GPT Image API in Russia: gpt-image-2, GPT Image 2.5 and 2.6 with no VPN or foreign card
GPT Image is OpenAI’s image generation API: its models draw and edit pictures from a text description. You can’t reach them from Russia directly: OpenAI restricts access from Russia and doesn’t accept Russian cards. On RuAPI, gpt-image-2, GPT Image 2.5 and the new GPT Image 2.6 (Flare and Sunburst) work with one key in OpenAI’s standard Images API — /v1/images/generations and /v1/images/edits. You pay only for tokens and top up in USDT.
Updated:
import base64
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
api_key="sk-...",
base_url="https://www.ruapi.ai/v1",
)
img = client.images.generate(
model="gpt-image-2.6-flare",
prompt="A ginger cat in a spacesuit, watercolor",
size="1024x1024",
quality="low",
)
open("image.png", "wb").write(base64.b64decode(img.data[0].b64_json))This sample generates an image with gpt-image-2.6-flare; replace sk-… with your RuAPI key. The response comes back as base64 in the b64_json field: the Python and Node.js samples save it straight to image.png, while cURL prints the JSON. The sample uses quality: "low", the cheapest option; for final images switch to medium or high. You can swap the model for gpt-image-2.6-sunburst, gpt-image-2.5-flare, gpt-image-2.5-sunburst or gpt-image-2.
Why GPT Image can’t be used from Russia directly
OpenAI restricts access from Russia.
You can’t open an OpenAI developer account from Russia or call the API without a VPN. The RuAPI site and API open from Russia directly, and our Images API is the same as OpenAI’s — only the address changes: https://www.ruapi.ai/v1.
OpenAI won’t take a Russian card.
On RuAPI you top up in USDT or USDC from 5 USDT over TRC20, BEP20, TON or Polygon. USDT can be bought for rubles via SBP — step by step at docs.ruapi.ai/en/buy-usdt. Foreign-issued cards work too.
Five models, but a 2.6 image costs about 4 times more.
Per token, gpt-image-2, 2.5 and 2.6 cost the same, but they spend a different number of tokens on the same picture: in our measurements 2.6 at quality low uses about four times as many as 2.5. Below is what one image costs on each model and what 2.6 gives you for the difference.
GPT Image 2.6 on RuAPI: what we tested on Nov 11, 2026
complexity — works
The new 2.6 parameter sets how thoroughly the model plans the scene before rendering: low, medium or high, high by default. RuAPI passes it to OpenAI unchanged, and we tested it on gpt-image-2.6-flare. According to OpenAI’s docs, there is no separate charge for complexity, but higher values make responses slower, so low is enough for simple images.
GIF — works if the frames are small
You need output_format: "gif", frame_count and, optionally, frame_duration_ms. OpenAI packs all frames onto one sheet that allows only a few layouts and has a longest edge of at most 3840 px. So 1024×1024 is rejected even with two frames, while 768×768 with frame_count: 2 goes through: 1966 output tokens in our test, about $0.07. Without frame_count OpenAI uses 9 frames and the sheet will almost certainly not fit — always set the frame count explicitly.
SVG — works with svg.model
You need output_format: "svg", n: 1 and an svg object with a model field — the model that writes the vector code. We tested svg.model: "gpt-5.4-mini" with reasoning effort low. The SVG file came back in the same b64_json field, and in our test only the raster image tokens were billed.
What we haven’t tested yet
All checks above were run on gpt-image-2.6-flare. We haven’t repeated them on gpt-image-2.6-sunburst, and we haven’t yet tested complexity on edits or markup-guided edits on /v1/images/edits through RuAPI, so we make no promises about them. According to OpenAI’s docs, GIF and SVG in 2.6 are generation-only and not available on /v1/images/edits, and the 2.6 models don’t support the Batch API — these are OpenAI’s own limits.
