GPT Image 2.5 Lands on AI Gateway: What Separates Flare From Sunburst, and When to Use Each

Vercel announced on 2026-09-08 that OpenAI’s GPT Image 2.5 Flare and GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst are now available on AI Gateway, as openai/gpt-image-2.5-flare and openai/gpt-image-2.5-sunburst. Everything below is from the official changelog entry (verified 2026-09-09).

The split between the two models is one sentence, and it is the whole story

What Vercel says both models do: generate and edit images with more natural lighting and textures, follow complex visual instructions, handle detailed layouts and transparent backgrounds, and accept reference images for targeted edits while preserving surrounding elements.

The practical workflow this implies is explicit in Vercel’s own examples: use Flare to find the direction, switch the model name to Sunburst when the result needs precise control, and pass an image alongside the instruction when you want a targeted edit.

Why “targeted edits while preserving surrounding elements” deserves its own paragraph

Anyone who has used image models has hit the same wall: you want to change one corner, and the whole frame rerolls. Vercel states these models accept a reference image for targeted editing while keeping the rest intact. If that holds up in practice, what it saves is not just generations — it is the re-selection loop that follows every regeneration.

Note this is a vendor claim. The changelog includes no benchmark, sample, or comparison, and we have not tested it ourselves, so we do not endorse it.

Cost: no Gateway markup, but per-image pricing is not published

The same entry restates the AI Gateway billing position:

• Gateway reflects provider pricing with no markup;
• It charges no platform fee on inference, including on Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) requests.

But the per-image price of these two models is not stated anywhere in the announcement, so we log it as unverified rather than estimating. To budget, you need OpenAI’s own image model pricing.

The entry also restates what Gateway is for: one unified API across models, usage and cost tracking, retries and failover for higher-than-provider uptime, plus built-in custom reporting, per-key budgets, and routing rules. Setup walkthrough: Vercel AI Gateway: one key for many models.

How to decide

1. Already on Gateway? This is two more image models behind the same key — change one string to compare them, with no change to your cost structure.
2. Just want to make images? Use ChatGPT or a dedicated image product. Gateway earns its place through multi-model billing and failover, not through solo creative work.
3. Set a budget before you wire in image models. Gateway supports per-API-key budgets, and image generation typically costs more per call than text.

Other verified Gateway entries: Ling 3.0 Flash Sante free until October 4 and the GLM-5.3 50% discount expired on September 7. ChatGPT plan status: ChatGPT tool profile.

Sources

• Vercel Changelog, “GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Sunburst now available on AI Gateway,” 2026-09-08: https://vercel.com/changelog/gpt-image-2-5-flare-and-sunburst-now-available-on-ai-gateway

Last verified: 2026-09-09