Compare · Last checked October 20, 2026
ImageQuarry vs ChatGPT Images: an image workspace or an image feature in a chat
ChatGPT Images is the image feature of OpenAI's ChatGPT assistant. You ask it to generate or edit a picture, attach a reference as visual guidance, select an area and describe the change there, and compare results in a Canvas view. ChatGPT lists a Free plan with limited image creation and paid plans from $8 a month, as of October 2026. ImageQuarry is a workspace made only for images: describe or upload one, ask for changes in words, and each change becomes a new version you can branch from and keep in a project. Choose ChatGPT when pictures are one task among many in the assistant. Choose ImageQuarry when the image is the project.
We make ImageQuarry. We compared it with ChatGPT using ChatGPT's own public pages, checked October 20, 2026, and say where ChatGPT does more.
Last updated October 20, 2026
At a glance
| ImageQuarry | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A workspace for creating and editing images through conversation | The image feature inside the ChatGPT assistant, with an Images section in the sidebar |
| Editing with words | Select a version and ask for a change: lighting, background, an added object, composition or color | Ask ChatGPT to edit an image, or select an area and describe the change for that area |
| Keeping track | Every change is a new version; earlier versions stay and any of them can start a branch | Focused view for one image, Canvas view for the images made in the same chat, Comment for feedback |
| Entry price, as of October 2026 | Starter at $9 per month with 100 image credits a month | Free with limited image creation; Go $8 and Plus $20 a month |
| Where it runs | The ImageQuarry app | Web, iOS and Android, plus the ChatGPT desktop app |
ImageQuarry and ChatGPT: the differences that matter
A general assistant or a place made for pictures
ChatGPT is a general assistant, and its pictures sit in an Images section of the ChatGPT sidebar next to everything else you do there. ImageQuarry is built around images only: the prompt, the uploaded source, the references and every version stay together.
Region edits and comments
ChatGPT's documentation says you can select a specific area of an image and describe the change for that area, and in Canvas view Comment adds precise feedback to one or more images. ImageQuarry works on a selected version: you describe the change, can name what to keep, and check the new version that comes back.
Versions and branches
Each ImageQuarry change becomes a new version while the earlier ones are kept, and any earlier version can start a branch for another direction. The ChatGPT documentation read for this page describes Focused and Canvas views of a chat's images but does not mention branching from an earlier version.
Starting without paying
ChatGPT lists a Free plan with limited image creation, then Go at $8, Plus at $20 and Pro from $100 a month, as of October 2026 on chatgpt.com. ImageQuarry plans are paid monthly subscriptions: Starter at $9 per month with 100 image credits a month, or Pro at $29 per month with 300 image credits a month.
Phones and the desktop
ChatGPT lists access on web, iOS and Android, and its image generation also appears in the ChatGPT desktop app. If most of your picture work happens on a phone, that reach counts for ChatGPT.
A separate image API
OpenAI sells an Image generation API for programmatic work, separate from the ChatGPT app, which matters if you are building image features into your own product.
ImageQuarry vs ChatGPT, side by side
Checked against ChatGPT's public pages on October 20, 2026. "Not stated" means the pages we read do not say; it is not a claim that the feature is missing. "Not published" means ImageQuarry has not published that detail.
| Topic | ImageQuarry | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Describe the image in plain language, or upload an image and describe how you want it changed | A prompt in the chat, or an attached image to edit or use as visual guidance |
| Editing with words | Select a version and ask for a change in words: lighting, background, an added object, composition or color | Ask ChatGPT to edit an image; select an area and describe the change for that area |
| Reference images | Add one or more source and reference images to guide material, color, light or shape | Attach reference images; a small set can split content from style or layout |
| Versions, variations and branching | Each change makes a new version and earlier versions are kept; make variations and branch from any version | Focused view and Canvas view of the images in a chat; Comment for feedback |
| Projects and library | Projects and a persistent library that keep prompts, references and versions together | An Images section in the ChatGPT sidebar |
| Image models | Nano Banana 2.1 (default), Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image 2.5 Flare and GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst | ChatGPT Images 2.5, as the feature page is titled |
| Output resolution and formats | Not published | Not stated |
| Commercial use terms | Not published | Not stated |
| Price | Starter at $9 per month with 100 image credits a month; Pro at $29 per month with 300 image credits a month; optional metered overage, off unless you turn it on; every plan is paid | Free (limited image creation); Go $8, Plus $20, Pro from $100 a month |
As of 2026-10-20
Sources: ChatGPT page (Wayback capture); ChatGPT image generation.md; ChatGPT 6825453 chatgpt release notes; ChatGPT page (Wayback capture); ChatGPT pricing; ChatGPT space.md
Pricing
ImageQuarry plans come from its pricing. ChatGPT prices are as of October 2026, from chatgpt.com, openai.com. Credits are not comparable across products, because each vendor defines its own credit. Check the vendor for current pricing.
