Nano Banana 2 vs Recraft V4.1 Pro
Preferred for text to image: Nano Banana 2 · Newest: Nano Banana 2 · Widest inputs: Nano Banana 2. Quality scores are blind human-preference votes; specs and prices come from each lab’s listings.
GoogleNano Banana 2
- Arena1,387
- From$0.045/image
- Max size4K
RecraftRecraft V4.1 Pro
- Arena1,131
- From—
- Max size—
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Where they differ
Quality is the arena score from blind, side-by-side human votes. Price, length and resolution come from each lab’s own listings.
- Preferred for text to imageNano Banana 2Nano Banana 2 1,257 (#11) · Recraft V4.1 Pro 1,131 (#42) — blind human votes
- NewestNano Banana 2Nano Banana 2 May 28, 2026 · Recraft V4.1 Pro May 14, 2026
- Widest inputsNano Banana 2Nano Banana 2: Text prompts, Reference images, PDFs, Video · Recraft V4.1 Pro: Text prompts
- Image editingNano Banana 2Takes a reference image as input: Nano Banana 2 yes · Recraft V4.1 Pro no
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs and apps
- Most API hostsNano Banana 2Nano Banana 2: 13 · Recraft V4.1 Pro: 1
Every spec in one table
Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Nano Banana 2Google | Recraft V4.1 ProRecraft |
|---|---|---|
| Quality (blind human votes) | ||
| Text to image arenaElo-style score · higher is better | 1,257 ±4#11 of 82 · 73,278 votes (best) | 1,131 ±10#42 of 82 · 2,796 votes |
| Image editing arenaElo-style score · higher is better | 1,387 ±3#15 of 61 · 262,911 votes | — |
| Price | ||
| Starting price | $0.045/image 512 | — |
| Top price | $0.15/image 4K | — |
| How it is billed | Billed per token; Google’s listed cost per image. | — |
| Output | ||
| Produces | Images | Images |
| Resolutions | 512 · 1K · 2K · 4K | — |
| Highest resolution | 4K | — |
| Largest image | 4K (about 16 MP) | — |
| Images per request | Up to 1 | — |
| Text in the reply | Yes | — |
| Inputs | ||
| Text prompts | Yes | Yes |
| Reference images (editing) | Yes | No |
| Max reference images | 14 | — |
| Access | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | gemini-3.1-flash-image | — |
| API hosts | 13 (best) | 1 |
| Released | May 28, 2026 | May 14, 2026 |
Which should you choose?
Which is better, Nano Banana 2 or Recraft V4.1 Pro?
For text to image, voters prefer Nano Banana 2 (Nano Banana 2 1,257 (#11) · Recraft V4.1 Pro 1,131 (#42)). Arena scores come from blind, side-by-side human votes on the same prompts; when the gap is inside both models’ error margins we call it a tie. Test your own prompts before you commit.
Which is cheaper?
Nano Banana 2 costs from $0.045/image (512), up to $0.15/image (4K). Recraft V4.1 Pro has no published per-image price. Prices are list rates and change often; check the lab before budgeting.
What is the difference between Nano Banana 2 and Recraft V4.1 Pro?
Nano Banana 2 is an image model from Google (May 28, 2026), taking text prompts, reference images, pdfs and video and producing images. Recraft V4.1 Pro is an image model from Recraft (May 14, 2026), taking text prompts and producing images.
Which is newer?
Nano Banana 2 May 28, 2026; Recraft V4.1 Pro May 14, 2026.
Which can edit an existing image?
Takes a reference image as input: Nano Banana 2 yes; Recraft V4.1 Pro no.
Can I run any of these on my own hardware?
No open weights. Both are available only through APIs and apps.
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