GPT Image 2 vs Nano Banana Pro for Image Generation
Choose GPT Image 2 for image editing, reference preservation, anatomy, product rendering, relighting, outpainting, and structured UI graphics. Nano Banana Pro is the stronger choice for multilingual typography, counting and attribute binding, and precise advertising composition.
Side-by-side facts
| Feature | GPT Image 2 | Nano Banana Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | OpenAI | |
| Availability on Banana Pie | Available now | Available now |
| Credits from | 20 credits | 80 credits |
| Max resolution | 4K | 4K |
| Reference images | Up to 8 | Up to 8 |
Scenario by scenario
Same prompt. Two models. Judge the difference in the published images below.
Product material and lighting
Better here: GPT Image 2Left is the stronger result overall. Right represents the half-fill level more precisely, but left has cleaner material rendering and more coherent premium product lighting.
- Exactly one bottle and no extras: Tie. Both images show one upright transparent rectangular perfume bottle with no visible text, logo, plants, or separate objects.
- Half-filled amber liquid: Right does better. Its liquid line sits close to the bottle’s halfway point, while the left bottle appears somewhat more than half filled within its main body.
- Coherent refraction and reflection: Left does better. Its glass edges, amber refraction, and aligned reflection on the wet stone are cleaner and more internally consistent; the right bottle has warped upper glass and a visibly kinked dip tube.
- Upper-left lighting and contact shadow: Left does better. The upper-left highlights carry consistently across the cap, shoulders, and liquid, with a plausible shadow extending rightward; the right lighting is directionally correct but produces harsher, less product-focused shadows.
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
A premium product photograph of exactly one transparent rectangular perfume bottle, half filled with amber liquid, standing upright on wet black stone. Light comes from the upper left, creating coherent refraction, a contact shadow, and one subtle reflection. No text, logo, plants, or extra objects.
Multilingual typography
Better here: Nano Banana ProRight follows the requested four-line poster layout exactly, while Left incorrectly wraps the first line and therefore displays five lines.
- Exactly four centered text lines and no additional text: Right does better. It shows exactly four centered lines: "MOONLIGHT MARKET", "月光市集", "18 OCT", and "RIVER HALL". Left wraps "MOONLIGHT MARKET" across two lines, producing five visible text lines.
- Exact wording and order: Right does better. Its four lines read exactly "MOONLIGHT MARKET", "月光市集", "18 OCT", and "RIVER HALL" in the requested order. Left contains the same words and characters, but "MOONLIGHT MARKET" is split into "MOONLIGHT" and "MARKET" rather than rendered as the required single line.
- Required text colors: Tie. Both render "月光市集" in red and render "MOONLIGHT MARKET", "18 OCT", and "RIVER HALL" in black.
- Legibility, spacing, and alignment: Right does better. Its four lines are clearly legible, centered on a shared axis, and consistently spaced. Left is legible and centered, but the wrapped "MOONLIGHT MARKET" creates an extra line and a less even overall arrangement.
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
Design a clean cream-colored vertical event poster. Show exactly four centered text lines and no other text: "MOONLIGHT MARKET", "月光市集", "18 OCT", and "RIVER HALL". Render "月光市集" in red and all other lines in black.
Human anatomy and contact
Better here: GPT Image 2Left better satisfies all four anatomy and contact requirements. Its two hands are clearly presented, the fingers are more countable and naturally articulated, and their shaping contact with the clay is easier to read.
- Exactly two fully visible hands: Left does better. It clearly shows one complete hand on each side of the bowl and no additional hands or people; Right shows two overlapping hands, but the lower hand is substantially obscured and not fully visible.
- Each hand has exactly five distinct, naturally formed fingers: Left does better. Five fingers can be distinguished on each hand, though some overlap at the bowl; on Right, the overlapping pose and heavy occlusion make the fingers of the lower hand difficult to distinguish or count reliably.
- Fingers, joints, and contact with the clay: Left does better. Both sets of fingers have coherent joints and visibly press against the bowl's inner wall. Right's upper hand is plausible, but the lower hand has an unclear, cramped intersection with the upper hand and bowl rim.
- Clay bowl, spinning wheel, and shaping action: Left does better. The bowl and wheel are prominent, visible rotational blur conveys spinning, and both hands are actively shaping the interior. Right also clearly shows a bowl and spinning wheel, but the hand action is less legible because the hands overlap.
