Flux 2 Pro vs Nano Banana 2
Flux 2 Pro vs Nano Banana 2 on six identical prompts, from portraits and packshots to text and illustration, with the cost, speed and a dated verdict.
Updated · Tested: Flux 2 Pro; Nano Banana 2
The verdict
Flux 2 Pro and Nano Banana 2 tied on five of six tests; the difference was the flat illustration, which Flux 2 Pro won by keeping to the requested palette. Both missed on the portrait: Flux over-sharpened the skin into dark blotches, Nano Banana 2 framed too wide. Nano Banana 2 tells fuller stories in busy scenes but adds things nobody asked for, including a real space-agency logo. Flux 2 Pro costs well under half as much and renders in seconds, which makes it the better value for most product and design work.
- Flux 2 Pro
- Nano Banana 2 Tests won
- 1
- 0 Average score
- 2.7
- 2.5 Credits per image
- 8
- 20 Render time
- 9 s
- 12 s
5 test(s) were a tie.
At a glance
| Test | Flux 2 Pro | Nano Banana 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Realistic portrait | Mostly 8 cr | Mostly 20 cr |
| Product packshot | Nailed it 8 cr | Nailed it 20 cr |
| Exact text on a sign | Nailed it 8 cr | Nailed it 20 cr |
| Crowded scene, many details | Nailed it 8 cr | Nailed it 20 cr |
| Flat illustration | Nailed it 8 cr | Mostly 20 cr |
| Editorial character shot | Mostly 8 cr | Mostly 20 cr |
Realistic portrait
Skin, wrinkles, beard texture and believable depth of field are where AI portraits look plastic.
Checked: Real skin texture, not waxy · Salt-and-pepper beard · Yellow oilskin hat · Overcast harbor background · Shallow depth of field
Close-up portrait of an elderly fisherman with deep wrinkles and a salt-and-pepper beard, wearing a yellow oilskin hat, overcast harbor light, 85mm lens, shallow depth of field, documentary photograph
A strong profile with a harbor crane and water melting into blur, though the hat is a yellow cap rather than an oilskin sou'wester. Over-sharpened skin and a cluster of dark blotches on the cheek look artificial at full size.
Weathered skin, a worn yellow oilskin hat and a busy harbor are all there, but it framed a half-length shot rather than a close-up and the boats behind are only lightly blurred. Heavy HDR-style sharpening makes the skin look crunchy.
Product packshot
Glass, metal and a clean set test material rendering and restraint.
Checked: Frosted glass reads as frosted · Gold dropper · Travertine block · Eucalyptus sprig · Soft light from the left on a beige backdrop
A frosted glass skincare serum bottle with a gold dropper standing on a travertine block, a sprig of eucalyptus beside it, soft window light from the left, plain beige backdrop, clean beauty product photography
Unbranded and clean: the glass reads as frosted, the gold collar is brushed rather than shiny, and a beam from the left falls across a beige backdrop and a banded travertine slab with eucalyptus.
Frosted bottle, gold collar, pitted travertine and a eucalyptus sprig, lit by a window on the left against a beige plaster wall. It added an invented "AURA" label, spelled cleanly.
Exact text on a sign
Spelling two lines of quoted text exactly is still the clearest separator between image models.
Checked: "BLUE HOUR COFFEE" spelled exactly · "EST. 1987" spelled exactly · Cream serif letters on enamel · Red brick wall · Late afternoon sun
A vintage enamel shop sign mounted on a red brick wall that reads "BLUE HOUR COFFEE" in cream serif letters, with "EST. 1987" in smaller letters underneath, late afternoon sun, photograph
Both lines spelled exactly in cream serif on navy enamel with realistic chipping at the corners. Warm sun catches only the top right, so the light reads late but a little dim.
Spelled "BLUE HOUR COFFEE" and "EST. 1987" exactly in cream serif on a round blue enamel sign, adding a small flourish and dots. The street beyond glows with late sun, though the sign itself sits in softer light.
