GPT Image 2.5 Sunburstvs.Ideogram 4.5

Which one is better?

In our own test, GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst leads. Ideogram 4.5 has no arena rating yet. GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst costs 2.1 times as much per image.

Same task, the first image of each. The task with the biggest difference is preselected.

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst93 out of 100

Ideogram 4.5: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Ideogram 4.559 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst ahead

Prompt given to both modelsCreate a square premium product photograph of a brushed titanium wristwatch standing upright on dark green marble. The watch has a cream dial, thin black hands set to 10:10, twelve distinct hour markers, a realistic crown, and a dark brown leather strap. Soft window light from the left, controlled reflections, shallow depth of field, no text, no logo, no extra objects.

What the rating looks at: Materials, reflections, and fine details.

“Ahead”: better in all three rating rounds. “Slightly ahead”: a higher value, but not in every round.

Test protocol of the images

Both models receive the same archived prompt in exactly one request, and the first result counts. Files are normalized to 1,024 × 1,024 pixels without cropping. Provider resolution, randomness, quality tier and prompt processing can still differ. The images are a practical visual test, not a reconstruction of the arena configuration.

Character and detail

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst: openai, 1024x1024, quality high, n=1, generated Sep 28, 2026, 8:51 PM. Source

Ideogram 4.5: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=676327336, prompt expansion disabled, quality low, estimated cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:44 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: 985a75b38642a9f0e5e0c0e0c67f1b7f67780d42bd2168fa24e9a7a7a94b0da6

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst image SHA 256: 2bcd5e2358dbf9e2f11336ebf6c4a4a15e0a9a10261dd74378d40985ac68ec6d

Ideogram 4.5 image SHA 256: 765cb852ecb10a396bad4bd18c2dc9fcc77221ffff3f0b94ef9eccf4d190b418

Infographic

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst: openai, 1024x1024, quality high, n=1, generated Sep 28, 2026, 8:52 PM. Source

Ideogram 4.5: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=1482950298, prompt expansion disabled, quality low, estimated cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:44 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: ed65cb4e6a51e2336f8b149ad4cbb16e020f07d527ad94362e719d2dcf91d94f

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst image SHA 256: 7dab94e5588be73aefe08f23f9d56ced4e2ddb2b29f754db41b057025cf34847

Ideogram 4.5 image SHA 256: c97b4321e68bf1617a4dc96b5e1f9372344b09b9ff987f07d0e9813e6210c656

Product photography

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst: openai, 1024x1024, quality high, n=1, generated Sep 28, 2026, 8:51 PM. Source

Ideogram 4.5: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=1376877115, prompt expansion disabled, quality low, estimated cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:44 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: c67fd71e91304458a2feef5c91efa8677260fab0c0099a29a2c52cb579f5b2f3

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst image SHA 256: c648276704e06f7925f2325e8ffff0d9d0a9bd6c5bb4866785abac92ce97ff9a

Ideogram 4.5 image SHA 256: b9427281a64b3103f52f439b8797bd11763f813a8ef142bf79d96e936b349ae1

Typography and layout

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst: openai, 1024x1024, quality high, n=1, generated Sep 28, 2026, 8:50 PM. Source

Ideogram 4.5: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=988679089, prompt expansion disabled, quality low, estimated cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:44 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: 2e012c3d14ee5dd02203a94f394ca80a5038cdebd6032b25a8b8a221f2255419

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst image SHA 256: fd6a3767ba8253869cb94d5346f025541dac924c2190df2c37b366b182986cf8

Ideogram 4.5 image SHA 256: ebe1fe3dccf258807db9a9063c1034185c1b3e91f0d8c9bd86c53525d374dd9c

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

1,427

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst

Rank 1 of 22

n/a

Ideogram 4.5

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst

Rank 4 of 74

Ideogram 4.5

Rank 38 of 74

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.21

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst

expensive

$0.10

Ideogram 4.5

expensive

Ranks among the 22 image models with an arena rating and the 74 with a GraduallyBench run; prices compared with 28 models with an API price.

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst

Subscription: No OpenAI subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €6.39 a month (ElevenLabs Starter, with limited credits). 62 plans in Germany.
Via API: $0.21 per image, 100 images $21.07.

Ideogram 4.5

Subscription: No Ideogram subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €9.59 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). 33 plans in Germany.
Via API: $0.10 per image, 100 images $10.
Weights: unknown.

Subscriptions only count plans that name exactly this model. Subscription prices include VAT, API prices are in dollars.

Arena rating (LMArena) from Oct 28, 2026 · GraduallyBench from Nov 1, 2026 · API prices from Oct 28, 2026 · Subscription database from Sep 29, 2026 (34 days old)

All data side by side

The better value is bold. For ratings only when the gap is clear.

Kennzahl	GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst	Ideogram 4.5
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	1,427	n/a
Arena rank	Rank 1 of 22	n/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	40,323	n/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	77	56
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	48	16
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	93	59
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	74	68
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	91	82
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.21	$0.10
100 images	$21.07	$10
Profile
Released	Sep 8, 2026	n/a
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	unknown
Access	API	API
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	3,840 × 2,160 pixels	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	62	33

API prices for one image at 1,024 × 1,024 pixels according to Artificial Analysis.

Sources: GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst model source (verified Sep 24, 2026) · Ideogram 4.5 model source (verified Nov 1, 2026)

Arena ratings by category

From blind votes on LMArena. “Ahead” means the lead is clear.

Arena rating per categoryfrom votes by users · higher is betterGPT Image 2.5 SunburstIdeogram 4.5

Text to Image Arena1,2221,015ahead

Image Editing Arena1,1991,070ahead

Image Editing: Agentic image generation1,5291,296ahead

Image Editing: Multi-image editing1,5211,337ahead

Image Editing: Overall1,5171,347ahead

Artificial Analysis from Oct 28, 2026 · LMArena from Oct 28, 2026

All individual values with sources

Rating	GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst	Ideogram 4.5	Source
Text to Image Arena	1,222	1,015	Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Oct 28, 2026
Image Editing Arena	1,199	1,070	Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Oct 28, 2026
Image Editing: Agentic image generation	1,529	1,296	LMArenaRetrieved Oct 28, 2026
Image Editing: Multi-image editing	1,521	1,337	LMArenaRetrieved Oct 28, 2026
Image Editing: Overall	1,517	1,347	LMArenaRetrieved Oct 28, 2026

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Same prompt, two images

The numbers at a glance

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst

Ideogram 4.5

All data side by side

Arena ratings by category

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