Nano Banana 2.1: Better Than 2, at Half the Credits

Google's successor to Nano Banana 2. It follows the brief more closely, keeps characters consistent across edits, and renders short text more cleanly — with the same fifteen ratios, 20,000-character briefs, and 1K to 4K output, from 7 credits an image.

Google's successor to Nano Banana 2: sharper prompt adherence, text and character consistency, the same 15 ratios and 20,000-character briefs, 1K-4K as PNG or JPG.

0/20000

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Sample image generated in the image workspaceSample — Nano Banana 2

Your image appears here

Hit Generate and the result shows up here as soon as it is ready, with a download link.

The Nano Banana 2 Successor, at Half the Credits

Nano Banana 2.1 is the model Google now recommends in place of Nano Banana 2. The request is the same — fifteen aspect ratios, briefs up to 20,000 characters, output at 1K, 2K, or 4K as PNG or JPG, and text to image and image to image on one model — but the image that comes back follows the brief more closely, holds a character steady across edits, and handles short rendered text and multi-reference prompts better than 2 did.

It also costs less. A 1K image is 7 credits, a 2K image 10, and a 4K image 15 — half of what the same render costs on Nano Banana 2. So the usual trade-off between the better model and the cheaper one does not apply here: 2.1 is both.

What Changed From Nano Banana 2

Nothing about the controls moved, so a brief written for Nano Banana 2 runs unchanged on 2.1. The differences are in what the model does with it:

Closer to the brief

Prompt adherence is tighter: counts, positions, and the relationships between objects come back the way they were described more often, which matters most on long, layout-style briefs.

Characters that hold

Faces, builds, and outfits stay consistent across follow-up edits, so a character survives being moved, re-lit, or re-dressed over several passes.

Cleaner short text

Headlines, labels, and signage render more legibly than on Nano Banana 2. For long passages or non-Latin scripts, Nano Banana Pro is still the safer choice.

Better with several references

When you attach more than one image, 2.1 is better at taking the right thing from each — the product from one, the setting from another — without blending them together.

Nano Banana 2.1 vs Nano Banana 2

Nano Banana 2.1Nano Banana 2
Credits at 1K / 2K / 4K7 / 10 / 1514 / 20 / 30
Aspect ratios15, incl. 8:1 and 1:815, incl. 8:1 and 1:8
Prompt length20,000 characters20,000 characters
Output formatsJPG or PNGJPG or PNG
References in Image to ImageUp to 4Up to 4
Prompt adherence and consistencyImprovedBaseline

Credits are per image. The fifteen ratios are Auto, 1:1, 2:3, 3:2, 3:4, 4:3, 4:5, 5:4, 9:16, 16:9, 21:9, plus the 1:4, 4:1, 1:8, and 8:1 banner and column shapes, and every one renders at every resolution.

Edit It Without Losing It

The gain you will feel most is in follow-up edits. Because 2.1 keeps a character’s face, build, and clothing consistent from one pass to the next, you can generate a scene and then keep refining it instead of starting over each time it drifts:

1

Write the scene and generate

Start in Text to Image with the ratio the final piece needs. The brief can run to 20,000 characters, so describe the layout properly — what sits where, how it is lit, what the frame is doing at each edge.

2

Send the result back in

Download it, switch to Image to Image, and upload it. Describe only what should change. The subject and the render style the first pass established stay put.

3

Settle it at 1K, then raise the size

Iterate at 1K, where each pass is 7 credits, and only re-run the winning brief at 2K or 4K once the composition is right.

In Image to Image you can attach up to four references at once. The first sets the composition; the rest are things you can point at in the prompt by position — “the jacket from image 2”.

When to Use Another Model

Nano Banana 2.1 is the default pick for most images in this workspace, but two jobs still belong elsewhere. If the image has to carry long passages of exact text — a full menu, a poster with body copy, anything in a non-Latin script — use Nano Banana Pro. If you need a transparent background, use GPT Image 2.5, the only model here with an alpha channel. Nano Banana 2.1 also sits in the Model dropdown on the AI Image Generator and Image to Image pages, alongside Nano Banana 2.

FAQ

What is Nano Banana 2.1?+
It is Google's newest standard Nano Banana image model and its recommended replacement for Nano Banana 2, available here through kie.ai. It runs text to image and image to image on the same model, outputs up to 4K as PNG or JPG, and supports fifteen aspect ratios including 8:1 and 1:8.
How is it different from Nano Banana 2?+
The controls are identical, so any Nano Banana 2 brief works unchanged. The output is better — closer prompt adherence, steadier characters across edits, cleaner short text, and better handling of several reference images — and each image costs half the credits.
How many credits does an image cost?+
7 credits at 1K, 10 at 2K, and 15 at 4K, per image. The aspect ratio and output format do not change the price.
What aspect ratios does it support?+
Fifteen: Auto, 1:1, 2:3, 3:2, 3:4, 4:3, 4:5, 5:4, 9:16, 16:9, 21:9, plus 1:4, 4:1, 1:8, and 8:1. Every ratio renders at 1K, 2K, and 4K.
How long a prompt can I write?+
Up to 20,000 characters, the same as Nano Banana 2 and the largest prompt budget in this workspace. Describe a full layout rather than compressing it into keywords.
Can it edit an image I upload?+
Yes. Choose Image to Image, upload up to four images, and describe the change. The first image sets the composition and the others act as references you can name by position in the prompt.
Can it render text in the image?+
Short text — a headline, a label, a sign — comes out noticeably cleaner than on Nano Banana 2. For long passages or non-Latin scripts that must be exact, Nano Banana Pro remains the better choice.
Can it produce a transparent PNG?+
No. There is no background control, so the background is always filled even when you choose PNG. For a cut-out with an alpha channel, use GPT Image 2.5 with Background set to Transparent.
Can I use the images commercially?+
Yes. Commercial use is included on every plan, the same as for every other model in the workspace.

Same Brief, Better Image, Fewer Credits

Paste a brief you already use on Nano Banana 2, pick the shape and size, and compare. Most of the time there is no reason to go back.

View Pricing and Credits