Nano Banana 2 Litevs.Seedream 5.0 Flash

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Seedream 5.0 Flash has no arena rating yet. Seedream 5.0 Flash has no API price.

Test images

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — Nano Banana 2 Lite47 out of 100

Seedream 5.0 Flash: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — Seedream 5.0 Flash75 out of 100

Result for “Character and detail”:Seedream 5.0 Flash slightly ahead

Prompt given to both modelsCreate a square cinematic full-body portrait of a fictional bicycle courier waiting under a transparent umbrella at a rainy tram stop in Hamburg at blue hour. She wears a mustard raincoat, navy trousers, red sneakers, a silver helmet, and carries a teal messenger bag. Keep both hands visible, render the bicycle correctly, use realistic wet-street reflections, and include no readable brand names.

What the rating looks at: Anatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency.

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

Test protocol of the images

Each test attempt uses the same archived prompt and one request. The first output of that attempt counts. Repeats after technical test failures are disclosed for the affected images. 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

Seedream 5.0 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.018000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:29 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 6c7d17b2a84129cbeba7d52c8de703773e9296562d9d603688256d2717e65a0c

Seedream 5.0 Flash image SHA 256: ffb32d701168dd57095e39252aba67b191c008c7b9393ae22acf1e1b1caba9b9

Infographic

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

Seedream 5.0 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.018000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:30 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 11d8b5ddf15becefa6e4e32fca21729ff7d57f561a10e3a2b4b6f5c7a0aed6ef

Seedream 5.0 Flash image SHA 256: 0758d1251491a26b5d7736c16597318e5807a92c30db03d9431d8584652aae3e

Product photography

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

Seedream 5.0 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.018000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:29 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 30d9b09b92917eca84675448260a083ad368d9ea25376dabccac0f526f3a3ab7

Seedream 5.0 Flash image SHA 256: 3ea7343b12d253b6b0e090054c1e494f5a005632cc263a9b2df4d866ba6b02d0

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

Seedream 5.0 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, resolution 1K, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.018000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:29 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 Lite image SHA 256: 9fab80fe1ad268b9ceceb4ef61ef1dd0e965dd3f28d377af7cf9cf201fdf47fa

Seedream 5.0 Flash image SHA 256: b9739c9a9ab67183f268f41b7ff62a9151cef9d0c8c168eba332a2b6af057426

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

1,249

Nano Banana 2 Lite

Rank 11 of 21

n/a

Seedream 5.0 Flash

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Nano Banana 2 Lite

Rank 21 of 108

Seedream 5.0 Flash

Rank 3 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.034

Nano Banana 2 Lite

fairly cheap

n/a

Seedream 5.0 Flash

no API price

Ranks among the 21 image models with an arena rating and the 108 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 ≈ €6.36 a month (ElevenLabs Starter, with limited credits). 51 plans in Germany.
Via API: $0.034 per image, 100 images $3.36.

Seedream 5.0 Flash

Subscription: No ByteDance subscription includes this model. Through other providers from €6.83 a month (Poe Basic, with limited points). 18 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 Nov 6, 2026 · GraduallyBench from Nov 3, 2026 · API prices from Nov 6, 2026 · Subscription database from Sep 29, 2026 (38 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	Seedream 5.0 Flash
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	1,249	n/a
Arena rank	Rank 11 of 21	n/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	17,787	n/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	71	79
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	82	77
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	87	77
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	47	75
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	66	86
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
Access	API, Web app	API
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	1K	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	51	18

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) · Seedream 5.0 Flash 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 Seedream 5.0 Flash from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

More comparisons

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