Nano Banana 2 vs Nano Banana Pro: Which to Use, and the Real Cost

Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro are both Google image models, and Google says itself when to use which. Pro is for "high-fidelity tasks requiring maximum factual accuracy". Nano Banana 2 suits "rapid generation, precise instruction following and integrated image-search grounding".

In the Studio, Nano Banana 2 costs 5, 8 or 10 credits an image at 1K, 2K or 4K. Pro costs 9 credits at 1K or 2K and 18 at 4K.

That price list hides one quirk worth knowing before anything else. On Pro, 2K costs exactly what 1K does. There is no reason to render Pro at 1K.

The Names, Decoded

"Nano Banana" is Google's public name for its Gemini image models, and the numbering does not work the way you might expect.

Nano Banana Pro is Gemini 3 Pro Image, announced on 20 November 2025. Google's announcement says it can "blend more elements than ever before, using up to 14 images and maintaining the consistency and resemblance of up to 5 people", with 2K and 4K output and legible text "in multiple languages".

Nano Banana 2 is Gemini 3.1 Flash Image, announced on 26 February 2026. Google describes it as "the advanced world knowledge, quality and reasoning you love in Nano Banana Pro, at lightning-fast speed". It keeps "character resemblance of up to five characters and the fidelity of up to 14 objects in a single workflow", generates text for "marketing mockups or greeting cards", and can "translate and localize text within an image".

So the newer model is the cheaper one. Nano Banana 2 is not a successor that retires Pro. It is a faster Flash-class model that brings over much of what Pro does, and Google still points the most demanding work at Pro.

There is a third name to keep apart. On 30 June 2026 Google added Nano Banana 2 Lite (Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite Image), built for "rapid ideation and high-velocity developer pipelines where speed and cost are the primary constraints". The Studio does not run it. Everything below is about Nano Banana 2 and Pro.

Both carry a watermark you cannot see. The API documentation for both models states that every output includes Google's SynthID digital watermark, and Google pairs SynthID with C2PA Content Credentials. That is separate from the visible free-tier mark the Studio adds, and it is not something the Studio adds or removes.

What the Studio Runs

Verified against the API schemas and documentation for the four Nano Banana endpoints (generate and edit, for 2 and Pro) on 30 September 2026:

Three details sit behind that table.

The banner shapes are Nano Banana 2 only. Both models take the photographic 3:2 and the print-friendly 4:5, but only Nano Banana 2 adds 4:1, 1:4, 8:1 and 1:8. For a website strip or a tall skyscraper ad, that alone decides the model.

There is no 0.5K tier here. Nano Banana 2's endpoint also offers a 0.5K size. The Studio starts both models at 1K.

Search and thinking are off. Both endpoints expose optional web search grounding, and Nano Banana 2 also exposes a thinking level. The Studio does not currently offer either, so both models run with search off, which is the endpoint default. Google leads with search grounding in its Nano Banana 2 pitch, so it is worth saying plainly that you do not get it here.

What Each Image Costs

Every figure is the live Studio price in credits, shown before you generate.

What that means in practice:

• Always take 2K on Pro. It costs the same 9 credits as 1K.
• The real trade is size against model. Nano Banana 2 at 4K costs 10 credits, Pro at 2K costs 9. If you are torn between more pixels and the Pro model, those two options cost almost the same.
• Input images are free. Up to 14 on an edit, and the price does not move.
• The steps follow the provider's. Nano Banana 2's ladder mirrors the provider's own 1.5x and 2x multipliers, and Pro's mirrors its flat 1K and 2K rate.

The Render Ledger puts every model's provider cost side by side, and what AI video costs per second covers the video roster if these images are headed for motion.

How to Brief It

We have no observed prompting notes of our own for either model yet. The Studio's Prompt Director (1 credit a pass) works from published guidance for this family, Google's own prompting guide included, labelled as provider guidance rather than something we have confirmed. The examples below apply that guidance. They show structure, not results.

The published advice is specific, and it is the opposite of keyword soup. Write a structured creative brief: purpose, subject, setting, composition, lighting, style, exact text, constraints and output format. Put the subject first. Name the light source. Give camera details, which the guidance says often decide whether an image ships. Quote any text exactly as it should appear, and skip the strings of "magic" quality words.

A structured brief for Nano Banana 2 (a social still).

Purpose: a launch post for a trail-running shoe.
Subject: a single white running shoe mid-stride on wet slate.
Setting: a coastal path at dawn, sea mist behind.
Composition: low angle, shoe in the left third, horizon high.
Lighting: low sun behind camera right, rim light on the laces.
Style: crisp commercial photography, 85mm lens look, shallow
depth of field.
Text: none. Constraints: no logos, no people.