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
A photorealistic close-up of an adult potter shaping a clay bowl on a spinning wheel. Both hands are fully visible, each with five natural fingers touching the clay. No other people or hands. Soft window light.
Counting and attribute binding
Better here: Nano Banana ProBoth outputs closely follow the prompt, but the right image communicates the specified wooden and ceramic materials more clearly while preserving the correct counts, placement, handle direction, and clean scene.
- Object count and arrangement: Tie. Both images visibly show exactly three red cubes in a row on the left, two blue spheres on the right, and one yellow mug centered behind them.
- Color, shape, and material binding: Right does better. Both bind the requested colors and shapes correctly, but the right image shows clear wood grain on the red cubes and a visibly ceramic, glazed surface on the mug; the left cubes have a smoother finish with less obvious wooden texture.
- Mug handle direction: Tie. In both images, the mug handle is clearly attached on and extends toward the right.
- No additional objects or text: Tie. Neither image contains any visible additional object or text.
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
On a matte gray table, exactly three red wooden cubes form a row on the left, exactly two blue glass spheres sit on the right, and one yellow ceramic mug stands centered behind them. The mug handle points right. No other objects or text.
Advertising composition
Better here: Nano Banana ProRight follows the text restriction and top-spacing instruction more precisely while preserving all required visual elements.
- Exactly one silver shoe and orange trail: Tie. Both show one silver shoe in the lower-right, with a bright orange trail visibly entering from the bottom-left and curving through the composition.
- Visible text: Right does better. Right contains only "RUN LIGHT" and "42 KM", both spelled correctly. Left also renders "RUN LIGHT" and "42 KM" correctly, but adds "AERO" on the shoe, violating the no-other-text requirement.
- Top spacing and headline placement: Right does better. Its top area is clearly empty, with "RUN LIGHT" positioned immediately below the blank band in the upper-left. Left also leaves substantial empty space, but the headline begins noticeably farther down.
- Visibility and hierarchy: Tie. Both keep the headline, badge, trail, and single shoe fully visible and establish a clear sequence from headline to badge to product.
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
Create a vertical social ad for a fictional running shoe named AERO. Keep the top 15 percent empty. Directly below it, place the headline "RUN LIGHT" in the upper-left. Show exactly one silver shoe in the lower-right, an orange trail curving from the bottom-left, and a round badge reading "42 KM". No other shoes or text.
Structured UI graphic
Better here: GPT Image 2LEFT follows the requested structure exactly, while RIGHT violates the explicit requirement for no additional text.
- Title and columns: Tie. Both render the exact title "CHOOSE YOUR PLAN" and exactly three columns labeled "STARTER", "PRO", and "TEAM".
- Feature rows: Tie. Each column on both sides contains exactly three aligned rows labeled "PROJECTS", "STORAGE", and "SUPPORT".
- Select buttons: Tie. Each column on both sides has exactly one blue button labeled "SELECT".
- Alignment and additional text: Left does better. Its three columns are evenly aligned and contain no additional text. Right adds prohibited text including "5 active projects", "10 GB", "Email support", "20 active projects", "50 GB", "Priority email & chat support", "Unlimited projects", "200 GB", and "24/7 phone, email & chat support".
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
Create a clean horizontal pricing comparison graphic titled "CHOOSE YOUR PLAN". Use exactly three equal columns labeled "STARTER", "PRO", and "TEAM". Under each column, show exactly three aligned rows labeled "PROJECTS", "STORAGE", and "SUPPORT", followed by one blue button labeled "SELECT". White background, dark navy text, no additional columns or text.
Six-reference object binding and edit
Better here: GPT Image 2Left wins overall by preserving the base scene and replacement positions much more faithfully. Right has the stronger rendering of the two-lemon reference, but its broader framing and scale changes are more significant.
- Mug and towel replacement: Left does better. Its navy mug retains the reference mug's glossy dark finish, gold rim, right-facing handle, and the base mug's position and scale; its striped napkin also fills the original towel area more closely. Right has the correct objects, but both appear smaller and the napkin occupies less of the original towel footprint.
- Pear and notebook replacement: Left does slightly better. Both remove the pear and blue notebook and show one leaf-topped orange plus a mustard hardcover notebook with a black elastic band, but Left preserves the original objects' scale and placement more closely, especially the orange at the pear location.
- Two lemons: Right does better. Both show exactly two lemons to the right of the mug, but Right more faithfully reproduces Reference 6's pairing, including the leaf on the left lemon; Left omits that leaf and separates the lemons more.