| ImageQuarry plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $9 per month | 100 image credits a month; optional metered overage at $0.12 per extra credit, off unless you turn it on |
| Pro | $29 per month | 300 image credits a month; optional metered overage at $0.09 per extra credit, off unless you turn it on |
| Product | Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Free | $0 per month | Limited image creation |
| ChatGPT | Go | $8 per month | More image creation |
| ChatGPT | Plus | $20 per month | More complex and accurate image creation; image generation with Thinking |
| ChatGPT | Pro | From $100 per month | Plans at $100, $200 or $500 a month; image generation with Thinking |
| ChatGPT | Business | $20 per user per month, billed annually | $25 per user per month when billed monthly; 2+ users |
Prices as of 2026-10
About each product
ImageQuarry
ImageQuarry is a conversational AI image workspace. You describe an image or upload one, then ask for specific changes in words, such as new lighting, a different background or an added object. Each change makes a new version and earlier versions are kept, so you can make variations, branch from any version, add reference images and organize the work in projects and a library. You can choose between four image models: Nano Banana 2.1 (the default), Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image 2.5 Flare and GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst. Plans: Starter at $9 per month with 100 image credits a month, and Pro at $29 per month with 300 image credits a month, with optional metered overage that is off unless you turn it on. Every plan is paid. ImageQuarry has not published output specifications or rights terms yet, and it is not a headshot or background removal tool.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT Images is the image generation and editing feature of OpenAI's ChatGPT assistant; its feature page, captured on October 3, 2026, is titled ChatGPT Images 2.5. You can ask it to generate or edit an image, attach a reference image as visual guidance, use a small set of references when one defines the content and another the style, and select an area of a picture to describe a change there. Focused view shows one image and Canvas view the images made in the same chat, where Comment adds feedback. OpenAI's September 2026 release notes, read from search indexed text, describe sharper details and more precise editing. Plans on chatgpt.com run from Free with limited image creation to Pro from $100 a month, on web, iOS and Android.
Which one fits your work
Choose ImageQuarry when
- You want every change kept as its own version, with branches from earlier ones
- The image is the project, organized with its references in a project and library
- You want to choose between four image models for the same request
- You prefer one place where the prompt, the source and each change stay visible
Choose ChatGPT when
- Pictures are one task among many you already do in ChatGPT
- You want to start on a $0 plan: ChatGPT Free lists limited image creation
- You create mostly on a phone, with ChatGPT apps on iOS and Android
- You need an image API for your own product, which OpenAI sells separately
How to try both on the same image
- Write one image description and run it in both, word for word.
- Ask each for the same two changes in turn, such as warmer light and then a new background, and see how the second request builds on the first.
- In ImageQuarry, go back to the first version and branch in another direction; in ChatGPT, compare the chat results in Canvas view.
- Decide which record of the work you would rather reopen next week.
Questions about ImageQuarry vs ChatGPT
Can ChatGPT edit just part of an image?
Yes. ChatGPT's documentation says you can select a specific area of an image and describe the change for that area. In ImageQuarry you select a version, describe the change in words and can say what to keep; the result is a new version.
Does ChatGPT keep earlier versions of a picture?
ChatGPT shows the images generated in the same chat in Canvas view. ImageQuarry keeps every version together with the prompt, references and conversation that produced it, and lets you branch from any earlier one.
Which image models does each one use?
ChatGPT's feature page is titled ChatGPT Images 2.5. ImageQuarry offers four models by name: Nano Banana 2.1, which is the default, Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image 2.5 Flare and GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst.
Is there a $0 way to try ChatGPT images?
ChatGPT's pricing lists a Free plan with limited image creation, as of October 2026. Every ImageQuarry plan is paid, starting at $9 a month.
Can I start in ChatGPT and finish in ImageQuarry?
Yes. Download a picture you made in ChatGPT, then upload it to ImageQuarry and describe how you want it changed. Each change you ask for there becomes a new version.
Sources
Every competitor fact on this page comes from the vendor's own pages, checked on the date shown. Recheck them before you buy.
Checked October 20, 2026
Create an image. Edit it with words. Keep refining.
Keep the whole trail of an image
Describe or upload a picture, ask for changes in words, and come back to any version when you want to try another direction.
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