GPT Image 2.6 vs MOSS-Image: Which One Keeps Text and Layout Correct?

OpenAI released Images 2.6 on November 4, 2026. It reached ChatGPT and Codex, and two models came to the API: GPT Image 2.6 Flare for speed and GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst for detail. MOSS-Image is the open-weights model OpenMOSS released on October 16, known for text and for following JSON layouts.

We run MOSS-Image here, so we had a reason to hope it would win on text. It did not. Here is what we found.

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Prompt0 / 2000

1:1 · Output size: 1024 × 1024 px

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The short answerCopy Anchor Link

• Text: a tie. All three models got all 39 requested lines right, including a 15-line agenda.
• Design: GPT Image 2.6. From the same sentence it added more art and stronger hierarchy. The photo came out sharper too.
• Exact placement: MOSS-Image. With a JSON layout, each element lands in the box you drew, and you can move one box and generate again.
• Price: close. On fal, each image cost between $0.03 and $0.05 for GPT Image 2.6, and $0.05 for MOSS-Image.
• Control over the model: MOSS-Image. Its weights are open under Apache-2.0, so you can run it on your own GPU. GPT Image 2.6 is available only through OpenAI's products, its API and hosts such as fal.

How we testedCopy Anchor Link

Each model got the same prompt once, at the same size. We kept the first image, with no second tries and no edits. GPT Image 2.6 ran on fal's defaults, high quality and high reasoning. MOSS-Image ran on this site's settings. A line counts as right only if every word and number matches the prompt.

This is six prompts, one attempt each: useful, but not a benchmark. Another run could go differently. Click any image to check the words at full size.

Round 1: a flyerCopy Anchor Link

All three spelled everything right. Flare also added two signs nobody asked for, "TACOS" and "Good Food Good Vibes". They read fine, but on a real flyer you would have to remove them. MOSS-Image put a tiny banner of unreadable marks on a stall in the background.

Round 2: a menuCopy Anchor Link

Every dish and price is correct on all three. The difference is hierarchy: both GPT models use the page fully, while MOSS-Image leaves more empty paper.

Round 3: a product labelCopy Anchor Link

GPT Image 2.6 designed a real package here, with an oak tree and a landscape we never asked for. Sunburst set "Light Roast" in capitals. MOSS-Image kept to the words, but set the tasting notes in a thin script that is the hardest line to read in this round.

Round 4: a dense agendaCopy Anchor Link

We added this round last, after the others came back with no spelling mistakes, to look for a breaking point. We did not find one.

Round 5: exact layoutCopy Anchor Link

Here the models got different inputs. GPT Image 2.6 got position words. MOSS-Image got the same content as a JSON layout, with a box for each element.

GPT Image 2.6 followed the words well: every element is in the corner we named. The vase runs past the three quarters we asked for, to about 85% of the height, on both. On MOSS-Image, the vase stops at its box.

That is the real difference. Position words get you close. A box tells the model where to stop. In the layout editor you can drag one box and generate again with the same seed. The same layout and seed reproduce the same image, so you change one thing at a time.

Round 6: a photo with no textCopy Anchor Link

GPT Image 2.6 wins this one. Both models show sharper knitwear, netting and hands, in a closer, more confident framing. The MOSS-Image version is believable but softer.

The results side by sideCopy Anchor Link

Times run from submitting the job to its result, including fal's queue, and we checked every 3 seconds. Costs are what fal charged for these sizes, around one megapixel. MOSS-Image is $0.05 per megapixel, rounded up per image.

Flare or Sunburst?Copy Anchor Link

OpenAI lists the same token prices for both: $8 per million image input tokens and $30 per million image output tokens. Flare is the fast one, and OpenAI says it can finish in as little as six seconds. The quickest finish in our test was 12 seconds, or about 8 seconds of processing on fal. Sunburst took about three times longer on average and did not spell anything better in our test. Its appeal is finer work and steadier edits, which we did not test, so start with Flare unless you see a reason not to.