- Base-scene preservation: Left does better. Its framing, tabletop extent, wood-grain landmarks, lighting, and original object layout remain much closer to Reference 1. Right changes the aspect and crop, reduces and shifts several objects, and cuts off more of the notebook at the right edge.
Reference images
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
Use Reference 1 as the base tabletop scene. Replace the red mug with the exact dark navy-blue mug from Reference 2 in the same position and orientation. Replace the folded white towel with the exact green-and-white striped napkin from Reference 3 in the same folded area. Replace the green pear with exactly one orange from Reference 4 in the same position. Replace the blue notebook with the exact mustard-yellow hardcover notebook from Reference 5 in the same position. Add exactly the two lemons from Reference 6 to the right of the mug. Preserve the wooden table, camera, framing, wood grain, lighting, shadows, and all other spatial relationships from Reference 1. Do not copy the white product backgrounds from References 2–6, duplicate any asset, or add other objects.
In-image text replacement
Better here: GPT Image 2Left is the clear winner because both outputs replace the wording correctly, but Left preserves the reference image far more faithfully outside the requested text edit.
- Sign text accuracy: Both sides read exactly "NIGHT OWL", with "MORNING BEAN" completely removed.
- Character integrity: Both sides render "NIGHT OWL" cleanly, with no additional, duplicated, or malformed characters.
- Font, spacing, and perspective: Left is closer to the reference, preserving the original large uppercase sans-serif character, broad spacing, baseline, and sign perspective. Right uses somewhat smaller lettering and changes the sign's apparent angle and proportions.
- Material, lighting, and scene preservation: Left keeps the green wood grain, shadows, storefront geometry, plants, bench, windows, and original framing essentially unchanged. Right noticeably reframes and reconstructs the whole scene, changing the crop, storefront proportions, lamp positions, window and door geometry, foliage, and surrounding details.
Reference images
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
Replace only the sign text with exactly "NIGHT OWL". Preserve the original font style, spacing, perspective, sign material, lighting, and everything else.
Multi-reference identity and garment transfer
Better here: GPT Image 2Left is the stronger transfer: it preserves the original person and scene substantially better while matching the reference jacket more faithfully.
- Identity, expression, hair, pose, body proportions, and framing: Left does better. Its face, subtle closed-mouth expression, hair placement, hand pose, shoulder width, and crop remain very close to Reference 1, while Right visibly changes the eye shape, jawline, expression, hair arrangement, and overall framing.
- Jacket material, color, collar, buttons, pockets, and sleeve patch: Left does better. It more closely reproduces Reference 2's light-blue denim, thick cream shearling collar, chest-pocket construction, bronze hardware, seam pattern, and red upper-sleeve patch. Right retains the main features but has a smaller collar, more faded denim, and less faithful pocket and button placement.
- Full replacement without mannequin or product background: Both fully replace the black suit jacket and retain the portrait's gray wall and left-side curtain, with no visible mannequin or white product background. Left is slightly better because the original scene and framing are preserved more precisely.
- Physical coherence of hands, fit, occlusion, shadows, and lighting: Left does better. The original hands and their interlocking pose are preserved more accurately, the sleeves pass naturally behind the wrists, and the jacket responds convincingly to the scene's left-side light. Right is generally coherent but changes the hands and pose more noticeably and gives the jacket a flatter fit through the torso.
Reference images
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
Use the portrait in Reference 1 for the person and the isolated jacket in Reference 2 for the garment. Dress the person from Reference 1 in the exact jacket shown in Reference 2. Preserve the person's identity, face, expression, skin, hair, hands, pose, body proportions, background, framing, and lighting from Reference 1. Preserve the jacket's material, color, collar, buttons, pockets, and sleeve patch from Reference 2. Do not copy the ghost mannequin or white product background.
Coherent scene relighting
Better here: GPT Image 2Left wins overall because it delivers convincing golden-hour relighting while preserving the original room and objects much more faithfully. Right has stronger directional shadow projection, but its extensive compositional and object changes directly violate the edit constraint.
- Warm golden-hour light clearly enters from the left window: Both satisfy this criterion. Each shows warm sunlight streaming through the left-side window, with bright golden illumination extending across the room.
- Highlights and shadow directions respond coherently to the new light source: Right does better. Its window-shaped light patches and long shadows extend consistently from left to right across the wall, sofa, rug, table, and floor; Left is broadly coherent but has less directional definition on the rug and furniture.
