Nano Banana vs Nano Banana 2 for Image Generation
Pick Nano Banana 2 for typography, anatomy, structured graphics, reference-driven edits, text replacement, relighting, and outpainting. Nano Banana is the better fit for restrained product lighting, clean counting and attribute binding, lower credit use, and stronger product-geometry preservation.
Side-by-side facts
| Feature | Nano Banana | Nano Banana 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | ||
| Availability on Banana Pie | Available now | Available now |
| Credits from | 20 credits | 40 credits |
| Max resolution | — | 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: Nano BananaLeft follows the requested restrained product setup more closely, especially in its simpler reflection and more coherent lighting behavior.
- Exactly one transparent rectangular perfume bottle is visible, with no text, logo, or extra objects: Left does better. It shows one clearly defined bottle and no visible text, logo, or unrelated objects; Right also has no visible text or logo, but its pronounced bottle-shaped reflection to the right can read as a second bottle rather than one subtle reflection.
- The bottle is visibly filled halfway with amber liquid: Tie. Both bottles visibly contain amber liquid with the liquid line close to the midpoint of the main rectangular body.
- The glass refraction and the reflection on the wet black stone are physically coherent: Left does better. Its glass edges, amber transmission, and downward reflection broadly align with the bottle, while Right shows a displaced upright bottle-shaped reflection to the right and unusually strong projected amber streaks that are less coherent.
- Upper-left lighting produces consistent highlights and a plausible contact shadow: Left does better. Its upper-left highlights and shadow extending down and right are consistent, with a clear contact point at the base; Right has the same general direction but more complicated, less natural-looking shadow and caustic patterns.
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 2Right wins because it reproduces all four requested lines exactly while preserving the specified colors and centered layout. Left follows the overall format but misspells the Chinese line as "月光佈籃".
- Exactly four centered text lines and no additional text: Tie. Both posters visibly contain four centered lines with no extra text.
- Exact wording and order: Right does better. Right reads exactly "MOONLIGHT MARKET", "月光市集", "18 OCT", and "RIVER HALL" in order; left instead renders the second line as "月光佈籃".
- Required colors: Tie. Both render their Chinese line in red and the other three lines in black.
- Legibility, spacing, and alignment: Right does better. Both are clear and centered, but right presents the requested characters cleanly and has more consistent typographic styling; left's malformed Chinese line reduces legibility despite otherwise orderly alignment.
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: Nano Banana 2RIGHT more clearly satisfies the anatomy and contact requirements, especially by keeping the two hands visually separate and making the shaping technique easy to read.
- Exactly two fully visible hands: RIGHT does better; it shows two clearly separated hands belonging to one visible potter, with no extra hands or people. LEFT also shows only two hands, but they overlap heavily, obscuring their outlines.
- Five distinct, naturally formed fingers: RIGHT does better; five fingers can be distinguished on the lower hand, and the upper hand's finger arrangement is substantially clearer. In LEFT, the overlapping hands and clay bowl hide several digits, and neither hand presents five distinct fingers.
- Anatomically plausible contact: RIGHT does better; the upper fingers shape the bowl's interior while the lower hand supports the exterior, with plausible joints and contact. LEFT's tightly merged, overlapping fingers make the anatomy and division between the hands less convincing.
- Recognizable pottery action: RIGHT does better; the clay bowl, rotating wheel, potter, and coordinated interior/exterior shaping action are all immediately clear. LEFT clearly shows a bowl and wheel, but the overlapping hands make the shaping action less legible.
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 BananaLEFT follows the prompt more completely because it avoids the additional background objects visible in RIGHT, while still satisfying the requested counts, arrangement, colors, shapes, materials, and handle direction.
- Object count and placement: 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 clearer wood grain on the cubes, glass transparency in the spheres, and a visibly ceramic mug surface.
- Mug handle direction: tie; in both images, the mug handle is clearly on and pointing toward the right.
- No additional objects or text: left does better; the left image contains only the requested objects and no visible text, while the right image includes additional background items, notably a potted plant. No text is visible in either image.
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 2Right has the clearer lower-right shoe placement and stronger separation among the required elements, while Left handles the empty top area more faithfully. Both add the forbidden shoe text "AERO". Right has a narrow overall edge.
- Exactly one silver shoe and orange trail: Right does better. Both show one silver shoe and a trail entering from the bottom-left, but Right keeps the shoe more clearly concentrated in the lower-right; Left's shoe extends substantially toward the lower-left.
