Nano Banana 2vs.Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) has no arena rating yet. Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) has no API price.

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

Nano Banana 2: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Nano Banana 239 out of 100

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image): Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)77 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) 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: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:15 PM. Source

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image): fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=provider random, Fal schema does not expose an output-resolution parameter; require square output of at least 1024px, estimated cost $0.039800, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:51 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 5d3a70ed3fe3328484725565d9c91fb25fc7f745bd66872dae432444493a83de

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) image SHA 256: 69ecb842e42e25cf866919f9bfa573f08398a78d4fa46bca2f9c9c27996d80a7

Infographic

Nano Banana 2: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:15 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 66123dd4e8cd5d22ecdca9cca8e4c5853a8046370aa4861ffee807a8c122c769

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) image SHA 256: d12f93429b044d541a8ea71a1fd135f89343ff6efaefafe679e9e28699ee54cf

Product photography

Nano Banana 2: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 12:15 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 509871921c450f6f07ec28f91a380992db1b3017108fd5928fe0aa9670a1ecdc

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) image SHA 256: afdcf628727069979bcc9797a18b283079f9cafb136d8fcbc118ae1fc5523a15

Typography and layout

Nano Banana 2: together, 1024x1024, n=1, seed=provider random, provider default steps, generated Aug 14, 2026, 1:59 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 06ae79c07d1604d3da3bbfa80bac73ac15c88af5cb8c013faaf5c9ea93092305

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) image SHA 256: eeafdc566564b9398bc45b9e8cbaa7f4ca38a1b8795e198cd056c4bc47f72121

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

1,257

Nano Banana 2

Rank 8 of 22

n/a

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Nano Banana 2

Rank 40 of 74

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

Rank 44 of 74

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.067

Nano Banana 2

fairly expensive

n/a

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

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

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). 68 plans in Germany.
Via API: $0.067 per image, 100 images $6.70.

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

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.

Kennzahl	Nano Banana 2	Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	1,257	n/a
Arena rank	Rank 8 of 22	n/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	73,278	n/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	55	54
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	78	58
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	39	77
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	62	54
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	43	27
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.067	n/a
100 images	$6.70	n/a
Profile
Released	February 2026	Oct 2, 2025
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	unknown
Lifecycle	Previous generation to Nano Banana 2.1; Google recommends Nano Banana 2.1 for all new projects, the stable API has existed since May 28, 2026 and no shutdown is announced, the arena entry names the earlier pre-release configuration	Active stable API ID; earliest announced shutdown date is March 15, 2027
Access	API, Web app	API
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	4K	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	68	n/a

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

Sources: Nano Banana 2 model source, status source (verified Aug 15, 2026) · Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) 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 and Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

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More matchups

Compare Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) with other important image models.

View the complete image model comparison

Same prompt, two images

The numbers at a glance

Nano Banana 2

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

All data side by side

Arena ratings by category

No shared arena score in the stored snapshot

Compare another matchup

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