Share via

Azure OpenAI/Foundry: After DALL-E retirement: text to image model alternatives for pay-as-you-go and free tier customers?

HerrB92 0 Reputation points
2026-03-12T08:28:40.8666667+00:00

Hi everyone,

DALL-E 3 has been disabled now. The direct successor would by gpt-image-1-mini or other gpt-image models.

Unfortunately, any model from the gpt-image family requires registration. It is highly likely - as described on the form - that the registration is only accepted, if there is an Enterprise Agreement.

Additionally, the applying quotas on the subscription and/or the regional availability reduce the available options tremendeously.

For paying individuals and learners (free tier) it would be great, to have at least one current image creation model available in Azure. Are there any plans to provide such models?

Regards,

Herr92

Azure OpenAI Service
Azure OpenAI Service

An Azure service that provides access to OpenAI’s GPT-3 models with enterprise capabilities.

0 comments

1 answer

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Vinodh247 41,566 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-03-12T15:42:49.4333333+00:00

    Hi ,

    Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

    After the retirement of DALL-E 3 in Azure OpenAI Service/Azure AI Foundry, the primary replacement for text-to-image generation is the GPT Image models, such as gpt-image-1-mini. However, these models currently require additional access approval and are often prioritized for enterprise customers with higher quotas or enterprise agreements.

    For PAYG and free tier users, there is currently no widely available direct replacement model in Azure that matches the previous accessibility of DALL-E 3. Availability is constrained by registration requirements, subscription quotas, and regional rollout policies. Microsoft has not publicly confirmed a broadly accessible image generation model for individual developers yet, but given the ongoing evolution of Azure AI Foundry, it is likely that more accessible options will appear as the GPT image models move toward general availability.

    Please 'Upvote'(Thumbs-up) and 'Accept' as answer if the reply was helpful. This will be benefitting other community members who face the same issue.

    0 comments

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.