- Visible text: Tie. Left visibly renders "RUN LIGHT", "42", "KM", and "AERO"; Right also visibly renders "RUN LIGHT", "42", "KM", and "AERO". Both spell the required wording correctly, but both violate the restriction by adding "AERO" on the shoe.
- Top spacing and headline: Left does better. Its upper area is clearly empty and "RUN LIGHT" sits directly below that space in the upper-left. Right also leaves space above the headline, but the empty band appears shallower and the headline begins closer to the top.
- Visibility and hierarchy: Right does better. Its headline, shoe, trail, and round "42 KM" badge are all distinct and fully visible. On Left, the badge overlaps and obscures part of the shoe, making the required elements less clearly separated.
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: Nano Banana 2RIGHT follows the requested structure more precisely. LEFT adds plan values and fails to preserve the exact row labels in two columns.
- Title and columns: Tie. Both render the exact title "CHOOSE YOUR PLAN" and exactly three columns labeled "STARTER", "PRO", and "TEAM".
- Rows: Right does better. Each right column contains exactly the three aligned labels "PROJECTS", "STORAGE", and "SUPPORT". Left adds values to several labels and replaces the PRO and TEAM support labels with "Priority Email" and "24/7 Live Chat".
- Buttons: Tie. Both show exactly one blue button labeled "SELECT" in each column.
- Alignment and additional text: Right does better. Its three columns are evenly sized and aligned with no extra text. Left includes additional plan details such as "PROJECTS: 5", "STORAGE: 10GB", "SUPPORT: Email", "PROJECTS: 25", "STORAGE: 100GB", "Priority Email", "PROJECTS: Unlimited", "STORAGE: 1TB+", and "24/7 Live Chat".
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: Nano Banana 2RIGHT clearly follows the multi-reference edit while preserving the base scene; LEFT includes the requested object categories but reconstructs the tabletop from a different viewpoint and layout.
- Mug and napkin replacement: Right does better. Its dark navy-blue mug has the reference's gold rim, glossy finish, and right-facing handle while staying near the red mug's original position and orientation; its folded green-and-white striped napkin also closely matches the reference and occupies the towel area. Left changes to an overhead view, turns the mug handle left, fills the mug with dark liquid, and crops much of the napkin.
- Orange and notebook replacement: Right does better. It places one leaf-topped orange where the pear was and a mustard-yellow hardcover notebook with the reference's black elastic band where the blue notebook was. Left includes the correct replacement objects and removes the originals too, but their apparent placement and orientation diverge substantially because the whole scene is recomposed.
- Two lemons: Right does better. It shows exactly two touching lemons to the right of the mug, closely retaining the reference pairing with a leaf on the left lemon. Left also has exactly two lemons to the mug's right, but they are separated and rearranged more noticeably.
- Base-scene preservation: Right does much better. It retains Reference 1's oblique camera angle, framing, warm tabletop, recognizable wood grain and knots, lighting direction, and broad object layout. Left switches to a near-overhead camera, replaces the visible wood pattern, changes the framing and lighting, and substantially rearranges the composition.
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: Nano Banana 2Both outputs complete the replacement cleanly, but Right preserves more natural word spacing and is slightly closer to the reference storefront.
- Exact text replacement: Tie; both signs read exactly "NIGHT OWL", and neither retains any visible part of "MORNING BEAN".
- No additional or malformed characters: Tie; both render only the clean, well-formed characters in "NIGHT OWL".
- Font, spacing, and perspective: Right does better; its letterforms closely match the original uppercase sans-serif style, and the gap between "NIGHT" and "OWL" is more consistent with the original sign's word spacing. Left leaves an unusually large central gap.
- Material, lighting, and scene preservation: Right does slightly better; both retain the dark green wood sign, cream lettering, directional shadows, storefront, plants, windows, door, and bench, but Right's storefront geometry and sign integration appear slightly closer to the reference.
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: Nano Banana 2RIGHT more faithfully preserves the person from Reference 1 and transfers the distinctive jacket details from Reference 2, especially the red sleeve patch.
- Identity, expression, hair, pose, body proportions, and framing: RIGHT does better. Its face, direct gaze, subtle closed-mouth expression, hair placement, hand pose, and portrait framing are closer to Reference 1; LEFT slightly changes the facial proportions and widens the apparent torso framing.