What we would pick: Nano Banana 2, 4:5, 2K. That costs 8 credits.

Text that has to be spelled right (Pro).

A shop-window poster for a bakery. A tall stack of cinnamon buns
on a marble counter, warm tungsten light from the left. At the
top, exactly this text in a rounded sans serif: "Fresh Every
Morning". Below it, smaller: "Open 7am to 3pm". No other text
anywhere in the image.

What we would pick: Pro at 2K, for 9 credits.

An edit with two input images.

Use the first image for the product and the second for the room.
Place the lamp on the side table by the window and match the
room's daylight direction. Keep the lamp's shape, colour and
shade exactly as they are in the first image.

What we would pick: either model with two input images. The price is the same as a plain generation.

A banner only Nano Banana 2 can make here.

An 8:1 website banner: a long line of autumn trees beside a
canal, soft fog, muted ochre and teal, empty sky across the
right half for a headline.

What we would pick: Nano Banana 2 at 8:1, since Pro's shapes stop at 21:9.

When Another Model Fits Better

• SeeDream 5 Lite costs a flat 3 credits at any size, up to six images at once. For volume work where the price per image matters more than Google's feature list, start there.
• GPT Image 2.5 costs 3, 5 or 8 credits by quality tier. Its Sunburst variant is documented for edits where exactly one thing changes and the rest must hold.
• Stills for video. If the image is a start frame, generate it at the video model's shape. LTX 2.5 makes 16:9 or 9:16 only, so a 4:5 still is the wrong starting point there.

What We Have Not Tested

We have verified the schemas, the size and ratio options, the list prices and the Studio's credit ladder for both models. We have not run a controlled comparison of Nano Banana 2 against Pro, or of either against SeeDream 5 or GPT Image 2.5. Nothing above is a quality verdict.

Specifically, we have not yet checked:

• Google's text-rendering and translation claims, on our own prompts.
• The 14-image blending and five-person consistency figures, which are Google's numbers, not ours.
• The pixel dimensions each size tier actually returns, especially at unusual shapes such as 8:1.
• How much search grounding changes results, since the Studio does not currently offer it.

When we have run them properly, the results go in this post with a date on them.

Nano Banana Questions, Answered

What is the difference between Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro? Nano Banana 2 is Google's Gemini 3.1 Flash Image, a faster model that brings over many of Pro's features, and Nano Banana Pro is Gemini 3 Pro Image, which Google positions for high-fidelity work that needs maximum factual accuracy. In the AIVideos Studio, Nano Banana 2 costs 5, 8 or 10 credits at 1K, 2K or 4K, and Pro costs 9 credits at 1K or 2K and 18 at 4K.

How much does Nano Banana Pro cost? In the AIVideos Studio, Nano Banana Pro costs 9 credits per image at 1K or 2K and 18 credits at 4K, shown before you generate. Because 1K and 2K cost the same, there is no reason to render Pro at 1K. Input images for edits add nothing to the price.

Can Nano Banana make 4K images? Yes. Both Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro have a 4K tier in the AIVideos Studio, at 10 and 18 credits per image respectively. Google describes Nano Banana 2 as covering resolutions from 512px to 4K, and the Studio's sizes start at 1K.

Can Nano Banana write text in images? Google says both can. It describes Nano Banana 2 as generating accurate, legible text for mockups and cards, including translating text inside an image, and Nano Banana Pro as rendering legible text in multiple languages. We have not tested those claims on our own prompts yet. Google's published prompting advice is to quote the exact text you want, word for word.

Does Nano Banana use Google Search in the AIVideos Studio? No. Both endpoints offer optional web search grounding, and Google leads with it in its Nano Banana 2 announcement, but the AIVideos Studio does not currently switch it on. Both models work from what they already know.

Can I use Nano Banana images commercially? Under our terms, images made with purchased credits are delivered without our watermark and with a full commercial licence, and you own the outputs to the extent the law allows. Free-tier images carry a small aivideos.eu watermark. Separately, Google embeds an invisible SynthID watermark in every image these models produce, so the images can be identified as AI-generated.

Run One Prompt on Both

The cheapest honest test is one brief on each model at 2K: 8 credits on Nano Banana 2, 9 on Pro, 17 for the pair. Run it in the Studio and judge the two side by side on your own subject, which is worth more than any launch reel. The licence wording is in our terms.

If you need finished campaign imagery rather than a tool, our production services take the brief from there.