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ToolImagepaiddeadBelow 8
0/10Niche

MonthlyDeprecated API modelsAnnualuse current GPT Image pricing

Best plan

Use current OpenAI GPT Image API pricing rather than starting new...

Try DALL-E

Editorial · no paid placements

Should you use it?

DALL-E is OpenAI's older image model family. DALL-E 2 and DALL-E 3 were removed from the API on May 12, 2026. Treat DALL-E as discontinued for new work and use current GPT Image models instead.

  • Buy ifHistorical context on OpenAI image generation
  • PickUse current OpenAI GPT Image API pricing rather than starting new work on DALL-E
  • Skip ifAnyone choosing a current image generation product

Plan guidance

What to buy

Best planUse current OpenAI GPT Image API pricing rather than starting new work on DALL-E

Start here unless your workflow clearly needs a higher tier.

Price rangeDeprecated API models; use current GPT Image pricing

Use the official pricing page before purchase because AI plans change often.

Upgrade only ifNot for anyone choosing a current image generation product

Move up only when caps, seats, governance, or weekly production use justify it.

Fit

Use it for this, skip it for that

Best for

  • Historical context on OpenAI image generation
  • Readers tracking DALL-E API deprecation and GPT Image migration
  • Users who need to understand old DALL-E references in comparisons
  • Teams planning migration away from DALL-E 2 or DALL-E 3 before removal

Avoid if

  • Anyone choosing a current image generation product
  • New production API planning
  • Buyers comparing active image generators
  • Users who want the current ChatGPT image workflow

Alternatives

Best swaps

GPT Image 2

OpenAI's reasoning-native image model. Strong text rendering across 12+ languages, web-aware generation, and API pricing listed

$0-$200/month (ChatGPT) · API token pricing: image $8/M input, $2/M cached input, $30/M output; text $5/M input, $1.25/M cached input, $10/M output · 9.3/10Midjourney

The aesthetic-quality leader for AI image generation. V8.1 is now the default model, and image-to-video animation is available a

$10-$120/month · 9.3/10Flux

Black Forest Labs' image model family: FLUX.2 Max/Pro/Flex/Klein for API generation and editing, FLUX.2 Dev/Klein open weights,

$0 local / hosted from ~$0.012-$0.07+ per MP · 8.8/10
Build comparison
Proof and score mathVerified Jun 27

Proof

Why this recommendation is trusted

EvidenceOpenAI deprecations
Source
Registered source
Freshness
Current
Confidence
High confidence
Verified
Volatility
Stable

Editorial score

Unweighted average of 4 axes · confidence high

  • Utility0/10

    How much real work it can do for a competent operator, end to end.

  • Value0/10

    What you get for the dollar relative to the closest alternative.

  • Moat0/10

    How hard it would be for a competitor to replicate the underlying advantage.

  • Longevity0/10

    How likely the product is to still be best-in-class 24 months out.

Verified facts

  1. Best ForHistorical context and migration planning away from DALL-E API models
    highStable2026-06-27OpenAI deprecations
  2. Pricing AnchorDiscontinued for new builds. Use current GPT Image API pricing rather than starting new work on DALL-E.
    highStable2026-06-27OpenAI API pricing
  3. Flagship ModelDALL-E 3, deprecated in favor of GPT Image models for new builds
    highStable2026-06-27OpenAI deprecations
  4. Best Paid TierUse current OpenAI GPT Image API pricing rather than starting new work on DALL-E
    highStable2026-06-27OpenAI API pricing
  5. Image GenerationDALL-E 2 and DALL-E 3 remain documented image API models, but OpenAI recommends GPT Image for current image generation
    highStable2026-06-27OpenAI image generation guide
  6. StatusDALL-E 2 and DALL-E 3 were removed from the OpenAI image API on May 12, 2026. Treat DALL-E as discontinued for new work; use current GPT Image models.
    highStable2026-06-27OpenAI image generation guide
Full review notesLong-form details, FAQ, and source history

DALL-E is OpenAI’s older image generation model family. DALL-E 2 and DALL-E 3 are still useful as historical labels, but they are not the path for new OpenAI image builds. OpenAI’s current image-generation docs center GPT Image models, and dall-e-2 and dall-e-3 were removed from the API on May 12, 2026 per OpenAI’s deprecation schedule.

System Verdict

Treat DALL-E as deprecated infrastructure. If you arrived looking for current OpenAI image generation, evaluate GPT Image models through the OpenAI Image API or Responses API instead.

Do not start new API work on dall-e-2 or dall-e-3. They were removed from the API on May 12, 2026, so any remaining references are migration or compatibility cleanup, not a live integration path.

Keep the page for provenance. DALL-E still appears in old docs, prompt libraries, vendor comparisons, and product copy. That does not make it the right model family for a new image workflow.