Ready-made GIF and SVG requests and a full walkthrough of GPT Image 2.6 — docs.ruapi.ai/en/gpt-image-2-6
How to connect the GPT Image API via RuAPI: 3 steps
A RuAPI key instead of an OpenAI key: in OpenAI SDK code only api_key and base_url change.
Sign up and top up
Sign up at www.ruapi.ai by email or in one click with Google, Yandex or Telegram. Top up from 5 USDT — in USDT or USDC over TRC20, BEP20, TON and Polygon — or with a foreign-issued card.
The trial credit new accounts usually get only covers the text models deepseek-flash, claude-haiku-5-5 and gpt-6-luna. GPT Image models become available after your first top-up.
Create a key with a budget
Console → API Keys → “Create API key”. Image generation uses up the balance faster than text, so it’s handy to cap the key you use for GPT Image: in the Credit limit block, turn off “Unlimited” and enter an amount.
Send a request to the Images API
- Generation: POST https://www.ruapi.ai/v1/images/generations with the header Authorization: Bearer sk-… and the body {"model": "gpt-image-2.6-flare", "prompt": "A ginger cat in a spacesuit", "size": "1024x1024", "quality": "low"}. The image comes back in data[0].b64_json — it’s base64, so decode it and write it to a file.
- Editing: POST https://www.ruapi.ai/v1/images/edits — a multipart request with an image file, a prompt and, if needed, a mask. In the OpenAI SDK that’s client.images.edit(...).
- In the OpenAI SDK for Python and Node.js, just pass your RuAPI key and base_url="https://www.ruapi.ai/v1" — client.images.generate(...) then works the same as with OpenAI.
- quality drives both detail and price: use low for drafts and medium or high for final images. How many tokens a request used is shown in the response’s usage field and in the Console log.
Full curl and Python samples that save the image to a file: docs.ruapi.ai/en/image-generation
Which GPT Image to choose
GPT Image 2.6 (released Nov 4, 2026)
gpt-image-2.6-flare — fast, for everyday work
gpt-image-2.6-sunburst — complex scenes and precise edits
complexity, GIF and SVG
1024×1024 image at quality low ≈ $0.030*
GPT Image 2.5 (released Sep 8, 2026)
gpt-image-2.5-flare — fast
gpt-image-2.5-sunburst — detailed
no complexity, GIF or SVG
1024×1024 image at quality low ≈ $0.007*
gpt-image-2
generation and editing
a single model, no Flare or Sunburst variants
1024×1024 image at quality low ≈ $0.007*
GPT Image API pricing
Prices in US dollars per 1M tokens, the same as on the RuAPI pricing page. Input is the prompt text, output is the tokens of the finished image. All five models share one per-token rate; what differs is how many tokens one image takes. No subscription.
| model | input $/M | output $/M |
|---|---|---|
| gpt-image-2.6-flare | $6.00 | $36.00 |
| gpt-image-2.6-sunburst | $6.00 | $36.00 |
| gpt-image-2.5-flare | $6.00 | $36.00 |
| gpt-image-2.5-sunburst | $6.00 | $36.00 |
| gpt-image-2 | $6.00 | $36.00 |
*Prices as of Nov 11, 2026 (RuAPI pricing page; your account may see lower ones): text input $6, image input for edits $9.60, image output $36 per 1M tokens. A 1024×1024 image at quality low takes about 200 output tokens on gpt-image-2, 196 on GPT Image 2.5 (our measurement, Oct 23, 2026) and 824 on GPT Image 2.6, both Flare and Sunburst (our measurement, Nov 11, 2026). That gives ≈ $0.007 and ≈ $0.030 per image, plus a fraction of a cent for the prompt. At quality medium and high an image takes noticeably more tokens.
FAQ
See also: GPT Image 2.6 Flare: price and specs · GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst: price and specs · GPT Image 2.5 Flare: price and specs · GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst: price and specs · Nano Banana API: images from Google · ChatGPT API in Russia · AI model APIs: which model for which task · Seedance API: video generation · How to pay for AI APIs from Russia