GPT Image 2.5 Flare
Save 70%Officialopenai/gpt-image-2.5-flare
Also callable as gpt-image-2.5
OpenAI GPT Image 2.5 Flare — the fast tier of the 2.5 family and OpenAI's recommended default, billed per image.
- Input modalities
- text · image
- Output modalities
- image
- Capabilities
- Image generation · Image editing
- Upstream release
- 2026-09-08
- RouteMux name
- openai/gpt-image-2.5-flare
Try GPT Image 2.5 Flare here
Tune the request, see the current price ceiling, and inspect the real response without leaving this model page.
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Enter an input on the left. The same RouteMux Playground execution and billing path powers this embedded test.
What is GPT Image 2.5 Flare
GPT Image 2.5 Flare is one of the two image models OpenAI released on 8 September 2026. Flare is the fast one, and the one OpenAI recommends as the default: better output than GPT Image 2 at roughly half the latency. Pick it for everyday generation, batch jobs, and anything user-facing where someone is waiting on the image.
The other model in the pair is GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst, which trades speed for edit precision. They are separate model ids, not two quality settings of one model, so you choose between them by name rather than by parameter.
Billing is per image, not per token. One image costs one fixed amount — however long your prompt is, however complex the scene. Budgeting is price times image count, with no test batch needed to find out what an image will cost. That is unusual: most image models bill by token.
Each call returns one image. The size parameter selects the aspect ratio rather than the resolution, and the dimensions that come back are the ones that count — they can be larger than what you asked for. The response follows the OpenAI Images shape, with the image itself returned as base64 in data[0].b64_json.
It speaks the OpenAI Images protocol, so /v1/images/generations and /v1/images/edits take the same request shape as calling OpenAI directly.
GPT Image 2.5 Flare API pricing
Source: relay_per_call_2026_09 · Verified 2026-09-10
Cache read $0.6/M · Cache write —/M
Estimate cost
Limited time20% extra Credits on your first top-up — up to 200 bonus Credits
Applies to your first top-up within 72 hours of signing up. Minimum $20, once per account.
Key capabilities
The fast tier
About half the latency of GPT Image 2, at higher quality. OpenAI recommends it as the default of the pair.
Flat price per image
One price per image, independent of prompt length or scene complexity. Budget is price times count.
Generation and editing
Both /v1/images/generations and /v1/images/edits route to this model.
Native OpenAI Images
Same request shape as calling OpenAI directly — existing code mostly works unchanged.
Interface and protocols
Use any of these IDs to call this model via the API.
openai/gpt-image-2.5-flaregpt-image-2.5Replace the ROUTEMUX_KEY placeholder with your API key. Create one →
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
base_url="https://api.routemux.com/v1",
api_key="<ROUTEMUX_KEY>",
)
response = client.images.generate(
model="openai/gpt-image-2.5-flare",
prompt="A red panda coding under the moonlight",
n=1,
)
print(response.data[0].url)Performance (last 30 days)
GPT Image 2.5 Flare FAQ
›What is GPT Image 2.5 Flare?
OpenAI GPT Image 2.5 Flare — the fast tier of the 2.5 family and OpenAI's recommended default, billed per image.
›How much does the GPT Image 2.5 Flare API cost?
Through RouteMux, GPT Image 2.5 Flare is priced at $0.0186, below the official list price.
›How do I call GPT Image 2.5 Flare via API?
GPT Image 2.5 Flare is OpenAI-compatible: point your base URL at RouteMux and set the model field to openai/gpt-image-2.5-flare — no code changes needed.
›Which input and output modalities does GPT Image 2.5 Flare support?
GPT Image 2.5 Flare accepts text, image as input and produces image as output.
›When was GPT Image 2.5 Flare released?
GPT Image 2.5 Flare was released on September 8, 2026.
›Is it billed per image?
Yes. A flat price per image, not per token. Prompt length and image content do not change what you pay.
›How does it differ from GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst?
Flare is built for speed and is the recommended default; Sunburst is built for edit precision and takes longer per image. They are two separate model ids from OpenAI, priced the same here.
›Do I get image data or a URL?
Image data. The image comes back as base64 in data[0].b64_json, in the standard OpenAI Images response shape.
›Can I choose the output resolution?
Not directly. The size parameter picks the aspect ratio; read the dimensions from the response, which can be larger than the size you requested.
›What happened to the plain gpt-image-2.5 name?
OpenAI never shipped a bare 2.5 model id — the lineup is Flare and Sunburst. Calls to gpt-image-2.5 still work and are served by Flare, but new integrations should name Flare or Sunburst explicitly.