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Nano Banana 2vs.Seedream 5.0 Lite

Which one is better?

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

Test images

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 245 out of 100
Seedream 5.0 Lite: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run
Seedream 5.0 Lite89 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:Seedream 5.0 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

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

Seedream 5.0 Lite: fal, requested 2560x2560 square, the route's minimum native pixel width, n=1, seed=69737196, estimated cost $0.035000, source 2560x2560, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:54 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 5d3a70ed3fe3328484725565d9c91fb25fc7f745bd66872dae432444493a83de

Seedream 5.0 Lite image SHA 256: e462824323b9bc065e16a0ab8da5835ea1d32541153fa535fc3a94ef5cec85cd

Infographic

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

Seedream 5.0 Lite: fal, requested 2560x2560 square, the route's minimum native pixel width, n=1, seed=464378822, estimated cost $0.035000, source 2560x2560, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:54 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 66123dd4e8cd5d22ecdca9cca8e4c5853a8046370aa4861ffee807a8c122c769

Seedream 5.0 Lite image SHA 256: 6fab6f06e5f001f85b4c049f79e4220b50345b08eb3a8954e778c1d5802d2cf0

Product photography

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

Seedream 5.0 Lite: fal, requested 2560x2560 square, the route's minimum native pixel width, n=1, seed=1604459337, estimated cost $0.035000, source 2560x2560, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:53 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 509871921c450f6f07ec28f91a380992db1b3017108fd5928fe0aa9670a1ecdc

Seedream 5.0 Lite image SHA 256: 3d6bb69ff171c033881277a81b933654b6213b317462c0be1e1f75150501fd64

Typography and layout

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

Seedream 5.0 Lite: fal, requested 2560x2560 square, the route's minimum native pixel width, n=1, seed=1149290713, estimated cost $0.035000, source 2560x2560, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:52 PM. Source

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

Nano Banana 2 image SHA 256: 06ae79c07d1604d3da3bbfa80bac73ac15c88af5cb8c013faaf5c9ea93092305

Seedream 5.0 Lite image SHA 256: 8642e711e827c543a8bdd23be9d3142e014cb746d885dd37f9b7405666ed4350

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better
1,257

Nano Banana 2

Rank 8 of 21

n/a

Seedream 5.0 Lite

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better
61

Nano Banana 2

Rank 51 of 108

67

Seedream 5.0 Lite

Rank 32 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better
$0.067

Nano Banana 2

fairly expensive

n/a

Seedream 5.0 Lite

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.

Seedream 5.0 Lite

Subscription
No ByteDance / Volcengine subscription includes this model. Through other providers from €6.83 a month (Poe Basic, with limited points). 27 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 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.

KennzahlNano Banana 2Seedream 5.0 Lite
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better1,257n/a
Arena rankRank 8 of 21n/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating77,495n/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 1006167
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition10076
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details4589
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency3649
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization6356
API price
Per imagelower is better$0.067n/a
100 images$6.70n/a
Profile
ReleasedFebruary 2026Feb 13, 2026
Weightsopen means: runs locallyproprietaryunknown
LifecyclePrevious 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 configurationStill-listed T2I/I2I model ID; Ark marks it as pending shutdown without giving a date in the reviewed source
AccessAPI, Web appAPI, Web app
Parametersnot publishednot published
Largest output4Knot consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model7327

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

More comparisons

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