Qwen-Image 2.1 vs Nano Banana 2.1
Preferred for text to image: Nano Banana 2.1 · Preferred for image editing: Nano Banana 2.1 · Newest: Nano Banana 2.1. Quality scores are blind human-preference votes; specs and prices come from each lab’s listings.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen-Image 2.1
- Arena1,362
- From—
- Max size—
GoogleNano Banana 2.1
- Arena1,427
- From$0.034/image
- Max size4K
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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 2.1Qwen-Image 2.1 1,225 (#19) · Nano Banana 2.1 1,325 (#5) — blind human votes
- Preferred for image editingNano Banana 2.1Qwen-Image 2.1 1,362 (#20) · Nano Banana 2.1 1,427 (#7) — blind human votes
- NewestNano Banana 2.1Qwen-Image 2.1 Sep 14, 2026 · Nano Banana 2.1 Oct 6, 2026
- Widest inputsNano Banana 2.1Qwen-Image 2.1: Text prompts, Reference images · Nano Banana 2.1: Text prompts, Reference images, Video
- Image editingBoth edit imagesTakes a reference image as input: Qwen-Image 2.1 yes · Nano Banana 2.1 yes
- Self-hostingQwen-Image 2.1Downloadable weights (qwen-research)
- Most API hostsNano Banana 2.1Qwen-Image 2.1: 1 · Nano Banana 2.1: 5
Every spec in one table
Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Qwen-Image 2.1Alibaba (Qwen) | Nano Banana 2.1Google |
|---|---|---|
| Quality (blind human votes) | ||
| Text to image arenaElo-style score · higher is better | 1,225 ±6#19 of 82 · 19,604 votes | 1,325 ±9#5 of 82 · 5,290 votes (best) |
| Image editing arenaElo-style score · higher is better | 1,362 ±6#20 of 61 · 39,412 votes | 1,427 ±6#7 of 61 · 12,956 votes (best) |
| Price | ||
| Starting price | — | $0.034/image 1K |
| Top price | — | $0.113/image 4K |
| How it is billed | — | Billed per token; Google’s listed cost per image. |
| Output | ||
| Produces | Images | Images |
| Resolutions | — | 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 | Yes |
| Max reference images | — | 14 |
| Access | ||
| Weights | Openqwen-research | Proprietary |
| API hosts | 1 | 5 (best) |
| Released | Sep 14, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Which should you choose?
Which is better, Qwen-Image 2.1 or Nano Banana 2.1?
For text to image, voters prefer Nano Banana 2.1 (Qwen-Image 2.1 1,225 (#19) · Nano Banana 2.1 1,325 (#5)). For image editing, voters prefer Nano Banana 2.1 (Qwen-Image 2.1 1,362 (#20) · Nano Banana 2.1 1,427 (#7)). 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 2.1 costs from $0.034/image (1K), up to $0.113/image (4K). Qwen-Image 2.1 has no published per-image price. Prices are list rates and change often; check the lab before budgeting.
What is the difference between Qwen-Image 2.1 and Nano Banana 2.1?
Qwen-Image 2.1 is an image model from Alibaba (Qwen) (Sep 14, 2026), taking text prompts and reference images and producing images. Nano Banana 2.1 is an image model from Google (Oct 6, 2026), taking text prompts, reference images and video and producing images.
Which is newer?
Qwen-Image 2.1 Sep 14, 2026; Nano Banana 2.1 Oct 6, 2026.
Which can edit an existing image?
Takes a reference image as input: Qwen-Image 2.1 yes; Nano Banana 2.1 yes.
Can I run any of these on my own hardware?
Qwen-Image 2.1. Downloadable weights (qwen-research).
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