GPT Image 2 vs Nano Banana 2

GPT Image 2 vs Nano Banana 2 comes down to how you want to pay for an image. Nano Banana 2 has one price per resolution: $0.0402 at 1K, $0.0606 at 2K and $0.0906 at 4K here, 40% under Google's list. GPT Image 2 is priced by quality as well as size: a 1K image is $0.024 at low, $0.053 at medium and $0.211 at high.

Pick Nano Banana 2 for a fixed cost per image, 4K at $0.0906 and search grounding. Pick GPT Image 2 to draft at low and render the final at high on the same model. Both run on one key, so you can send the same prompt to each and keep whichever image wins.

Edits cost the same as generating on both: nano-banana-2-edit and gpt-image-2-edit carry the same tiers as the models they edit. Every tier of each model is on its page: Nano Banana 2, GPT Image 2.

Three common jobs, worked at our live price per image. The Nano Banana 2 column has one number per job; GPT Image 2 has three, because the quality setting changes the bill.

The 1,000 product shots on Nano Banana 2 cost $60.60 here and $101.00 at Google's list price for the same 2K images.

Most new side-by-side tests now pit GPT Image 2.5 against Nano Banana 2.1. Both are on the same key as their predecessors, with Nano Banana Pro as Google's other option.

• Nano Banana 2.1 is $0.025 at 1K here against $0.0402 for Nano Banana 2, 25% under Google's list. It adds an auto aspect ratio.
• GPT Image 2.5 Flare goes past high to xhigh ($0.314 at 1K) and max ($0.7067), and takes background (transparent PNG or WebP), output_format and a mask_url for inpainting. GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst costs the same at every tier.

OpenAI charges the same $30 per million image output tokens for GPT Image 2 and both 2.5 models, and its guide says the 2.5 models can use different token counts for the same quality setting (image generation guide, read 2026-10-19).

OpenAI's guide recommends 1024x1024, 1536x1024 and 1024x1536 for its GPT Image models and accepts custom sizes in multiples of 16, up to 3840 pixels on the long edge, with anything above 2560x1440 marked experimental. Nano Banana 2 takes 10 fixed aspect ratios: 1:1, 2:3, 3:2, 3:4, 4:3, 4:5, 5:4, 9:16, 16:9, 21:9.

• You want to spend little on drafts and more on finals. Low is $0.024 and high $0.211 at 1K, on one model and one prompt.
• You need a custom canvas. size takes any width and height inside OpenAI's limits, not a fixed list of ratios.
• Your code already calls OpenAI's images API. GPT Image 2 is OpenAI's own model, so the request is the one you send today with a new base URL.
• You need transparency or masked edits: step up to GPT Image 2.5 Flare on the same key.

• You budget per image. One price per resolution means a batch costs exactly count times price, whatever the prompt.
• You want 4K. $0.0906 a 4K image, against $0.401 for GPT Image 2 at high.
• The subject is current: real products, places or events. google_search: true lets the model look things up before it draws.
• You want a fixed frame for social and ads. Its 10 aspect ratios include 4:5, 9:16 and 21:9.

Both models answer POST /v1/images/generations the way OpenAI does, so the OpenAI SDK works as it is. The loop below sends one prompt to each; the call waits for the image, usually 10 to 40 seconds.

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(base_url="https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1", api_key="sk-uplink-live-...")
prompt = "A glass bottle of cold brew on a concrete counter, label reads NORTHSIDE"

for model in ["gpt-image-2", "nano-banana-2"]:
    result = client.images.generate(
        model=model,
        prompt=prompt,
        size="1024x1024",
    )
    print(model, result.data[0].url)

Set GPT Image 2's quality per call. Leave it out and you get low.

result = client.images.generate(
    model="gpt-image-2",
    prompt=prompt,
    size="1024x1536",
    quality="high",  # low, medium or high; low is the default
)

Edits go to the generations endpoint with the source images in image_urls. The request returns at once with the price set; poll until it succeeds.

curl https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1/generations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $UPLINK_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "nano-banana-2-edit",
    "input": {
      "prompt": "Same bottle, now on a marble counter with morning light",
      "image_urls": ["https://example.com/bottle.png"],
      "resolution": "2K"
    }
  }'

# then poll until "status" is "succeeded":
curl https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1/generations/gen_... -H "Authorization: Bearer $UPLINK_API_KEY"

The media guide covers both endpoints, and Nano Banana pricing lists every Nano Banana model per resolution.

The price is fixed when the request is accepted and charged from prepaid credit; there is no subscription. A generation that fails is refunded in full, automatically. Finished images are served from api.uplinkswitch.com for 30 days, so download what you keep. Every image model on the key, with its price per setting, is on the text-to-image list.

Is Nano Banana better than GPT Image 2?

On price at high resolution, Nano Banana 2 costs less: $0.0906 for a 4K image against $0.401 for GPT Image 2 at high quality. At 1K and low quality GPT Image 2 is $0.024. For output, send the same prompt to both: one key calls both models, so a 1K test of the pair costs $0.0642.

Is Nano Banana 2 better than Nano Banana Pro?

Nano Banana 2 costs less at every resolution: $0.0402 at 1K against $0.0804 for Pro, and $0.0906 at 4K against $0.144. Nano Banana 2 also takes google_search here; Pro does not. Pro charges the same for 1K and 2K.

Is GPT Image 2 the best OpenAI image model?

It is not OpenAI's newest. GPT Image 2.5 comes in Flare and Sunburst, adds xhigh and max quality, and on our key Flare takes a transparent background and a mask. OpenAI prices GPT Image 2 and both 2.5 models at the same $30 per million image output tokens.

What is the price difference between GPT Image 2 and Nano Banana Pro?

At 1K, GPT Image 2 is $0.024 (low), $0.053 (medium) or $0.211 (high); Nano Banana Pro is $0.0804. At 4K the order holds: GPT Image 2 high $0.401, Nano Banana Pro $0.144.

Can I use GPT Image 2 and Nano Banana with one API key?

Yes. Both answer the OpenAI images API at the same base URL, so the model id is the only change. Edits for both go through POST /v1/generations with the -edit model id.

What happens if an image fails?

The charge is refunded in full, automatically. You pay only for images you receive, and finished files stay on api.uplinkswitch.com for 30 days.