chapters

FAQ

GPT Image 2.5 questions

What is GPT Image 2.5?

GPT Image 2.5 is OpenAI's image generation and editing model, released on 8 September 2026 alongside ChatGPT Images 2.5. In the API it comes as two models, gpt-image-2.5-flare and gpt-image-2.5-sunburst. OpenAI describes Flare as its fastest model for high-quality, everyday image generation and Sunburst as its most capable model, for work where editing precision matters most.

Link to this answer

GPT Image 2.5 Flare vs Sunburst — what's the difference?

Flare is the fast default for everyday images and edits. Sunburst adds precision for detailed creative work and takes longer per image, according to OpenAI's announcement. Both take the same inputs and cost the same on Kenerate — 7.2 credits at medium quality and 1K — so draft on Flare and switch to Sunburst for dense text, fine detail or many rounds of edits. Compare them on the same prompt above.

Link to this answer

Is GPT Image 2.5 free?

Not on Kenerate's free plan. New accounts get 25 credits on sign-up, enough for a few medium 1K images at 7.2 credits each, and more come from one-time packs with no subscription. In ChatGPT, Images 2.5 is rolling out to all ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex users. For free drafts on Kenerate, use Qwen Image 3.0.

Link to this answer

How much does GPT Image 2.5 cost?

On Kenerate both versions share one price list. Low quality costs 3, 6 or 9 credits at 1K, 2K or 4K; medium 7.2, 12 or 21; high 27, 45 or 81; xhigh 48, 81 or 144; and max 108, 180 or 300. Edits add 4.5 credits per reference image. In OpenAI's API it is billed by tokens: $30 per million image-output tokens, the same rate as GPT Image 2.

Link to this answer

What is the difference between GPT Image 2 and GPT Image 2.5?

GPT Image 2.5 is the newer generation, with two versions instead of one and five quality tiers instead of three (xhigh and max are new). OpenAI says it improves detail, editing precision and consistency across edits. On Kenerate it is also cheaper at the same tier — 7.2 credits at medium 1K versus 18 for GPT Image 2 — and both take up to 16 references and go up to 4K.

Link to this answer

How many reference images can GPT Image 2.5 use?

Up to 16 on Kenerate, for both Flare and Sunburst — the most of any image model on the site, alongside GPT Image 2. Upload them in /app/image and describe what changes and what stays; each reference adds 4.5 credits to the image.

Link to this answer

What resolution does GPT Image 2.5 support?

On Kenerate you choose 1K, 2K or 4K and one of 15 aspect ratios from 1:3 to 3:1, including 9:16 for stories and 21:9 for cinema banners. OpenAI's API also accepts custom sizes within its limits.

Link to this answer

Can I use GPT Image 2.5 without ChatGPT Plus or an API key?

Yes. Kenerate AI runs both GPT Image 2.5 versions in the browser: sign in, pick GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst or Flare in /app/image and pay per image with credits. There is no OpenAI account, API key or ChatGPT subscription involved.

Link to this answer

How good is GPT Image 2.5 at text?

Very good in our tests: Sunburst spelled every title and author right across six book covers and every detail on six invitations, and lettered readable comic bubbles. It sometimes adds text you didn't ask for — a slogan on a wall sign, shop names on a street — so say “no other text” when the scene must stay clean.

Link to this answer

In depth

GPT Image 2.5, in depth

Background, how to prompt it, and when to pick something else.

On this page

Flare or Sunburst: which GPT Image 2.5 to use

OpenAI ships GPT Image 2.5 as two API models with the same inputs, quality tiers and token prices [1][2]. The difference is how much time each spends on an image [3].

  • Flare — OpenAI's fastest model for high-quality everyday images; the default for drafts, social posts and quick edits [1].
  • Sunburst — OpenAI's most capable model, for dense text, fine detail and edits that must stay precise over many rounds; slower by design [2][3].
  • On Kenerate both cost the same per tier, so the choice is speed versus precision, not price.

Keep going

More models

By Last updated and reviewed

We run these models in the Kenerate generator. Model facts come from the makers' own pages; specs and limits were checked against our code; the examples are our own outputs.

Sources: GPT-Image-2.5 Flare — OpenAI API docs · GPT-Image-2.5 Sunburst — OpenAI API docs · Introducing GPT Images 2.5 in the API and ChatGPT — OpenAI Developer Community · Introducing ChatGPT Images 2.5 — OpenAI

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