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Nano Banana 2 Litevs.MiniMax Image-01

Which one is better?

In our own test, Nano Banana 2 Lite leads. MiniMax Image-01 has no arena rating yet. MiniMax Image-01 has no API price.

Same prompt, two images

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
MiniMax Image-01: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run
MiniMax Image-0112 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

MiniMax Image-01: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.010000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:43 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 6c7d17b2a84129cbeba7d52c8de703773e9296562d9d603688256d2717e65a0c

MiniMax Image-01 image SHA 256: b99793e66d1eb69880872d1865f25456b6588dc658aa46906b7636da46f63320

Infographic

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

MiniMax Image-01: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.010000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:43 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 11d8b5ddf15becefa6e4e32fca21729ff7d57f561a10e3a2b4b6f5c7a0aed6ef

MiniMax Image-01 image SHA 256: 31b08957fb9eda45525c50935fd332cdbe5a5150a4ed57dead5254e667b2b0de

Product photography

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

MiniMax Image-01: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.010000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:43 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 30d9b09b92917eca84675448260a083ad368d9ea25376dabccac0f526f3a3ab7

MiniMax Image-01 image SHA 256: a8986bd9a5e8262b5705f8a7ba5259968371a3bc8e14394b992736f59e45385b

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

MiniMax Image-01: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=provider random, estimated cost $0.010000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:42 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 9fab80fe1ad268b9ceceb4ef61ef1dd0e965dd3f28d377af7cf9cf201fdf47fa

MiniMax Image-01 image SHA 256: 020129f518174bf171032cc5cb7b2234782f4e1d7b1e685d473388094630a107

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

MiniMax Image-01

not in the arena

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite

Rank 31 of 74

16

MiniMax Image-01

Rank 71 of 74

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite

fairly cheap

n/a

MiniMax Image-01

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.

MiniMax Image-01

Subscription
n/a No plan in Germany names exactly this model.
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.

KennzahlNano Banana 2 LiteMiniMax Image-01
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 1005916
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition7019
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details7412
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency3523
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization558
API price
Per imagelower is better$0.034n/a
100 images$3.36n/a
Profile
ReleasedJune 2026Feb 28, 2025
Weightsopen means: runs locallyproprietaryunknown
AccessAPI, Web appAPI
Parametersnot publishednot published
Largest output1Knot consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model51n/a

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) · MiniMax Image-01 model 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 MiniMax Image-01 from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

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