Nano Banana 2 Litevs.FLUX.1 Kontext [max]

Which one is better?

In our own test, Nano Banana 2 Lite leads. FLUX.1 Kontext [max] has no arena rating yet. FLUX.1 Kontext [max] has no API price.

Same task, the first image of each. The task with the biggest difference is preselected.

Nano Banana 2 Lite: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Nano Banana 2 Lite74 out of 100

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — FLUX.1 Kontext [max]9 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:Nano Banana 2 Lite ahead

Prompt given to both modelsCreate a square premium product photograph of a brushed titanium wristwatch standing upright on dark green marble. The watch has a cream dial, thin black hands set to 10:10, twelve distinct hour markers, a realistic crown, and a dark brown leather strap. Soft window light from the left, controlled reflections, shallow depth of field, no text, no logo, no extra objects.

What the rating looks at: Materials, reflections, and fine details.

“Ahead”: better in all three rating rounds. “Slightly ahead”: a higher value, but not in every round.

Test protocol of the images

Both models receive the same archived prompt in exactly one request, and the first result counts. Files are normalized to 1,024 × 1,024 pixels without cropping. Provider resolution, randomness, quality tier and prompt processing can still differ. The images are a practical visual test, not a reconstruction of the arena configuration.

Character and detail

Nano Banana 2 Lite: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:21 PM. Source

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=2413815648, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.080000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:03 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: 985a75b38642a9f0e5e0c0e0c67f1b7f67780d42bd2168fa24e9a7a7a94b0da6

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 6c7d17b2a84129cbeba7d52c8de703773e9296562d9d603688256d2717e65a0c

FLUX.1 Kontext [max] image SHA 256: 11ac5858ed56d1db44139faebd83b9aa3e13fb9e8cadd6748d4bfc9a20a7b85b

Infographic

Nano Banana 2 Lite: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:21 PM. Source

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=372152929, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.080000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:03 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: ed65cb4e6a51e2336f8b149ad4cbb16e020f07d527ad94362e719d2dcf91d94f

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 11d8b5ddf15becefa6e4e32fca21729ff7d57f561a10e3a2b4b6f5c7a0aed6ef

FLUX.1 Kontext [max] image SHA 256: cf1d34943829e1361560aee05277bb096e19399f7d231ee114ba1e6d3a865787

Product photography

Nano Banana 2 Lite: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:21 PM. Source

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=314349008, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.080000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:03 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: c67fd71e91304458a2feef5c91efa8677260fab0c0099a29a2c52cb579f5b2f3

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 30d9b09b92917eca84675448260a083ad368d9ea25376dabccac0f526f3a3ab7

FLUX.1 Kontext [max] image SHA 256: 85f361575b24f97fc43e88b3fdc8e6c12fb1077d95f11d1704447222bac13f59

Typography and layout

Nano Banana 2 Lite: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 2:00 PM. Source

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=4136483547, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.080000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:02 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: 2e012c3d14ee5dd02203a94f394ca80a5038cdebd6032b25a8b8a221f2255419

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 9fab80fe1ad268b9ceceb4ef61ef1dd0e965dd3f28d377af7cf9cf201fdf47fa

FLUX.1 Kontext [max] image SHA 256: f0591cb9970c7608e7bf3a52c32c88301b622673e3c250fd9dd41d32e1673f1c

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

1,249

Nano Banana 2 Lite

Rank 11 of 22

n/a

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Nano Banana 2 Lite

Rank 31 of 74

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]

Rank 65 of 74

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.034

Nano Banana 2 Lite

fairly cheap

n/a

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]

no API price

Ranks among the 22 image models with an arena rating and the 74 with a GraduallyBench run; prices compared with 28 models with an API price.

Nano Banana 2 Lite

Subscription: Free to use at Google (Google AI Free, with limited credits), more from €4.99 a month (Google AI Plus, with limited credits). Through other providers from ≈ €6.39 a month (ElevenLabs Starter, with limited credits). 51 plans in Germany.
Via API: $0.034 per image, 100 images $3.36.

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]

Subscription: No Black Forest Labs subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €12.78 a month (Leonardo.Ai Essential). 15 plans in Germany.
Via API: No API price known. Access: API.
Weights: unknown.

Subscriptions only count plans that name exactly this model. Subscription prices include VAT, API prices are in dollars.

Arena rating (LMArena) from Oct 28, 2026 · GraduallyBench from Nov 1, 2026 · API prices from Oct 28, 2026 · Subscription database from Sep 29, 2026 (34 days old)

All data side by side

The better value is bold. For ratings only when the gap is clear.

Kennzahl	Nano Banana 2 Lite	FLUX.1 Kontext [max]
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	1,249	n/a
Arena rank	Rank 11 of 22	n/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	17,813	n/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	59	22
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	70	25
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	74	9
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	35	9
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	55	44
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.034	n/a
100 images	$3.36	n/a
Profile
Released	June 2026	n/a
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	unknown
Lifecycle	no notice	Edit-first model line; API also supports image creation from text, but the main GraduallyBench tasks are not edit-based
Access	API, Web app	API
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	1K	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	51	15

API prices for one image at 1,024 × 1,024 pixels according to Artificial Analysis.

Sources: Nano Banana 2 Lite model source (verified Aug 15, 2026) · FLUX.1 Kontext [max] model source, status source (verified Nov 1, 2026)

Arena ratings by category

From blind votes on LMArena. “Ahead” means the lead is clear.

No shared arena score in the stored snapshot

The stored benchmark database contains no measurement for Nano Banana 2 Lite and FLUX.1 Kontext [max] from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

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More matchups

Compare Nano Banana 2 Lite and FLUX.1 Kontext [max] with other important image models.

View the complete image model comparison

Same prompt, two images

The numbers at a glance

Nano Banana 2 Lite

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]

All data side by side

Arena ratings by category

No shared arena score in the stored snapshot

Compare another matchup

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