- The result is more than a uniform yellow color filter: Both satisfy this criterion. Each introduces localized sunlit areas, darker occlusion shadows, window-frame projections, and object-cast shadows rather than merely tinting the whole scene.
- No furniture or decor is moved, added, removed, or redesigned: Left does substantially better. It closely preserves the reference composition, sofa, table, plant, lamp, rug, and window geometry, while Right visibly changes their proportions and placements, including a smaller sofa and rug, a repositioned table and plant, and altered window framing.
Reference images
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
Change the lighting to warm golden-hour sunlight entering from the left window. Do not move, add, remove, or redesign any object. Update highlights and shadows coherently.
Cross-ratio outpainting
Better here: GPT Image 2Left preserves the reference composition and cabin details considerably better while producing clean, natural side extensions. Right creates a plausible beach scene but alters the scale, horizon, shoreline, and cabin too substantially for the preservation requirements.
- 16:9 landscape with natural new content on both sides: Both outputs are landscape and extend the beach, ocean, and sky across the added side areas. Left is slightly better because its horizon and shoreline remain at nearly the same vertical positions as the reference, making the extension read more naturally as horizontal outpainting.
- Complete original image centered without cropping or stretching: Left does better. Its cabin remains centered and retains a size and placement much closer to the reference, while Right substantially reduces the cabin and shifts the ocean horizon upward, indicating broader alteration of the original image.
- Original cabin, shoreline, and internal composition unchanged: Left does better. The cabin's weathering, door hardware, support blocks, shadow, and shoreline arrangement remain visibly closer to the reference. Right changes the cabin facade and door details, simplifies the weathering, reduces the cabin, and relocates the shoreline and horizon.
- No visible seams, mirrored filler, or repeated objects: Both sides perform well, with no obvious vertical joins, mirrored regions, or duplicated objects. Left is slightly stronger because its wave bands and sand textures transition consistently across the frame, while Right's broader compositional changes make the result less faithful even though the extensions themselves remain clean.
Reference images
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
Expand the canvas to a 16:9 landscape by naturally continuing the beach, ocean, and sky on both sides. Keep the complete original image centered without cropping, stretching, letterboxing, or modifying it.
Product preservation across scene change
Better here: GPT Image 2Left more faithfully preserves the reference sneaker while placing it in a clearer, more physically convincing wet basketball-court scene at dusk.
- Wet outdoor basketball court at dusk: Left does better. It clearly shows the sneaker on a rain-soaked court with a visible hoop, backboard, fence, court markings, sunset sky, and illuminated court lights. Right has wet pavement and court lines at dusk, but the basketball setting is less immediately readable.
- Silhouette, sole geometry, stitching, materials, and camera angle: Left does better. Its low side profile, toe pointing right, outsole proportions, panel construction, stitching paths, lace layout, and white leather-like material closely match the reference. Right reverses the shoe orientation, uses a more elevated front-facing angle, and changes several proportions and panel details.
- Black geometric side mark: Left does better. It preserves the reference mark's horizontal rear segment, rising diagonal, upper branch, and descending forward branch in the same orientation. Right presents a reversed and visibly altered configuration, including a long lower diagonal and a short horizontal branch.
- Contact shadow, wet-surface reflection, and dusk lighting: Left does better. The sole sits firmly against the court, with a localized contact shadow and a detailed reflection beneath it that follows the shoe and side mark; warm sunset and court-light reflections also integrate with the wet surface. Right has plausible dusk color and reflection, but the contact area and reflected shoe are less naturally resolved.
Reference images
Prompt & settings used
Prompt
Place the sneaker on a wet outdoor basketball court at dusk. Preserve the exact sneaker shape, black geometric side mark, materials, stitching, sole geometry, and camera angle. Add physically coherent contact, reflections, and dusk lighting.
Cost & latency
GPT Image 2 starts at 20 credits, while Nano Banana Pro starts at 80 credits, making GPT Image 2 the lower-credit option. In this run, Nano Banana Pro returned sooner in every recorded latency pair, but these timings are only a small sample from these runs, not general benchmark figures.
How we compared & disclosure
This comparison used one fixed prompt per scenario with each model, with the selected outputs published. Public images carry a Banana Pie watermark. The Nano Banana Pro results on this page come from a later run of the same prompt and settings. Banana Pie sells paid access to both GPT Image 2 and Nano Banana Pro.
Banana Pie sells paid access to this model alongside other models in one studio. Our verdicts come from tests run through the same pipeline our users get.