Nano Banana 2vs.Recraft V4.1 Flash

Which one is better?

In our own test both are on par. Recraft V4.1 Flash has no arena rating yet. Recraft V4.1 Flash has no API price.

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

Nano Banana 2: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — Nano Banana 262 out of 100

Recraft V4.1 Flash: Character and detail, first image from the fixed test run — Recraft V4.1 Flash21 out of 100

Result for “Character and detail”:Nano Banana 2 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

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

Recraft V4.1 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.007000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:28 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 5d3a70ed3fe3328484725565d9c91fb25fc7f745bd66872dae432444493a83de

Recraft V4.1 Flash image SHA 256: dbce96e506ae3556509e45211cdd885bb4f5b79875e4c0adcc9398286183a910

Infographic

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

Recraft V4.1 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.007000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:29 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 66123dd4e8cd5d22ecdca9cca8e4c5853a8046370aa4861ffee807a8c122c769

Recraft V4.1 Flash image SHA 256: 0f09d34ba3ae484d03dac33e6d64901b6558dcdf51a46051c146b23ed3173756

Product photography

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

Recraft V4.1 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.007000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:28 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 509871921c450f6f07ec28f91a380992db1b3017108fd5928fe0aa9670a1ecdc

Recraft V4.1 Flash image SHA 256: 4b7b55957807e99edb69d2ef7ad407b87840eb7d6c6d268c0635834bb4add700

Typography and layout

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

Recraft V4.1 Flash: openrouter, aspect ratio 1:1, provider default resolution, n=1, seed=provider random, actual cost $0.007000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 8:28 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 06ae79c07d1604d3da3bbfa80bac73ac15c88af5cb8c013faaf5c9ea93092305

Recraft V4.1 Flash image SHA 256: 8c0ce1a0ca50d0eb9cb6707a1e2fa250b4e1ab66c724498b4a72395fd97461d5

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

1,257

Nano Banana 2

Rank 8 of 22

n/a

Recraft V4.1 Flash

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Nano Banana 2

Rank 40 of 74

Recraft V4.1 Flash

Rank 42 of 74

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.067

Nano Banana 2

fairly expensive

n/a

Recraft V4.1 Flash

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.

Recraft V4.1 Flash

Subscription: Free to use at Recraft (Recraft Free, with limited credits), more from ≈ €12.78 a month (Recraft Basic, with limited credits). Through other providers from ≈ €9.59 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). 14 plans in Germany.
Via API: No API price known. Access: API, Web app.
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	Recraft V4.1 Flash
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	55
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	78	96
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	39	47
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	62	21
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	43	55
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.067	n/a
100 images	$6.70	n/a
Profile
Released	February 2026	September 2026
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	no notice
Access	API, Web app	API, Web app
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	4K	1K
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	68	14

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) · Recraft V4.1 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 and Recraft V4.1 Flash 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 Recraft V4.1 Flash with other important image models.

View the complete image model comparison

Same prompt, two images

The numbers at a glance

Nano Banana 2

Recraft V4.1 Flash

All data side by side

Arena ratings by category

No shared arena score in the stored snapshot

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