Nano Banana 2vs.Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px

Which one is better?

In our own test, Nano Banana 2 leads. Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px has no arena rating yet. Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px has no API price.

Test images

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

Nano Banana 2: Typography and layout, first image from the fixed test run — Nano Banana 2100 out of 100

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px: Typography and layout, first image from the fixed test run — Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px21 out of 100

Result for “Typography and layout”:Nano Banana 2 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

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

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px: manual, 1:1, one request, first output, one image, provider-side randomize seed enabled, observed seed 889651570, native 1024x1024, 2 inference steps, guidance 4.5, no prompt enhancement, no reference images, exact checkpoint Efficient-Large-Model/Sana_Sprint_1.6B_1024px_diffusers, Space commit b42328123ed688df4bee46e52c60cc1dc62c045a, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:42 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 5d3a70ed3fe3328484725565d9c91fb25fc7f745bd66872dae432444493a83de

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px image SHA 256: 1d77cacabeb38205299446bc6c5b80f38cf757d98f4251fc44c25340ab870dd9

Infographic

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

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px: manual, 1:1, one request, first output, one image, provider-side randomize seed enabled, observed seed 853526908, native 1024x1024, 2 inference steps, guidance 4.5, no prompt enhancement, no reference images, exact checkpoint Efficient-Large-Model/Sana_Sprint_1.6B_1024px_diffusers, Space commit b42328123ed688df4bee46e52c60cc1dc62c045a; an earlier request on 2026-11-01 was rejected before generation by the ZeroGPU quota, generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:30 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 66123dd4e8cd5d22ecdca9cca8e4c5853a8046370aa4861ffee807a8c122c769

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px image SHA 256: da4ed66ab2f25ea33c81978bc687142d50f7f7d01db096169151e70f1648ec43

Product photography

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

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px: manual, 1:1, one request, first output, one image, provider-side randomize seed enabled, observed seed 178858232, native 1024x1024, 2 inference steps, guidance 4.5, no prompt enhancement, no reference images, exact checkpoint Efficient-Large-Model/Sana_Sprint_1.6B_1024px_diffusers, Space commit b42328123ed688df4bee46e52c60cc1dc62c045a, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:42 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 509871921c450f6f07ec28f91a380992db1b3017108fd5928fe0aa9670a1ecdc

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px image SHA 256: 39284e75f1ffa7a286c193927441bca1bee31495f6cf67b4fd024a567a548b09

Typography and layout

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

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px: manual, 1:1, one request, first output, one image, provider-side randomize seed enabled, observed seed 37807657, native 1024x1024, 2 inference steps, guidance 4.5, no prompt enhancement, no reference images, exact checkpoint Efficient-Large-Model/Sana_Sprint_1.6B_1024px_diffusers, Space commit b42328123ed688df4bee46e52c60cc1dc62c045a, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:42 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 06ae79c07d1604d3da3bbfa80bac73ac15c88af5cb8c013faaf5c9ea93092305

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px image SHA 256: 5f4459e7adbe7d47fe3ba162ce8e13507b5ea6e3bb4beb5084c862df9ab9e933

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

1,257

Nano Banana 2

Rank 8 of 21

n/a

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Nano Banana 2

Rank 51 of 108

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px

Rank 96 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

$0.067

Nano Banana 2

fairly expensive

n/a

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px

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

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

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px

Subscription: n/a No plan in Germany names exactly this model.
Via API: No API price known. Access: local.
License: Open weights.

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	Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	1,257	n/a
Arena rank	Rank 8 of 21	n/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	77,495	n/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	61	21
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	100	21
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	45	27
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	36	26
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	63	10
API price
Per imagelower is better	$0.067	n/a
100 images	$6.70	n/a
Profile
Released	February 2026	Mar 22, 2025
Weightsopen means: runs locally	proprietary	open
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	local
Parameters	not published	1.6 billion
Largest output	4K	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	73	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) · Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px 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 Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

More comparisons

Compare Nano Banana 2 and Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px with the models people compare them with most often.

Nano Banana 2vs.Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px

Test images

The numbers at a glance

Nano Banana 2

Sana-Sprint 1.6B 1024px

All data side by side

Arena ratings by category

No shared arena score in the stored snapshot

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