← All tools

Illustration & Image Generation · Photo Editing

ChatGPT Images (OpenAI)

OpenAI's image generation and editing inside ChatGPT, built on the GPT Image models that replaced DALL·E.

Visit ChatGPT Images (OpenAI)

No affiliate links and no sponsorship on this page. Our disclosure policy.

Best for
Beginners and Pro users
Free plan
Yes
Agent-ready (MCP / API)
Partly
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android, API
Last verified
Oct 15, 2026

Overview

ChatGPT Images is OpenAI’s current way to create and edit pictures. It replaced DALL·E: OpenAI removed the DALL·E models from its API on May 12, 2026, and its help center says the official DALL·E GPT is gone from ChatGPT. If you are searching for DALL·E, this is the product that took its place.

Who it fits

It suits people who already work in ChatGPT and want to ask for an image, then adjust it in plain language, such as changing the background, adding text or editing an uploaded photo. Developers can reach the same family of models through the API.

What the plans include

OpenAI says ChatGPT Images is on all plans, including Free, and that Images with thinking is on Plus, Pro and Business. The help center also notes that complex requests can take a couple of minutes.

Limits and alternatives

OpenAI is retiring older image model names on a schedule: gpt-image-1 on Oct 23, 2026 and several others on Dec 1, 2026, so API users should move to the gpt-image-2.5 models. Midjourney is a style-focused subscription tool, Adobe Firefly lives inside Adobe’s apps, and Ideogram specializes in text inside images.

Who it's for

A good fit if you are…

  • Anyone who already uses ChatGPT and wants to generate or edit images in the same chat
  • Developers who want OpenAI's current image models through the API

Another tool may suit you better if you are…

  • People looking for DALL·E itself, which OpenAI has retired
  • People who need a layer-based design editor

Pricing

ChatGPT Images is available on every ChatGPT plan, including Free; Plus, Pro and Business add Images with thinking. API usage is billed per use. As of Oct 2026, verify.

  • OpenAI's help center says ChatGPT Images is available on all plans and that Images with thinking is available on Plus, Pro and Business, with Enterprise and Edu coming.
  • OpenAI's API deprecations page names gpt-image-2.5-sunburst and gpt-image-2.5-flare as the recommended current image models; API rates are on OpenAI's pricing page and vary by quality and size.
  • DALL·E 2 and DALL·E 3 were removed from the API on May 12, 2026, and OpenAI's help center says the official DALL·E GPT has been removed from ChatGPT.
  • Older API image models are being retired: gpt-image-1 on Oct 23, 2026, and gpt-image-1-mini, gpt-image-1.5 and chatgpt-image-latest on Dec 1, 2026.

Prices as of Oct 2026 (checked Oct 15, 2026), verify before buying. Source: vendor pricing page.

Key features

  • Create images in a ChatGPT conversation and refine them in follow-up messages
  • Upload a picture and describe the edit
  • Add text to images or make the background transparent (per OpenAI's help center)
  • Images with thinking on Plus, Pro and Business
  • gpt-image models in the OpenAI API and image generation in Codex

Integrations: ChatGPT on web, iOS and Android; the OpenAI API; Codex.

Agent-ready? Partly. Image generation and editing are available in the OpenAI API and in Codex, so apps and agents can call them.

Pros and good to know

Drawn from the vendor's own documentation and public sources.

Pros

  • Free plan access
  • Edit and generate in one conversation
  • Same models available through the API

Good to know

  • DALL·E is retired, so older guides and prompts that mention it are out of date
  • API model names change often, and several older ones shut down on Oct 23 and Dec 1, 2026
  • Generation can take up to a couple of minutes on complex requests (per OpenAI's help center)

Alternatives

  • Midjourney: Image and short-video generator sold as monthly subscriptions with GPU time.
  • Adobe Firefly: Adobe's generative AI for images, video and audio, built into Photoshop and Express, with plans based on generative credits.
  • Ideogram: Image generator focused on text inside images, with subscription plans, pay-as-you-go credits and an API.

Sources

Spotted a mistake or out-of-date price? We want to fix it, see About for how to reach us.