Nano Banana 2.1 vs Nano Banana 2
Nano Banana 2.1 is Google's update to Nano Banana 2, released on 6 October 2026, and Nano Banana 2 was deprecated on the Gemini API the same day. Both ran through the same twelve prompts at 1K: Nano Banana 2 in September with thinking off, 2.1 in October at its default medium thinking.
Anvisha Pai, Co-founder & CEO, Voyager
Which to use
Switch. Nano Banana 2.1 is cheaper per image on the Gemini API at every size it offers ($0.0336 against $0.067 at 1K, read on 8 October 2026), and on our prompts it was the cleaner of the two where Nano Banana 2 had habits to watch: it left the banner's copy space empty instead of painting in a button, kept an invented brand name off the product shot and its edit, and did not add a line to the poster. Where 2 was already right, on set text, faces and the chart's values, 2.1 matched it rather than beating it, and it still signs the woodblock print and adds an axis unit to the chart. Stay on Nano Banana 2 for 512px output, which 2.1 dropped, or if you rely on the free Gemini app plan, which does not include 2.1. One run per prompt is a fair first look, not a ranking.
Side by side, measured
| Nano Banana 2.1 | Nano Banana 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Google DeepMind | Google DeepMind |
| Released | 2026-10-06 | 2026-02-26 |
| Price | $0.0336 per 1k image via Gemini API | $0.067 per 1k image via Gemini API |
| Seconds per image | 9 to 20 | 9 to 14 |
| 12 pictures cost | $0.484 | $0.96 |
| Sizes | 1K, 2K and 4K in fourteen fixed shapes, including 8:1 and 1:8 strips | Four sizes, 512px, 1K, 2K and 4K, in fifteen fixed shapes including extreme 8:1 strips |
Seconds and cost are from our own runs of the same 12 prompts through each model.
The same 12 prompts, Nano Banana 2.1 against Nano Banana 2
One try each, nothing re-rolled or retouched, generated by us. Nano Banana 2.1 is on the left, Nano Banana 2 on the right. Every prompt has its own page with the whole roster.
Text in an image
Every model on this prompt →Both set all three lines correctly. 2 drew the venue and a crowd; 2.1 an abstract crowd with music notes.
›What we asked for
A concert poster that reads 'MODA SUMMER SESSIONS' in large bold type, with the subtitle 'Friday 12 June, 8pm, Roundhouse' and a smaller line 'Tickets at the door'. Risograph style, two colours, tangerine and navy, grainy ink texture.
Product on white
Every model on this prompt →Nano Banana 2 embossed 'V60', a real dripper maker's mark, on the base; 2.1's dripper is unmarked.
›What we asked for
Studio product photograph of a matte black ceramic pour-over coffee dripper on a seamless white background, soft top light, subtle contact shadow, centred, catalogue style.
Face and hands
Every model on this prompt →
›What we asked for
Close-up portrait of a woman in her 40s with short grey hair, laughing, holding a red ceramic mug with both hands, natural window light, 85mm lens, shallow depth of field.
Logo mark
Every model on this prompt →2.1's mark puts a chain link inside a spoked wheel, closer to the brief; 2's is a chain with a tool. Both added a tagline.
›What we asked for
A flat vector logo mark for a bicycle repair shop called 'Spoke & Chain': a single-colour icon combining a chain link and a wheel spoke, with the wordmark below in a geometric sans-serif, black on white.
Busy scene
Every model on this prompt →
›What we asked for
A crowded Saturday farmers market seen from slightly above: at least twelve stalls with striped awnings, shoppers carrying tote bags, a dog on a leash, crates of oranges, a musician with a guitar, bunting overhead, late morning light.
Specific art style
Every model on this prompt →
›What we asked for
A lighthouse on a rocky cliff during a storm, in the style of a Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print, with visible wood grain texture, flat colour areas and a bokashi gradient sky.
Both drew the six values correctly and both invented a unit: 2 '(in thousands)', 2.1 '(Millions)'.
›What we asked for
A clean bar chart titled 'Monthly active users' showing six months, January through June, with the values 120, 150, 180, 170, 220 and 260, labelled axes, white background, one accent colour, no 3D effects.
Wide aspect ratio
Every model on this prompt →2.1 left the left third clean; Nano Banana 2 painted a green 'Learn More' button into it.
›What we asked for
Website hero banner: a wide panorama of a sunlit modern co-working space with plants, the left third of the frame kept as clear wall space for text, warm neutral palette.
Infographic with steps
Every model on this prompt →
›What we asked for
An infographic card titled 'How to brew pour-over' with four numbered steps in this order: 1. Rinse the filter, 2. Bloom for 30 seconds, 3. Pour in slow circles, 4. Wait 3 minutes. A simple icon beside each step, muted palette, clean sans-serif type.
Food photography
Every model on this prompt →Nano Banana 2 added a menu card with garbled small print; 2.1 kept to the pizza on a dark slate.
›What we asked for
Overhead photograph of a margherita pizza on a wooden board, fresh basil leaves, one slice pulled out with the cheese stretching, restaurant menu photography, natural light.
Hard composition
Every model on this prompt →Both placed the five objects correctly. 2 put four ice cubes in the glass; 2.1's appears to hold the three asked for.
›What we asked for
A glass of water on a wooden table with exactly three ice cubes in it, a yellow pencil resting across the rim of the glass, a blue book to the left of the glass and a red apple to the right, photographed from table height.
Edit an existing image
Every model on this prompt →Both recoloured to green and added brass. 2 kept the ceramic handle and the 'V60'; 2.1 swapped the handle for brass and has no mark.
›What we asked for
Change the coffee dripper to a deep forest green and add a small brass handle on its right side. Keep the background, lighting and composition exactly as they are.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nano Banana 2.1 better than Nano Banana 2?
On our twelve prompts it was cleaner on the banner, the product shots, the poster and the pizza, where Nano Banana 2 added things nobody asked for, and level on the rest. Google's model card reports higher human preference scores for 2.1 with thinking than for 2 across its text-to-image and editing benchmarks.
Is Nano Banana 2.1 cheaper?
On the Gemini API, yes: $0.0336 per 1K image against $0.067, $0.0504 against $0.101 at 2K and $0.113 against $0.151 at 4K, read on 8 October 2026. On fal the 1K figures are about $0.04 for 2.1 and $0.08 for 2.
Is Nano Banana 2 going away?
Google deprecated gemini-3.1-flash-image on the Gemini API on 6 October 2026 and points to gemini-nano-banana-2.1 instead. No shutdown date has been announced, and Nano Banana 2 is still the free plan's image model in the Gemini app.
Were both run the same way?
Same prompts, same 1K size, one attempt each, both through fal. Nano Banana 2 ran on 9 September with thinking off; 2.1 ran on 8 October at its default medium thinking, since that is how most people will meet it.
Voyager
Run any of these inside Voyager
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