GPT Image 2.5 vs GPT Image 2

What each one accepts

Rates and clip costs

Charged from a prepaid USD balance, no taxes added. A failed generation is $0.

GPT Image 2.5 is my default for everyday images: it is newer, cheaper than GPT Image 2 even at 1K, and charges one flat rate at every quality level up to max. GPT Image 2 is still the tool for 2K, 4K and odd frames such as 21:9 or a 3:1 banner, since the newer model here offers just three sizes, capped at 1536 px.

When to pick GPT Image 2.5

• Article headers, video thumbnails and feed posts that fit 1536 px.
• A long series of images where the price of each one adds up.
• Final versions at max quality without paying extra.
• Reworking a photo with a few reference images, where 1536 px will do.

When to pick GPT Image 2

• A poster or print job in 4K.
• A 21:9 website banner or a 3:1 header strip.
• A 2K image you intend to crop afterward.
• Exact social formats such as 9:16 stories or 4:5 feed posts.

Differences you will notice

• Price. GPT Image 2.5 has a single rate, $0.05 per image, for any quality and any reference count. GPT Image 2 costs from $0.0625 per image for 1K and climbs for the larger tiers, so the gap grows with the image. For big formats the comparison is partly theoretical, since 2.5 cannot output them here.
• Sizes. The newer model gives a square, a landscape and a portrait size, or auto. The older one has three resolution tiers, and its 4K tier means 3840x2160 for 16:9 or 2880x2880 for a square. Set an explicit ratio for 4K, since auto fails at that tier.
• Aspect ratios. The older model lists 16 presets between 1:3 and 3:1, 21:9 and 9:21 among them. The newer one sticks to 1:1, 3:2 and 2:3.
• Quality control. Only the newer model exposes quality, from low to max, and moving it does not touch the price.
• Age. GPT Image 2 powered ChatGPT Images 2.0 and dates from April 2026. GPT Image 2.5 arrived in September 2026; OpenAI promised faster output, more natural images and steadier detail across edit rounds.

Common to both: generation from text or from images, a 16-image limit in image_urls, a 32,000-character prompt cap and a single image per call.

How to decide

Ask one question: do you need more than 1536 px or a ratio outside square, 3:2 and 2:3? If yes, GPT Image 2. If not, GPT Image 2.5. My five-prompt test on the Polish blog gave gpt-image-2.5 8.5/10 on high and 8.6 on max; Polish diacritics on a storefront sign were right every time, and an image took roughly 18 s or 38 s depending on quality (timed with another provider). I left GPT Image 2 out of that run. For a wider field see the three-way image model comparison, and for every tier the pricing page.

Questions

Can GPT Image 2.5 produce custom dimensions?

OpenAI supports custom sizes, but they are not exposed here yet. The largest options are 1536x1024 and 1024x1536.

What do I change to move a GPT Image 2 request to 2.5?

Leave prompt and image_urls as they are, pick an aspect_ratio value the newer model supports, and delete resolution, a field 2.5 ignores.

Which one handles lettering better?

GPT Image 2.5 spelled a Polish sign correctly for me. The older model never saw that prompt, so I have no ranking on text.

Samples from the makers

These clips and images come from the vendors, not from my runs.