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Nano Banana 2 Litevs.Ideogram 4.5

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Ideogram 4.5 has no arena rating yet. Nano Banana 2 Lite costs only a third per image.

Same prompt, two images

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite: Typography and layout, first image from the fixed test run
Nano Banana 2 Lite70 out of 100
Ideogram 4.5: Typography and layout, first image from the fixed test run
Ideogram 4.516 out of 100

Result for “Typography and layout”:Nano Banana 2 Lite ahead

Prompt given to both modelsCreate a square editorial poster for an imaginary night train called MONDFALTER. Show the exact German headline MONDFALTER and the exact subline BERLIN NACH LISSABON. Use a restrained midnight-blue and warm-cream palette, one stylized moth, strong Swiss-grid typography, generous negative space, and no additional words or logos.

What the rating looks at: Legible text, hierarchy, and composition.

“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

Ideogram 4.5: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=676327336, prompt expansion disabled, quality low, estimated cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:44 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 6c7d17b2a84129cbeba7d52c8de703773e9296562d9d603688256d2717e65a0c

Ideogram 4.5 image SHA 256: 765cb852ecb10a396bad4bd18c2dc9fcc77221ffff3f0b94ef9eccf4d190b418

Infographic

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

Ideogram 4.5: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=1482950298, prompt expansion disabled, quality low, estimated cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:44 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 11d8b5ddf15becefa6e4e32fca21729ff7d57f561a10e3a2b4b6f5c7a0aed6ef

Ideogram 4.5 image SHA 256: c97b4321e68bf1617a4dc96b5e1f9372344b09b9ff987f07d0e9813e6210c656

Product photography

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

Ideogram 4.5: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=1376877115, prompt expansion disabled, quality low, estimated cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:44 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 30d9b09b92917eca84675448260a083ad368d9ea25376dabccac0f526f3a3ab7

Ideogram 4.5 image SHA 256: b9427281a64b3103f52f439b8797bd11763f813a8ef142bf79d96e936b349ae1

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

Ideogram 4.5: fal, requested 1024x1024, n=1, seed=988679089, prompt expansion disabled, quality low, estimated cost $0.030000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:44 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 9fab80fe1ad268b9ceceb4ef61ef1dd0e965dd3f28d377af7cf9cf201fdf47fa

Ideogram 4.5 image SHA 256: ebe1fe3dccf258807db9a9063c1034185c1b3e91f0d8c9bd86c53525d374dd9c

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

Ideogram 4.5

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better
59

Nano Banana 2 Lite

Rank 31 of 74

56

Ideogram 4.5

Rank 38 of 74

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better
$0.034

Nano Banana 2 Lite

fairly cheap

$0.10

Ideogram 4.5

expensive

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.

Ideogram 4.5

Subscription
No Ideogram subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €9.59 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). 33 plans in Germany.
Via API
$0.10 per image, 100 images $10.
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.

KennzahlNano Banana 2 LiteIdeogram 4.5
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better1,249n/a
Arena rankRank 11 of 22n/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating17,813n/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 1005956
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition7016
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details7459
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency3568
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization5582
API price
Per imagelower is better$0.034$0.10
100 images$3.36$10
Profile
ReleasedJune 2026n/a
Weightsopen means: runs locallyproprietaryunknown
AccessAPI, Web appAPI
Parametersnot publishednot published
Largest output1Knot consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model5133

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) · Ideogram 4.5 model source (verified Nov 1, 2026)

Arena ratings by category

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

Arena rating per categoryfrom votes by users · higher is betterNano Banana 2 LiteIdeogram 4.5
Text to Image ArenaNano Banana 2 Lite: 1,107Ideogram 4.5: 1,015Nano Banana 2 Lite ahead
Image Editing ArenaNano Banana 2 Lite: 1,054Ideogram 4.5: 1,070level
Image Editing: Multi-image editingNano Banana 2 Lite: 1,289Ideogram 4.5: 1,337Ideogram 4.5 ahead
Image Editing: OverallNano Banana 2 Lite: 1,313Ideogram 4.5: 1,347Ideogram 4.5 ahead

Artificial Analysis from Oct 28, 2026 · LMArena from Oct 28, 2026

All individual values with sources
RatingNano Banana 2 LiteIdeogram 4.5Source
Text to Image Arena1,1071,015Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Oct 28, 2026
Image Editing Arena1,0541,070Artificial AnalysisRetrieved Oct 28, 2026
Image Editing: Multi-image editing1,2891,337LMArenaRetrieved Oct 28, 2026
Image Editing: Overall1,3131,347LMArenaRetrieved Oct 28, 2026

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