GPT Image 2.5 vs Nano Banana Pro: the same prompts, side by side

By GetStepSnap · Flare tested October 11, 2026 · Nano Banana Pro tested October 7, 2026

Which one should you use?

• GPT Image 2.5 for posters and anything with words on it, for counting and layout, and for everyday images you make a lot of. Here it takes 2 credits.
• Nano Banana Pro for close-up portraits, for restoring old photos, and whenever you need a 2K or 4K file. It takes 3 credits at 1K or 2K.

The quick comparison

Prices are what fal.ai, the provider this site uses, charged for our own runs: Flare at medium quality, the setting our tool uses, and Pro at 1K. Times run from sending the request to the finished image, checked every 1.5 seconds.

One selfie, three models

The site owner's own test, with the owner's own selfie: the mecha poster prompt from our GPT Image 2.5 page (in its Chinese original), first in ChatGPT, then once each here with Flare and Nano Banana Pro at 3:4. ChatGPT made the most complete poster: a full-length figure in winter armor on snow, under the word WINTER. Flare kept the giant title behind the figure, the big number and the info bar, but cut the figure off at the legs and read the theme as human and machine, calling it NEXUS. Nano Banana Pro drew the Christmas tree from the photo into the poster, then printed the prompt's own layout instructions as words, CLEAR BASELINES and WIDE TRACKING, along the bottom bar.

The 8 tests

Nano Banana Pro ran these through fal.ai on October 7, 2026, at 1K. Flare ran them on October 11 with exactly the settings our own tool uses. Three prompts asked for a shape our GPT tool doesn't make, so Flare got the closest one it does: 3:4 for 4:5, and 3:2 for 16:9. One try per prompt is a small sample, so read these as eight honest examples, not a benchmark.

1. Words on a chalkboard

Prompt: "A bakery chalkboard menu, hand-lettered in white chalk, that reads exactly: TODAY — Cinnamon Roll $4 — Sourdough Loaf $7 — Oat Latte $5. Warm cafe light, a few croissants on the counter in front." · 4:3

Both spelled every line and every price right. Pro kept the dashes we typed; Flare dropped them and hung a second little sign in the corner, GOOD BREAD BETTER DAYS, that nobody asked for.

2. An infographic with four steps

Prompt: "A clean flat infographic titled 'How Coffee Gets to Your Cup' with four numbered steps in a vertical column: 1 Harvest, 2 Dry, 3 Roast, 4 Brew. Each step has a simple icon and a one-line caption. Cream background, brown and green accents." · 3:4

Both got the title, all four steps and captions you can read. We asked for one-line captions, and neither kept them all to one line: Flare's run to two or three.

3. A realistic portrait

Prompt: "Candid 35mm film photo of an elderly fisherman mending a net on a wooden dock at dawn, weathered hands, soft natural light, shallow depth of field." · 4:5 (Flare at 3:4)

Both pass for a real film photo. Pro went close, and the hands and face are sharper. Flare stepped back to show the sun coming up over the harbor.

4. Counting objects

Prompt: "Exactly five red apples and three green pears in one straight row on a wooden table, studio lighting, white background." · 16:9 (Flare at 3:2)

Flare got this one right: five red apples, then three green pears, in one straight row. Pro made four apples and mixed them in with the pears.

5. A product ad

Prompt: "Commercial ad photo: a pair of white running shoes floating above a puddle on a city street at night, pink and blue neon reflections in the water." · 1:1

Both look like real ads, and both made up words you'd have to clean off: Flare printed a brand name on the shoe's tongue and lit the street with Japanese neon signs, and Pro invented NEO-STRIDE.

6. Restoring an old photo

Edit prompt: "Restore this old photo: remove the scratches, creases, dust and the torn corner, sharpen the faces and colorize it naturally. Keep the people, their poses and the composition exactly the same." · 4:3

Both cleared the scratches and the torn corner, kept both faces and colorized it naturally. Flare kept the old print's white border and its rounded corner, so it still looks like a photo of a photo. Pro's fills the frame.

7. A phone snapshot into a product photo

Edit prompt: "Turn this into a professional product photo: the same candle on a travertine stone pedestal, soft warm light from the side, a gentle shadow, a clean beige background and a few dried flowers. Keep the jar and its label exactly the same." · 4:5 (Flare at 3:4)

Both kept the FIG & CEDAR label letter for letter. Flare set the jar on a rough block of travertine with dried flowers; Pro used a smooth round pedestal. Either would do for a shop listing.

8. A pet photo into a collectible figure

Edit prompt: "Create a 1/7 scale commercialized figurine of the cat in the picture, in a realistic style, in a real environment. The figurine stands on a round transparent acrylic base with no text, on a computer desk. The computer screen shows the 3D modeling of this figurine. Next to the screen is a premium collectible toy box printed with artwork of the same cat." · 1:1

Both kept the cat sitting, with its markings. Flare's box reads 1/7 SCALE PREMIUM FIGURE, Pro's reads SUNLIT ORANGE TABBY. A draw.

What we actually think

For most things people make, Flare is the better deal. It spelled every word we asked for, got the count right, and was quicker on average. Pro earns its higher price on faces up close, on old family photos, and when the file has to be big enough to print. You can run both here: GPT Image 2.5 and Nano Banana Pro, with the same credit balance. If Pro feels like a lot, our Nano Banana 2.1 vs Pro tests show where the cheaper Google model keeps up.