Images 2.6 Flare vs Sunburst

Pick Flare when you want a quick result or a designed layout such as a poster. Pick Sunburst when you want more detail, or when you’ll edit the same image over several rounds. Both are GPT-Image-2.6 models from OpenAI, they share the same token rates, and on this site they cost the same credits, so you can switch freely.

Flare vs Sunburst at a glance

Compared on	Flare	Sunburst
Made for	Speed and professional layouts	More detail and more consistent edits
Good fit	Drafts, posters, product imagery	Fine detail, repeated edits
What OpenAI says	As little as six seconds at low quality	More consistent edits at medium or high quality
Token rates at OpenAI	Same as Sunburst	Same as Flare
Credits on this site	Same as Sunburst	Same as Flare
Modes on this site	Image, Edit, GIF, SVG	Image, Edit, GIF, SVG

What Flare is for

GPT-Image-2.6 Flare is the speed model. OpenAI says it can produce an image in as little as six seconds at low quality. That figure is OpenAI’s, and we haven’t measured it on this site. Flare is also aimed at professional layouts like posters and product imagery, so it’s a natural first choice when your image has a headline or a set arrangement of elements.

A sample of the kind of layout Flare is aimed at: a travel poster with a headline and a line of smaller text. Check any wording before you use it, because text isn’t right on every run.

What Sunburst is for

GPT-Image-2.6 Sunburst is the detail model. At medium or high quality it gives you more detail and keeps things more consistent from one edit to the next. That matters when a character, a product or a brand detail has to survive several rounds of changes.

Flare or Sunburst: which to pick

• Drafts. Flare at Low quality. When you’re still trying ideas, you want to see a lot of them.
• Posters and layouts with text. Flare. Put the exact wording in your prompt, and raise the quality once the layout works.
• Product shots. Flare covers product imagery well, especially when the shot is part of a layout. Move to Sunburst at Medium or High when the surface detail of the product is the point.
• Repeated edits. Sunburst at Medium or High. It’s the steadier choice when you’ll change one thing, then another, on the same image.

Start with Flare for quick drafts and poster layouts, and keep a Flare result if it already does the job. Choose Sunburst when fine detail matters, or when the image will go through more rounds of edits. Credits are the same either way, so the choice comes down to the result you want.

Example settings for common jobs

These are starting points, and the credits are what each run costs on this site.

Job	Model	Settings	Credits
Trying several poster ideas	Flare	1K, Low quality, Low planning	5
Final poster with a headline	Flare	2K, High quality, High planning	18
Product shot for a shop page	Sunburst	2K, High quality, Medium planning	18
Changing one marked area of a photo	Sunburst	1K, Medium quality, Low planning	8
Large image for print	Sunburst	4K, High quality, Medium planning	30

How to compare the two models fairly

Change one thing at a time. Keep the prompt, aspect ratio, quality and Planning the same, and switch only the model. A standard 1K run costs 5 credits, so a side-by-side test costs 10. Judge the two results on what the job needs: for a poster, read every word and check the spacing, and for a product, look at edges, labels and surfaces. If you plan to edit the image afterwards, make one small change on each result and see which keeps the rest of the picture steadier.

Does Flare or Sunburst cost more?

Neither. OpenAI charges the same token rates for both, and on this site they cost the same credits. The price here depends on the mode, resolution and quality, not on the model. A plain 1K image costs 5 credits on either model. A 4K image at High costs 30 on either model. A Medium GIF costs 15 on either model. You can see the cost under the Generate button before you run it.

How to use Planning with Flare and Sunburst

Planning is the setting OpenAI calls complexity. It controls how much the model works out before it draws, it works with both models, and it adds no cost.

• Low. Quick edits and simple images.
• Medium. A scene with several elements.
• High. Busy scenes or strict constraints, such as an ad with steps, nutrition facts and a headline.

Planning and model solve different problems. The model decides what the result is aimed at, speed and layout or detail and consistency. Planning decides how carefully the picture is thought through. A fast Flare draft of a simple object can sit on Low, while a dense poster on Flare may want High. A small fix on a Sunburst image usually only needs Low.

OpenAI also notes that complex prompts may take up to 2 minutes, so expect longer waits when a prompt asks for a lot.

Try both

Run the same prompt on each model and compare. Open the generator and sign in with Google to get 20 welcome credits, which covers 4 images at 1K. For more on the release, read What Is Images 2.6?, and if you’re animating something, see the Images 2.6 GIF maker guide.