- Jacket material, color, collar, buttons, pockets, and sleeve patch: RIGHT does better. It reproduces the light-blue denim, cream sherpa collar, bronze buttons, paired flap pockets, seam layout, and prominent red upper-sleeve patch. LEFT omits the sleeve patch and instead shows a small red tag near the chest pocket; both add details absent from Reference 2, but RIGHT is substantially closer overall.
- Full replacement without mannequin or product background: The two are even. Both fully replace the black suit jacket with a denim jacket while retaining the gray interior setting and window curtain, with no visible ghost mannequin or white product background.
- Hands, garment fit, occlusion, shadows, and lighting: RIGHT does slightly better. Its hands and interlaced-finger pose more closely match Reference 1, and the jacket sleeves, cuffs, collar, and torso folds integrate coherently with the scene lighting. LEFT is also physically plausible, but changes the hand placement more and gives the jacket a somewhat flatter, more uniformly soft appearance.
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: Nano Banana 2RIGHT delivers the more convincing coherent relighting, with stronger directional golden-hour illumination and object-specific shadow behavior while preserving the scene contents.
- Warm golden-hour light clearly enters from the left window: Right does better, with distinctly warm sunlight streaming from the window and illuminating the sofa, wall, rug, and floor. Left is warm but less clearly directional.
- Highlights and shadow directions respond coherently to the new light source: Right does better, showing strong highlights on left-facing surfaces and shadows extending to the right, including detailed plant shadows across the sofa and a lamp shadow on the wall. Left has directional table and window shadows, but the broader room lighting is flatter.
- The result is more than a uniform yellow color filter: Right does better because it adds localized sun patches, object-specific highlights, substantial directional shadows, and stronger light falloff. Left also adds real shadows, but much of its effect resembles a gentler overall warming.
- No furniture or decor is moved, added, removed, or redesigned: The two are even. Both retain the window, plant, sofa, coffee table, rug, and floor lamp in substantially the same arrangement and design as the reference.
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: Nano Banana 2RIGHT is the stronger outpainting. Both extend the scene naturally, but RIGHT preserves the centered original composition and its internal details more faithfully.
- 16:9 landscape and side expansion: Both outputs present a wide landscape canvas with plausible continuations of sky, ocean, waves, and beach on both sides; they are even on this criterion.
- Original centered without cropping or stretching: Right does better. Its cabin remains centered in the frame and matches the reference placement and proportions more closely, while Left shifts the cabin noticeably left of center.
- Cabin, shoreline, and internal composition unchanged: Right does better. The cabin roof, walls, door, supports, horizon, wave bands, and central beach details align more closely with the reference; Left changes the cabin's placement and alters more of the foreground texture.
- No seams, mirrored filler, or repeated objects: Both are clean, with continuous horizons and no obvious duplicated objects or mirrored patterns. Right is slightly better because its beach texture transitions more consistently across the frame, while Left has a more noticeable change from textured sand to smoother sand across the lower half.
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
Depends on the taskRight is stronger at the scene change and physically coherent dusk presentation, while Left more faithfully preserves the original product geometry and mark. The advantages divide evenly across the rubric with no clear overall edge.
- Wet outdoor basketball court at dusk: Right does better. The hoop, chain-link fence, painted court lines, wet pavement, and warm-to-purple evening sky make the requested setting immediately readable; Left is convincingly wet and dim but has fewer visible basketball-court cues.
- Sneaker consistency: Left does better. Its silhouette, toe perspective, padded collar, panel construction, stitching, textured materials, and sole proportions stay closer to the reference, while Right presents a flatter side-on angle and subtly altered proportions.
- Black geometric side mark: Left is slightly closer. Its branch angles, intersection, and placement more closely match the reference mark; Right preserves the recognizable design but changes the relative lengths and angles slightly.
- Physical coherence: Right does better. The warm sunset light on the left side of the shoe, cooler ambient dusk tones, grounded contact shadow, surface highlights, and reflected shoe are more consistently integrated; Left has plausible contact and reflection, but the lighting is flatter and the reflection appears unusually dark and sharply separated.
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
Nano Banana starts at 20 credits, while Nano Banana 2 starts at 40 credits. In this run's small latency sample, Nano Banana ranged from 15971 ms to 36072 ms, while Nano Banana 2 ranged from 57125 ms to 122746 ms; these observations are specific to this run, not benchmark figures.
How we compared & disclosure
We used one fixed prompt per scenario with each model and published the selected outputs. Public images carry a Banana Pie watermark. This is a reproducible comparison run, and Banana Pie sells paid access to both models.
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.