# How much does GPT Image 2 cost? By SeedRouter · Published 2026-09-21 · Updated 2026-09-21 GPT Image 2 pricing on SeedRouter depends on the model ID. `gpt-image-2` (Standard) charges one flat price per delivered image, while `gpt-image-2-official` (Official) bills input and output usage, so on that ID no single price describes every image. Use the current rates below to estimate a request, then check its final charge in [usage history](https://seedrouter.ai/usage). A sample calculation is useful for planning, but it is not a quote for your next generation. The practical question is usually narrower: how much should you budget to get one usable image? That includes the drafts you discard and the revisions you keep. Starting with this distinction prevents a small cost-per-image estimate from becoming an unrealistic project budget. ## What are the current GPT Image 2 rates? This table uses the same current rates as the [model pricing section](https://seedrouter.ai/models/gpt-image-2#pricing), refreshed on a five-minute interval. The worked estimates combine those rates with the existing landing-page token samples. They are not new measurements made for this article. Current rates are temporarily unavailable. No price estimate is provided; unavailable rates must not be interpreted as free usage. If rates cannot be loaded, this section shows an unavailable message instead of a zero price. Check the model page again before estimating a large run. A saved screenshot or an older article cannot tell you what the current rate is. ## How do you estimate the cost of an image? For the displayed input and output rates, multiply each token count by its corresponding rate per million tokens, add the two amounts, and divide by one million. Keep the units consistent: a rate per million tokens is not a rate per token or per image. ```text estimated USD = ( input tokens × input USD per million tokens + output tokens × output USD per million tokens ) / 1,000,000 ``` Suppose you want to reuse the landing page's low-quality sample as a planning reference. Its output count is 196 tokens. The displayed estimate uses 18 input tokens, just as the landing-page calculator does. Substitute the current rates, rather than copying an old dollar total. This reproduces the estimate shown here; it does not establish that every square, low-quality image uses those counts. If your request includes reference images, do not treat the short text-only prompt example as representative. The input is different. For a new workload, record the returned usage when available and compare the final charges in your account. SeedRouter's public task response does not include a dollar-cost field, so an integration should not expect to read one from `output`. ## What can change the cost per image? Output dimensions, quality, image count, prompt length, and reference images can affect usage. The [GPT Image 2 reference](https://seedrouter.ai/docs/gpt-image-2#pricing-dimensions) describes these billing dimensions. The effect of changing several settings at once is harder to interpret, which is why a controlled comparison is more useful than a pile of unrelated generations. Start by keeping the prompt and dimensions fixed. Compare `low` and `medium`, then inspect the part of the image that matters to the job: small lettering, product edges, or fine texture, for example. Move to `high` if the extra detail is useful in the final asset. That is an evaluation method, not a claim that a particular tier will meet every brief. `auto` is a choice made by the model, not a budget ceiling. Set an explicit quality when you need repeatable request settings. Likewise, `size: "auto"` does not specify a fixed canvas. Use explicit pixel dimensions when comparing output costs across a series. Image count matters too. Asking for several alternatives in one request produces several images, not one image at the single-image sample price. Do not assume a volume discount because the outputs share a request. ## What do the sample numbers actually prove? The table provides four observed output-token counts for 1024 × 1024 samples, one for each quality setting. It shows how those counts translate into estimates at the current rates. It does not measure average cost, completion time, success rate, or visual quality across a dataset. The sample sizes are too small to support those conclusions. Nor should a low-quality sample be used to price a reference edit, a larger canvas, or a request for several images without checking how its usage differs. For a useful record of your own, save the prompt version, dimensions, quality, reference-image count, requested image count, task ID, available token usage, and final account charge. Keep the output alongside that record. You can then explain a cost change without guessing which setting changed between runs. ## How should you budget drafts and revisions? Separate the number of final assets from the number of generations. If a project needs ten finished images, a budget for exactly ten generations leaves no room for rejected compositions or corrected text. Choose a draft allowance you can afford, then stop and review before spending it on more attempts. An effective first pass is to test the hardest brief, not the easiest one. If your images need legible labels, try the longest label early. If they require precise product placement, review that constraint before generating the rest. This gives you evidence about the actual work rather than reassurance from an unrelated sample. Once a prompt is acceptable, change only the final-output settings you need. Raising quality while rewriting the composition makes it difficult to tell whether the additional spend helped. For several prompts, use a small pilot set before following the [batch generation guide](https://seedrouter.ai/blog/gpt-image-2-batch-generation). Failed requests are not charged. A local polling timeout, however, does not establish that a task failed. Save the task ID and check the same task again before submitting a replacement; the [task guide](https://seedrouter.ai/docs/api/tasks) explains that distinction. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is there a fixed GPT Image 2 price per image? On `gpt-image-2` (Standard), yes: one flat price per delivered image at any size or quality. On `gpt-image-2-official` (Official), no: the cost depends on the request's input and output usage and the applicable rates. Use the table for a worked estimate, not a universal price. ### Does a shorter prompt always make the whole request cheaper? A shorter prompt changes one part of the input. It does not fix the output usage, dimensions, reference inputs, or number of images. Remove unnecessary instructions for clarity, but assess the complete request when budgeting. ### Where can I check the final charge? In [account usage history](https://seedrouter.ai/usage). Token usage may also appear in the completed task response, but that response does not provide a dollar-cost field. ## Set a budget you can verify Use GPT Image 2 pricing as a calculation with stated assumptions: current rates, representative usage, and a realistic number of attempts. Run a small comparison, keep the request settings with the outputs, and use the final account charges to plan the larger run. For the model's own terminology and capabilities, see [OpenAI's GPT Image 2 model reference](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/gpt-image-2); SeedRouter rates and delivery details are documented on this site.