What it was

DALL-E launched in 2021 as OpenAI’s first text-to-image model family. DALL-E 2 followed in 2022, and DALL-E 3 later became the better-known ChatGPT-era image model.

Through 2023 and 2024 it served as the default OpenAI image surface, pitched against Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. Its strengths were prompt adherence and text rendering for a consumer chat product. Its weakness was aesthetic ceiling: Midjourney routinely beat it on stylized and cinematic output.

What replaced it

OpenAI’s current developer path is GPT Image. The image-generation guide describes GPT Image as the latest and most advanced OpenAI image-generation model family, with better instruction following, text rendering, editing, and world-knowledge use than the DALL-E series.

For API work, that means choosing current GPT Image model IDs and endpoint behavior rather than preserving a DALL-E abstraction. The Image API now centers GPT Image models; the legacy dall-e-2 and dall-e-3 IDs were retired on May 12, 2026. The Responses API image-generation tool is designed around GPT Image.

For broader site context on OpenAI’s image-generation transition, see the local coverage of ChatGPT Images 2.0 and gpt-image-2, but use the official OpenAI docs linked below as the source of truth for current API model IDs.

API status

As verified on 2026-06-27:

  • OpenAI’s deprecation schedule retired dall-e-2 and dall-e-3 from the API on May 12, 2026. New calls should target GPT Image model IDs.
  • OpenAI’s image guide now centers GPT Image as the current path for image-generation work; DALL-E appears only as historical context.
  • GPT Image models support editing and output controls that the older DALL-E 3 Image API endpoint did not.
  • Any code still referencing the dall-e-3 model string will fail against the live API and needs migration.
  • Current pricing should be read from OpenAI’s pricing page because GPT Image costs depend on image tokens pricing page now lists GPT-Image-2 as the current image-generation billing anchor.

Pricing

DALL-E is not a current buying path. OpenAI retired the dall-e-2 and dall-e-3 API model IDs on May 12, 2026, so there is no new-production DALL-E plan to recommend.

For new OpenAI image work, use GPT Image pricing from OpenAI’s live pricing page. As verified on 2026-06-27, GPT-Image-2 is the current public API pricing anchor for OpenAI image generation, with separate image-token input, cached-input, and output prices.

Migration notes

Treat DALL-E as a historical label when auditing old prompts, docs, and comparisons. If a vendor, workflow, or internal playbook still says “DALL-E,” check whether it means the retired ChatGPT image surface, the DALL-E 3 API, or OpenAI image generation in general. Those are no longer the same operational choice.

For buyers, the decision path is straightforward. If you want OpenAI’s current image workflow inside a consumer or team assistant, evaluate ChatGPT and the current GPT Image path. If you want a pure image model with a different aesthetic ceiling, compare Midjourney, Flux, Adobe Firefly, and other active image tools instead of ranking DALL-E as if it were a current buying option.

For developers, the key risk is migration timing. New integrations should not be planned around the DALL-E brand. Update product copy, prompt libraries, tests, and API abstractions so they refer to current model IDs and a current source of truth. Keep this page for provenance, not as a buying recommendation.

Migration checklist

  • Inventory any dall-e-2 or dall-e-3 model strings in code, prompt tests, docs, examples, and customer-facing copy.
  • Replace product copy that says “DALL-E” when the real feature now means OpenAI image generation generally.
  • Re-test prompt libraries because GPT Image behavior, output controls, editing support, and moderation settings are not identical to DALL-E behavior.
  • Update pricing assumptions from fixed DALL-E-era per-image thinking to current GPT Image token, size, quality, and editing costs.
  • Keep compatibility notes for historical comparisons, but route new product decisions to the current OpenAI image docs.

Sources
  • ChatGPT: current OpenAI image surface
  • Midjourney: aesthetic-quality leader
  • Flux: open-weight alternative with a public API
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According to aipedia.wiki Editorial at aipedia.wiki (https://aipedia.wiki/tools/dalle/)
aipedia.wiki Editorial. (2026). DALL-E: Editorial Review. aipedia.wiki. Retrieved August 2, 2026, from https://aipedia.wiki/tools/dalle/
aipedia.wiki Editorial. "DALL-E: Editorial Review." aipedia.wiki, 2026, https://aipedia.wiki/tools/dalle/. Accessed August 2, 2026.
aipedia.wiki Editorial. 2026. "DALL-E: Editorial Review." aipedia.wiki. https://aipedia.wiki/tools/dalle/.
@misc{dall-e-editorial-review-2026, author = {{aipedia.wiki Editorial}}, title = {DALL-E: Editorial Review}, year = {2026}, publisher = {aipedia.wiki}, url = {https://aipedia.wiki/tools/dalle/}, note = {Accessed: 2026-08-02} }
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