OpenAI Image API
Generate or edit images with GPT Image 2.5 from text and image references.
At a Glance
OpenAI Image API is an AI tool for Image generation & creative suites (category: Design & Image). Free access: No free plan published. Documented: 4 plans with prices and limits.
- Category
- Image generation & creative suites
- Paid from
- $5 / $8 / $2 / $30 / Usage (Standard API)
- Free Option
- No free plan published
- Plans
- 4
- Sources
- 5 verified sources
Category: Design & Image · Image generation & creative suites
Features
The OpenAI Image API uses GPT Image 2 for generation and editing. DALL-E 2 and DALL-E 3 are deprecated and have been removed from the API.
Cost is token-based and varies with image size, quality, and references. The Batch API costs half the standard token rates.
- GPT Image 2 for generation and editing via the API
- Token-based billing by image size, quality, and references
- Batch API at 50% of standard token rates for asynchronous processing
- Tier 1: 100,000 TPM and 5 images per minute
- Automatic tier progression through usage and spend
Prices and plans
| Tier | Price | Period | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard API | $5 / $8 / $2 / $30 | Usage | GPT Image 2.5 generation and editing Flexible image sizes and high-fidelity image inputs Cost by actual text/image tokens No free-tier access to GPT Image 2.5 Image calculator for estimates |
| Batch API | $2.50 / $4 / $1 / $15 | Batch use | 50% lower published token prices For asynchronous batch processing Same variable image-token logic Not equivalent to immediate standard latency |
| Rate limits | nach Usage Tier | Flow rate | Free unsupported Tier 1: 100k TPM and 5 images/minute Tier 2: 250k TPM and 20 images/minute Tier 3/4/5: 50/150/250 images/minute Automatic tier progression by usage/spend |
| Historical DALL-E models | nicht als aktueller Einstieg empfohlen | Legacy | DALL-E 2 and DALL-E 3 removed from the API Both only listed as deprecated image generation models on their own pages, no longer in the model catalogue GPT Image 2 is the current state-of-the-art model No old DALL-E 3 subscription claim reused |
Prices per vendor, excl. taxes/VAT where applicable.
Limits
GPT Image 2 is not flat-priced per image but by text and image tokens. Standard costs $8/million image-input tokens, $2 cached input, and $30 output; Batch halves these to $4/$1/$15. Without the token quantity returned by the official calculator, no honest fixed image count can be derived from $20. Usage tier also caps throughput: Tier 1 allows five, Tier 2 twenty, and Tier 5 up to 250 images/minute. Free is unsupported for GPT Image 2. DALL-E 2 and DALL-E 3 are deprecated and removed from the API, so they are no longer a current comparison tier.
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FAQ
Is OpenAI Image API available for free?
No. No free access is published on the vendor's own pages. GPT Image 2 does not support a free usage tier according to model page.
Where is the vendor of OpenAI Image API based?
OpenAI OpCo, LLC is based in the USA. Regardless of that location, data processing and privacy terms are governed by the vendor's own contract.
How is OpenAI Image API billed?
Batch halves the official token rates. GPT Image 2 has no published flat price per image. Costs depend on size, quality, reference images and generated image tokens. OpenAI bills API usage in US dollars in all cases, regardless of the customer's location. There is no official EUR price list; at most, the payment provider converts the amount on the invoice.
What plans does OpenAI Image API offer?
The catalog documents 4 plans with price, billing period, and included features.
Is OpenAI Image API currently available?
OpenAI Image API is still active. GPT Image 2 is the current image model. DALL-E 2 and DALL-E 3 are discontinued and removed from the API.
How we compare
We compare free access, paid entry, plan limits, features and the listed official sources. Unsourced figures stay marked as not published.
Only confirmed entries appear in the catalog. Prices, plans and limits come from listed official vendor pages. Missing figures stay marked as not published. Search results are ordered by Task match by default; category and task lists are alphabetical. Both can be switched to Free access first; neither is a quality ranking. The vendor page always wins.
Edited and checked by the AI Compare Ninja team
Sources
All details regarding plans, limits, and features are based on official vendor documentation and the primary sources verified below.
- https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/gpt-image-2
- https://platform.openai.com/pricing
- https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/all
- https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/dall-e-2
- https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/dall-e-3
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