DALL·E
by OpenAI
At a glance
OpenAI's earlier text-to-image model family; OpenAI's current image models are the GPT-Image line, and DALL·E no longer appears in its public model list.
image text-to-image multimodal
- Licence
- Not recorded
- Category
- Image Generation
- Business model
- Paid
- Availability
- Global
- Launched
- 2021-01
Overview
DALL·E is OpenAI's earlier family of text-to-image models, which generated and edited images from natural-language descriptions, and it sits in the image-generation category. OpenAI, the US company behind ChatGPT, developed it. The image models OpenAI now lists are GPT-Image-2.5 Sunburst and GPT-Image-2.5 Flare, reached inside ChatGPT and through the OpenAI API, and DALL·E no longer appears in the public model list, the one recent change recorded here. It runs only as a hosted cloud service, with no self-hosted option. Honest limitation: the API pricing page was read on 2026-10-10 and lists tool and token rates but no readable DALL·E image line, so no per-image price is recorded, and licence, regions and languages were not stated.
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Key features
- Text-to-image generation from natural-language prompts
- Inpainting and editing of existing images
- Prompt refinement through conversation in ChatGPT
- Developer access through the OpenAI API
Use cases
- Illustrations and concept images from written descriptions
- Editing or extending existing images with instructions
- Programmatic image generation inside applications
Pricing
Image generation is included in ChatGPT plans; access through the OpenAI API is usage-priced.
Record details
Provenance, dates and links are kept here so the main sections stay about the product itself.
Links, dates and provenance
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
- Pricing
- developers.openai.com ↗
- Documentation
- developers.openai.com ↗
- Founded
- 2015
- Headquarters
- US
- Canonical URL
- https://globalaiproductindex.com/products/dall-e/
Selection profile
Every field says where its value comes from. "Unknown" means we have not confirmed it — it does not mean the product lacks the feature.
Selection profile11 fields3 unknown
- Tasks it fits
- Image generation
Derived from the record: category "image-generation".
Suggest a correction - How you use it
- Web app
Hosted product with no desktop/CLI tag in the record; assumed web-delivered.
Suggest a correction - Runs on
- Web
Derived from platform words in the record description/features/tags.
Suggest a correction - Where it runs
- Vendor cloud
Vendor-hosted product; no self-hosted option is recorded.
Suggest a correction - Works offline
- Not recorded
The record contains no offline-operation claim.
Suggest a correction - Official service region
- Global
Mirrors the availability field already on the record ("global").
Suggest a correction - Public API
- Yes
The image generation guide documents the API path.
Suggest a correction - Licence
- proprietary
Commercial product; no source licence is published in the record.
Suggest a correction - Commercial use
- Not recorded
Commercial product; the terms reviewed here do not state a non-commercial restriction, but that was not verified.
Suggest a correction - Interface languages
- Not recorded
No vendor page read in this pass states the product's own interface languages; the key exists so the field can be answered later rather than left absent.
Suggest a correction - Billing
- Subscription Free allowance: No Subscription required: Yes
Prices are the vendor’s advertised entry price and exclude taxes; always confirm on the vendor’s own page.
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Where each value comes from
- Tasks it fits
- Our inference
- How you use it
- Our inference
- Runs on
- Our inference
- Where it runs
- Our inference
- Works offline
- Our inference
- Official service region
- Our inference
- Public API
- Verified 2026-10-10 developers.openai.com ↗
- Licence
- Our inference
- Commercial use
- Our inference
- Interface languages
- Unknown
Key facts and their evidence
Each fact lists the conditions it holds under, the page it was read from and the day it was checked.
-
Documentation: Image generation is documented in the platform API guide Verified 2026-10-10 developers.openai.com ↗
Suggest a correction -
API: yes Verified 2026-10-10 developers.openai.com ↗
Image generation is reached through the vendor's API, alongside a published API pricing page.
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Frequently asked questions
Who develops DALL·E?
DALL·E is developed by OpenAI, the US-based AI company founded in 2015.
Where can I use DALL·E?
OpenAI's image generation is available inside ChatGPT and programmatically through the OpenAI API under the GPT-Image line.
Is DALL·E free?
Limited image generation is available on ChatGPT's free tier; higher limits come with paid plans, and the API is usage-priced.
Who should not choose DALL·E?
Anyone who needs a current, separately priced DALL·E image endpoint: DALL·E no longer appears in OpenAI's public model list, so the GPT-Image line is the way in.
Similar products
- Midjourney — Text-to-image generation service known for high-quality artistic output.
- Ideogram — Text-to-image generator noted for rendering legible text within generated images.
- Imagen — Google's text-to-image model family, available through Gemini and Vertex AI.
- Reve — Text-to-image platform from Reve AI for generating and editing images with natural-language instructions.
- Seedream — Image generation model family from ByteDance that unifies text-to-image synthesis and image editing in a single architecture.
- Krea — Real-time AI image and video generation tool with an interactive canvas.
Related comparisons
Related guides
Sources
This record was last reviewed on 2026-10-10.
Machine-readable record: /api/products/dall-e.json · Spot an error? Suggest a correction