GPT Image 2.5 Flare vs 
Nano Banana 2 GPT Image 2.5 Flare vs Nano Banana 2: the same 8 pictures, side by side
A family portrait, a poster, a birthday card, a sleepy cat and a few impossible scenes. We gave OpenAI's GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Google's Nano Banana 2 exactly the same words and show you both pictures, untouched.
By chatmodel team Tested with GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Nano Banana 2 Updated
The short answer
Pick GPT Image 2.5 Flare for cards, posters and cozy everyday scenes: it won 4 of our 8 tests. Pick Nano Banana 2 for dreamy scenes full of detail and a real hand-painted look.
- GPT Image 2.5 Flare: 4 wins
- Nano Banana 2: 2 wins
- 2 ties
Pick GPT Image 2.5 Flare if…
- You're making a card, an invitation or a poster with words on it.
- You want a finished picture you can print or share straight away.
Pick Nano Banana 2 if…
- You want a dreamy, detailed scene with lots going on.
- You like paintings that look made by hand, paper and all.
You don't have to choose: in chatmodel you can use both in the same conversation.
GPT Image 2.5 Flare vs Nano Banana 2 at a glance
| GPT Image 2.5 Flare | Nano Banana 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | OpenAI (the makers of ChatGPT) | Google (its technical name is Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) |
| Best at, in our test | Bold, finished designs and cozy scenes | Rich detail and following every word of the description |
| Weakest at, in our test | Less extra detail in big fantasy scenes | Adds things you didn't ask for, like extra words on a poster |
| Rounds won (of 8) | 4 (+2 ties) | 2 (+2 ties) |
| Edits your own photos | Yes | Yes |
| Came out | September 2026 | May 2026 |
| On chatmodel | Included in Pro | Included in Pro |
The 8 tests, picture by picture
The same description to both, one try each, nothing retouched. Press “Try these words” to make your own.
Test 1 · A poster with real words on it
A poster with words on it: GPT Image is cleaner
The description both got
A vintage travel poster with the words "VISIT LISBON" in bold letters at the top, a yellow tram climbing a steep hill at sunset, terracotta rooftops and the river in the distance, mid-century illustration style, flat colors
Winner: GPT Image 2.5 Flare. Both spelled “VISIT LISBON” correctly. GPT Image made a bold poster that fills the frame. Nano Banana 2 added a line nobody asked for (“The city of seven hills, Portugal”) and drew the poster as a print with a border.
Test 2 · A card with a name on it
A card with a name on it: GPT Image, ready to print
The description both got
A birthday card with the words "Happy 60th, Maria!" in elegant gold letters, surrounded by spring flowers and a small cake with candles, soft watercolor style
Winner: GPT Image 2.5 Flare. Both wrote “Happy 60th, Maria!” correctly. GPT Image made the card itself, big and balanced. Nano Banana 2 showed the card standing on a table, so the words are smaller.
Test 3 · A warm family portrait
A family portrait: a tie
The description both got
A smiling grandmother in her sixties picking ripe tomatoes in a sunlit vegetable garden, straw hat, soft golden evening light, natural skin texture and laugh lines, shallow depth of field, 50mm documentary photo
A tie. Two warm, believable grandmothers in their gardens. GPT Image went closer with golden evening light; Nano Banana 2 showed more of the garden. Pick the one you like.
Test 4 · Food that looks good enough to eat
Food that looks good enough to eat: GPT Image
The description both got
A homemade apple pie with a golden lattice crust on a rustic wooden table by a rainy window, a wisp of steam rising, cinnamon sticks and a cup of tea beside it, cozy autumn kitchen, food magazine photo
Winner: GPT Image 2.5 Flare. GPT Image put the pie front and center with the rainy window, the tea and the cinnamon sticks, and it felt cozy. Nano Banana 2's pie was smaller in a wider kitchen scene.
Test 5 · A pet portrait
A pet portrait: GPT Image gets closer
The description both got
A fluffy orange cat asleep on a sunny window seat next to a stack of old books and a potted fern, soft morning light, warm and cozy home photo
Winner: GPT Image 2.5 Flare. GPT Image made the sleeping cat the star, with soft morning light. Nano Banana 2's cat was lovely but small in a busy corner of the room.
Test 6 · Something that could never happen
Something impossible, a dog on the moon: a tie
The description both got
A golden retriever wearing a small astronaut helmet sitting on the surface of the moon, the blue Earth rising behind him, footprints in the grey dust, playful, photorealistic
A tie. Both made a happy golden retriever in a helmet with the Earth behind it. GPT Image's dog is bigger and clearer; Nano Banana 2 added a full space suit and a lunar module. Both are great.
Test 7 · A scene from a dream
A scene from a dream: Nano Banana 2 dazzles
The description both got
A giant whale made of clear glass floating above desert sand dunes at sunrise, sunlight refracting through its body and throwing rainbow patterns on the sand, a lone traveler looking up, photorealistic, wide shot
Winner: Nano Banana 2. The description asked for sunlight throwing rainbow patterns on the sand. Nano Banana 2 made them bright and everywhere, and the glass whale looks more detailed. GPT Image's scene was beautiful but calmer.
Test 8 · A painting in a classic style
A painting in a classic style: Nano Banana 2 looks hand-painted
The description both got
A watercolor painting of a small Tuscan village on a hilltop with cypress trees and a winding road, loose brushstrokes, soft pastel colors, white paper showing through, painted by hand
Winner: Nano Banana 2. We asked for white paper showing through. Nano Banana 2 painted it like a real watercolor on paper, with white edges and loose strokes. GPT Image's painting was pretty but looked more like a finished print.
Scorecard
| Test | Winner |
|---|---|
| 1. A poster with real words on it | GPT Image 2.5 Flare |
| 2. A card with a name on it | GPT Image 2.5 Flare |
| 3. A warm family portrait | Tie |
| 4. Food that looks good enough to eat | GPT Image 2.5 Flare |
| 5. A pet portrait | GPT Image 2.5 Flare |
| 6. Something that could never happen | Tie |
| 7. A scene from a dream | Nano Banana 2 |
| 8. A painting in a classic style | Nano Banana 2 |
| Total | GPT Image 2.5 Flare 4 · Nano Banana 2 2 · 2 ties |
What it costs, in plain words
OpenAI and Google each sell their own plans. In chatmodel, GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Nano Banana 2 are both included in Pro, with every other image model, so you can try the same idea with several of them. See the current prices on the pricing page.
Can you trust the pictures?
These models are very good at words now, but not perfect. Nano Banana 2 added a line of text nobody asked for on the poster. Before you print a card or a poster, read every word on it. And remember the pictures are made up: don’t use them to show something that really happened.
How we tested
We wrote 8 descriptions of the pictures people actually make: a family portrait, food, a poster, a birthday card, a pet, and a few impossible scenes. Both models got exactly the same words, one try each, and we kept the first picture without retouching it. We judged how well each picture followed the description and how good it would look printed or shared.
One try each is a small test: ask again and you’ll get a different picture. Treat the winners as a guide, and try your own idea with both.
What changed
- First test: GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Nano Banana 2, 8 descriptions, one try each.