OpenAI's GPT Image 2.6 is live in Recraft Studio. We ran it through 12 prompts next to Recraft V4.1 Pro and Nano Banana 2.1.
GPT Image 2.6 is now in Recraft Studio, and GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst is available on the Free plan. OpenAI released the model on November 4, 2026, as ChatGPT Images 2.6. It ships as two models: Flare for fast drafts and Sunburst for images that stay consistent across rounds of edits.
Both run in Studio for prompt-to-image and image editing, at 1K or 2K. To see how they handle real briefs, we ran 12 prompts through GPT Image 2.6 and Recraft V4.1 Pro, and five of them through Nano Banana 2.1 as well. The results are below.
| Developer | OpenAI |
|---|---|
| Released | November 4, 2026 |
| Models | GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst, GPT Image 2.6 Flare |
| In Recraft Studio | Prompt to image, image editing |
| Quality | Auto (default), Low, Medium, High, Extra high, Max |
| Resolution | 1K (default), 2K |
| Free plan | Sunburst at default settings |
| Paid plans | Sunburst and Flare, every quality and resolution setting |
| Credits | 10 at default settings, 4 to 57 depending on quality and resolution |
OpenAI built 2.6 around speed and control. On Arena's launch-day leaderboard, OpenAI models took all of the top five text-to-image spots.
Sunburst and Flare cost the same in Studio and share the same controls. The difference is the job. Treat Flare as the sketchbook and Sunburst as the final pass.
In our tests, the two models usually agree on the composition, so a Flare draft is a reliable preview of where Sunburst will go. Sunburst then adds the finishing drama: sunbeams through the clouds, a lightning strike, richer reflections. You can see it in most of the pairs below.
On the Free plan, Sunburst is the one you get. Flare is available on paid plans.
Every image is a single generation from the same prompt, with no edits. GPT Image 2.6 ran at Medium quality and 1K, and Recraft V4.1 Pro and Nano Banana 2.1 ran at their default settings. One Recraft V4.1 Pro image uses a saved style, and its label says so. Each prompt is shown under its images.
You can run the same test on your own brief. Turn on Model comparison in Studio to see how GPT Image 2.6 handles your prompt next to Recraft V4.1 and other models, on one canvas.
Recraft V4.1 Pro builds a color story: cool blue light, a cream sweatshirt, and red shoes as the single accent, framed like a page from a fashion campaign. GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst makes the set the star, with a sculpted chrome chair and metallic lilies wrapped around the model in high-shine monochrome.
Recraft V4.1 Pro reads the brief as an art-directed campaign: a clean white box, iridescent petals in cobalt and magenta, and plenty of open surface for a logo. Flare and Sunburst go all in on liquid metal, with chrome lilies melting around a pouch, and Sunburst scatters a few coffee beans across the reflection.
Recraft V4.1 Pro shoots the set the way a stylist would: garments with natural folds laid over real volcanic rock and moss, and blank labels ready for branding. Flare and Sunburst build a complete catalog-style set, and Sunburst adds a hanger rail and a neat stack of folded tees.
With the Chrome & Cobalt style applied, Recraft V4.1 Pro distills the scene to a few strong shapes: a cobalt pear, a chrome fish, one goblet, and a curved black slab over calm blue water. A saved style keeps that look the same across every image in a series. Flare and Sunburst include every object from the prompt in a rich, baroque composition, and Sunburst lights it with rays breaking through the clouds.
Recraft V4.1 Pro pushes color and motion: a hot pink sky, a motion-blurred flash, and a tilted low angle that reads like a magazine spread. Flare and Sunburst frame a sharp hero shot, with the boot on the bumper and the station signs glowing behind the model.
Recraft V4.1 Pro grounds the scene in real light: a low sun flare, long shadows across the asphalt, and the conductor mid-gesture with a baton, like a still from a fashion film. Flare and Sunburst go for a towering low-angle portrait in the white uniform, and Sunburst adds a lightning strike to the storm.
All four models set the FORMA lettering and the poster. Recraft V4.1 Pro treats the type as an object, with soft, sculpted letters and three textured vessels pressed close to the glass. Flare and Sunburst stage a warm gallery interior with shelves of ceramics behind the window, and Nano Banana 2.1 steps back to show the shop from the street in daylight.