What is new compared with GPT Image 2.5?Copy Anchor Link

OpenAI released 2.6 with three additions: SVG output, animated GIF output and a complexity setting that controls how much the model plans before it renders. Markup-guided edits, where you draw on a transparent layer over your image, are also new, but OpenAI added them to supported 2.5 models on the same day. So markup alone is not a reason to move to 2.6.

OpenAI does not make a specific claim about text accuracy for 2.6. Its image guide says only that higher complexity can help with dense text and complex layouts.

Markup and JSON layouts solve different problemsCopy Anchor Link

Both let you say where things go, at different stages:

• Markup works on an image you already have. You draw on top of it, and GPT Image 2.6 changes that area.
• A JSON layout works before the image exists. You describe each box, and MOSS-Image builds the whole image to fit.

Choose markup to fix one area of a finished image. Choose a layout when you are repeating a design and need the title in the same place every time.

Which one should you use?Copy Anchor Link

Use GPT Image 2.6 if you want a finished-looking design from one sentence, you need a GIF or SVG, or you want to edit an existing image. It is also the better choice for photos, going by this test.

Use MOSS-Image if you need elements in exact positions, you want to change one element at a time, you want to run the model yourself or train a LoRA, or you want a design that does only what you asked. To run it locally, start with our ComfyUI guide.

For correct spelling alone, neither gave us a reason to switch.

FAQCopy Anchor Link

Can I use GPT Image 2.6 on this site?Copy Anchor Link

No. The generator and layout editor here run MOSS-Image. Our photo cards and Christmas photos use other companies' models, listed in our privacy policy, but none of them is GPT Image 2.6. To use it, try ChatGPT, OpenAI's API or a host such as fal.

Is GPT Image 2.6 free?Copy Anchor Link

OpenAI says Images 2.6 is available in ChatGPT on all tiers. API use is paid by the token.

Did GPT Image 2.6 make any spelling mistakes?Copy Anchor Link

Not in our 39 lines. That is a small sample in clean English, so check your own images before you print them. The same goes for MOSS-Image.

Can MOSS-Image make GIFs or SVGs?Copy Anchor Link

Not on this site, and not out of the box. For those formats, GPT Image 2.6 is the simpler choice.

Is MOSS-Image cheaper?Copy Anchor Link

Not on fal, in our test. Running it on your own GPU has no per-image charge, which is the main way to pay less.

Try the same prompt with MOSS-ImageCopy Anchor Link

Here is the label prompt from round 3, ready to run.

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Prompt246 / 2000

A studio product photo of a matte kraft paper coffee bag standing on a plain stone surface, soft daylight. The printed label reads: "Oaken Mile Coffee", "Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia", "Light Roast", "Notes of jasmine, peach and honey", "340 g / 12 oz".

1:1 · Output size: 1024 × 1024 px

Generate · 1 credit

Your image will appear here

Full generator & more controls → MOSS Image AI Generator

Related guidesCopy Anchor Link

• MOSS-Image JSON Layout Tutorial: bbox, yxyx and Coordinates — Write MOSS-Image layout prompts by hand: the summary and items fields, yxyx bounding boxes in centered pixel coordinates, a converter, and examples to copy.
• MOSS-Image Prompt Guide: Chinese and English Text in Images — Write MOSS-Image prompts that render clean Chinese and English text: describe the finished image, quote the exact words and control line breaks. With examples to try.
• MOSS-Image Base vs SFT: Which Checkpoint Should You Use? — Short answer: use SFT to make images and Base to train LoRAs. What SFT changes, what the official comparison shows, and how to run each in ComfyUI or Python.

SourcesCopy Anchor Link

• OpenAI's Images 2.6 announcement
• GPT-Image-2.6 Flare and GPT-Image-2.6 Sunburst, OpenAI API documentation
• OpenAI API changelog, image generation guide and pricing
• GPT Image 2.6 Flare on fal and Sunburst on fal
• OpenMOSS/MOSS-Image on GitHub