Crowded scene, many details
A long list of people, props and actions shows whether a model follows the whole brief or only the first half.
Checked: Three kids · Girl in a red raincoat painting stars · Boy with glasses taping fins · Toddler with a colander helmet · Golden retriever watching · Cardboard rocket · Toys on the grass
Three kids building a cardboard rocket in a sunny backyard: a girl in a red raincoat painting stars on it, a boy with glasses taping on the fins, a toddler wearing a colander as a helmet, a golden retriever watching, toys scattered on the grass, warm afternoon light, photograph
Seven of seven: the girl paints stars, the boy wraps tape where the fins meet the body, and toys and paint pots fill the grass under golden backlight. The toddler's colander looks more like a steel bowl with a few holes.
All seven items, down to the boy pressing tape onto a fin and a colander tied under the toddler's chin. It also put a NASA logo and a US flag on the rocket unprompted, worth noticing for commercial work.
Flat illustration
Style control: a limited palette and flat vector look are easy to describe and easy to miss.
Checked: Flat vector look · Teal, mustard and coral only · Cat asleep on books · Rain on the window · Paper grain
Flat vector illustration of a cozy reading nook with a cat asleep on a stack of books, a window with rain outside, limited palette of teal, mustard and coral, subtle paper grain, children's book style
Flat shapes, visible paper grain and a palette held to teal, sandy mustard and coral, with a ginger cat asleep on a book stack beneath a rainy window.
Flat and detailed, with the cat asleep on cleanly titled books, rain on the window and light paper grain. The palette spreads beyond teal, mustard and coral into browns, orange and mint.
Editorial character shot
Our original benchmark prompt: a costumed animal in a real setting, with lens and focus instructions.
Checked: Tailored tuxedo · Champagne glass · Rooftop at night · Eiffel Tower bokeh · 85mm look, shallow depth of field
A raccoon in a perfectly tailored tuxedo sipping champagne at a rooftop gala in Paris at night, Eiffel Tower bokeh behind, editorial photograph, 85mm lens, shallow depth of field
The most convincing 85mm look: waist-up framing, creamy bokeh and only the top of the tower glowing behind. The rooftop is implied rather than shown, and the paw reads as a human hand in a fur glove.
The most complete scene: a balustrade, an iron railing, a crowd in evening wear, a boutonniere and a tail behind a sipping raccoon. The tower is fully drawn rather than bokeh, and the wide, full-length framing ignores the 85mm instruction.
Which should you use?
Choose Flux 2 Pro for
- Product and packshot work at well under half the price per image
- Illustration with a disciplined palette
- Fast iteration: the quickest premium model in our image tests
Choose Nano Banana 2 for
- Busy storytelling scenes with lots of characters and props
- Editorial shots where extra environmental detail helps
- Workflows that also need its editing and reference features
One take per model per test, judged in October 2026. Both models are updated often; prices and live availability are on the models page. Totals for these tests: Flux 2 Pro $0.48, Nano Banana 2 $1.20 of plan value.
Questions people ask
Is Flux 2 Pro better than Nano Banana 2?+
On our six prompts they tied five times and Flux 2 Pro won the illustration test. Flux 2 Pro was cheaper and faster; Nano Banana 2 added more scene detail, sometimes more than requested.
Which is more realistic for portraits?+
Neither aced it in our test. Flux 2 Pro over-sharpened the skin, and Nano Banana 2 framed a half-length shot instead of a close-up. Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image 2 and Seedream 5 did better on the same prompt.
Do they add things I didn't ask for?+
Nano Banana 2 did: it put a real space-agency logo and a flag on a cardboard rocket in our scene test. Flux 2 Pro stayed closer to the brief and left the packshot unbranded.
More comparisons
Test them on your own prompt
Run one prompt on Flux 2 Pro, Nano Banana 2 and two more models side by side, rate the results and keep the winner. Every run shows its cost before you click.