Recraft V4.1 Pro lets the weather into the frame: the grass bends in waves, the deer stands small in a wide landscape, and the grey sky sits low, so the image feels like a moment caught on location. Flare and Sunburst give the deer a clean, centered portrait against an even field, and Nano Banana 2.1 adds a distant tree line.
Recraft V4.1 Pro shoots the bag inside the ice, with trapped bubbles, frost, and hard-flash reflections, like an in-camera still life. Flare and Sunburst stand the bag upright between two clear blocks for a crisp product shot, and Nano Banana 2.1 plays up the word crushed, with a block pressing down and ice chips on the floor.
Recraft V4.1 Pro gets the materials across: thick, glassy ice against dark water, with the koi glowing orange underneath and the edge of each sheet catching the light. Flare frames a single large koi, Sunburst a pair under frosted plates, and Nano Banana 2.1 a small school seen from above.
Recraft V4.1 Pro answers illustration with a graphic, poster-like image: flat color, patterned wallpaper, and the parrot mid-tear with paper scraps on the table. Sunburst paints a warm storybook scene, with the parrot perched on the armchair and tugging at a page.
Recraft V4.1 Pro catches an unposed moment: the toddler leans over his dad's head, soft daylight falls through the doorway, and the baby monitor sits on a shelf in the background. Flare, Sunburst, and Nano Banana 2.1 each deliver a bright, friendly family portrait in a cozy living room, ready for a parenting campaign.
Reach for GPT Image 2.6 when you want a faithful, detailed render that includes every element of the prompt: Flare to explore quickly, Sunburst for the polished version. Reach for Recraft V4.1 Pro when the brief needs art direction: atmosphere, natural light, graphic illustration, and saved styles that hold across a series.
Both sit in the same model selector, and every result lands on the same canvas, so you never have to commit to one. For longer head-to-heads, see Recraft V4 Pro vs GPT Image 1.5 and Recraft V4 Pro vs Nano Banana Pro.
Quality moves both the result and the price. GPT Image 2.6 has six settings in Studio: Auto (the default), Low, Medium, High, Extra high, and Max. Lower settings are faster and cheaper, which suits drafts, while higher settings take longer and suit final images. Every comparison above ran at Medium.
Credits per image, the same for Sunburst and Flare:
| Quality | 1K | 2K |
|---|---|---|
| Low | 4 | 7 |
| Medium | 6 | 12 |
| High | 10 | 14 |
| Extra high | 19 | 24 |
| Max | 42 | 57 |
| Auto (default) | 10 | 14 |
Choosing the quality level and resolution is available on paid plans. On the Free plan, Sunburst runs at its default settings.
OpenAI's release adds SVG and GIF output in ChatGPT and the API. In Recraft Studio, GPT Image 2.6 generates raster images, and two routes get you to an editable SVG:
Pick GPT Image 2.6 in the model selector, run one prompt through Sunburst and Flare, and judge them on your own brief. Try GPT Image 2.6 in Recraft Studio.
GPT Image 2.6 is OpenAI's image generation and editing model, released on November 4, 2026, and also called ChatGPT Images 2.6. It comes as two models: Flare, built for speed, and Sunburst, built for quality and consistency across edits. Both are available in Recraft Studio for prompt-to-image and image editing.
Flare is the fast model: OpenAI says it can return an image in as little as six seconds at Low quality, which suits drafts and variations. Sunburst puts quality and consistency first, so an image holds together across several rounds of edits. In Recraft Studio, both cost the same and share the same quality and resolution controls.
You can use GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst on Recraft's Free plan at its default settings. Flare and the quality and resolution controls come with paid plans.
A GPT Image 2.6 image costs 10 credits at the default settings. The price depends on quality and resolution, from 4 credits at Low and 1K to 57 credits at Max and 2K, and it is the same for Sunburst and Flare. The model selector always shows the current cost.
Through the OpenAI API, GPT Image 2.6 can write an SVG from a prompt. In Recraft Studio, the model generates raster images, and Recraft's vectorizer turns any result into an editable SVG on the same canvas. For vectors from the start, use Recraft V4.1 Vector.
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