GPT Image 2.5 API Cost: Avoid the 2026 Budget Trap

GPT Image 2.5 API pricing is based on token usage rather than a fixed per-image rate, with Flare and Sunburst sharing published rates of $5 per million text-input tokens, $8 per million image-input tokens, and $30 per million image-output tokens, while cached inputs cost less. Actual costs vary according to model behavior, output quality and size, reference images, edits, streamed partial images, Responses API charges, retries, and the number of outputs approved for production use. The material recommends measuring cost per accepted image by recording API usage, attempts, review outcomes, and rejection reasons instead of relying on output-only price examples or older GPT Image 2 estimates. It illustrates controlled workflows for generating a coffee campaign image, editing its styling, creating localized bottle advertising, and testing exact text in a fitness poster, emphasizing that edits and text-heavy assets require distinct quality assurance. Output-only 1024×1024 examples range from about $0.00588 at low quality to $0.21072 at maximum quality, but exclude inputs and reruns, and ChatGPT subscription limits are separate from API billing.

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