Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)vs.FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

Which one is better?

In our own test, Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) leads. Neither is in the arena. Neither has an API price.

Test images

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

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image): Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)81 out of 100

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra28 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

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 (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

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra: fal, aspect ratio 1:1; provider-native resolution, n=1, seed=3831910390, Fal exposes no resolution input; endpoint supports output up to 2K, Prompt enhancement disabled with enhance_prompt=false; default safety tolerance 2, estimated cost $0.060000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:50 PM. Source

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

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

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra image SHA 256: 0b97e1e3f33be2844c06cc18618fea633273ada7e9d6404f9769cdb8403ffbfc

Infographic

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra: fal, aspect ratio 1:1; provider-native resolution, n=1, seed=1664027293, Fal exposes no resolution input; endpoint supports output up to 2K, Prompt enhancement disabled with enhance_prompt=false; default safety tolerance 2, estimated cost $0.060000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:50 PM. Source

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

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

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra image SHA 256: 2c7d24fcda220cf5eff966e1b857f11ad0e561f81ac9e4106ef1b4bd71686637

Product photography

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra: fal, aspect ratio 1:1; provider-native resolution, n=1, seed=291934417, Fal exposes no resolution input; endpoint supports output up to 2K, Prompt enhancement disabled with enhance_prompt=false; default safety tolerance 2, estimated cost $0.060000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:49 PM. Source

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

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

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra image SHA 256: 7d497c35126a92de69af61e5721158a10f4e2acf88a8526dcdd0f8a9a571e028

Typography and layout

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra: fal, aspect ratio 1:1; provider-native resolution, n=1, seed=1909595532, Fal exposes no resolution input; endpoint supports output up to 2K, Prompt enhancement disabled with enhance_prompt=false; default safety tolerance 2, estimated cost $0.060000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:49 PM. Source

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

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

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra image SHA 256: 0dfeffb6c3489b9ac2e1ae9100793320fa4f5eab779269de7aff3a4b768595f3

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

n/a

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

not in the arena

n/a

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

Rank 34 of 108

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

Rank 83 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

n/a

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

no API price

n/a

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

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 (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.

FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra

Subscription: No Black Forest Labs subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €9.54 a month (Krea Basic, with limited credits). 12 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.

GraduallyBench from Nov 3, 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 (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)	FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	n/a	n/a
Arena rank	n/a	n/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	n/a	n/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	66	31
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	68	22
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	81	28
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	79	45
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	36	28
API price
Per imagelower is better	n/a	n/a
100 images	n/a	n/a
Profile
Released	Oct 2, 2025	n/a
Weightsopen means: runs locally	unknown	unknown
Lifecycle	Active stable API ID; earliest announced shutdown date is March 15, 2027	Separate Ultra API route / Ultra mode; no independent checkpoint established
Access	API	API
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	not consistently published	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	n/a	12

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

Sources: Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) model source, status source (verified Nov 1, 2026) · FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra 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 (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) and FLUX1.1 [pro] Ultra from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

More comparisons

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