GPT Image 2.6 Flare vs Sunburst: Which Model to Use

The short answer

Use Flare when speed and cost matter more than fine detail, such as GIFs, previews and high-volume tools. Use Sunburst for detailed stills, consistent multi-step edits and SVG output.

Flare

OpenAI positions Flare as the speed tier. It can generate an image in as little as six seconds, which makes it a good fit for interactive tools where users wait on the result.

Sunburst

Sunburst targets higher-quality generation and stays more consistent across edits. It also adds image markup (guiding edits by drawing on the image) and SVG export.

GIF output on both

Both models accept output_format "gif" on generation requests, with frame_count and frame_duration_ms controls. GIF output does not work on edits or with input images.

For short looping animations we use Flare in our GIF generator.

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