vs
OpenAI's text-perfect default against Google's photoreal compositor.
GPT Image 2.5 Flare
Nano Banana ProGPT Image 2.5 Flare: every plan. Nano Banana Pro: hobby and up. One plan, one pool of credits.
The short answer
GPT Image 2.5 Flare is the better default: it renders text best, edits locally across many turns, runs on every APImage plan including free and through the API, and costs 3 to 14 credits for an HD image against Nano Banana Pro's 25 to 50. Nano Banana Pro earns its price on photoreal composites built from up to eight reference images, twice Flare's four, and on prompts grounded in a live web search. Both run on one plan, so the usual split is Flare for anything with words in it and Nano Banana Pro for the photoreal composite.
| Spec | GPT Image 2.5 Flare | Nano Banana Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | |
| Text in the image | Best in class | Legible |
| Reference images | Up to 4 | Up to 8 |
| Resolution | HD, Full HD, 4K on Plus and up | 1K, 2K, 4K |
| Web grounding | No | Optional web search |
| Editing | Localized, across many turns | Precise instruction edits |
| Transparent PNG | Yes, on Plus and up | No |
| Price per image | 3 to 14 credits at HD | 25 to 50 credits |
| Plans | Every plan, including free | Hobby and up |
| API and MCP | Yes | Studio only |
Prices in APImage credits, quoted from the app on 23 Oct 2026. A tick marks the edge; rows without one simply differ.
GPT Image 2.5 Flare2:2Nano Banana Pro
Text
GPT Image 2.5 FlareFlare inherits GPT Image 2's text rendering, the strongest available, including non-Latin scripts.
Multi-image composites
Nano Banana ProNano Banana Pro takes eight reference images to Flare's four, and it is built for photoreal results.
Price
GPT Image 2.5 FlareFlare costs 3 credits at HD and 9 at 4K. Nano Banana Pro costs 25 at 1K or 2K and 50 at 4K.
Real-world subjects
Nano Banana ProNano Banana Pro can search the web before drawing a real place, product or event.
OpenAI
Pick GPT Image 2.5 Flare if
- There are words in the frame.
- The image will go through rounds of edits.
- You need a transparent PNG.
- You are on the free plan or working through the API.
Pick Nano Banana Pro if
- You are compositing more than four reference images.
- The subject is a real, current thing and should be looked up.
- Photorealism is the whole brief.
Run both.
GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Nano Banana Pro sit in the same APImage studio and draw on the same credits. Switching between them is a dropdown, not a second subscription.
- 1
Compose the photoreal scene on Nano Banana Pro from your reference set.
- 2
Bring it into GPT Image 2.5 Flare to add the headline and packaging text, and to make the final local edits.
- 3
Both bill from the same credits in the same image studio.
Is GPT Image 2.5 Flare better than Nano Banana Pro?
For text, multi-turn editing and price, yes. Nano Banana Pro is better for photoreal composites from up to eight references and for prompts grounded in a web search.
Which is cheaper?
GPT Image 2.5 Flare, at 3 to 14 credits for an HD image. Nano Banana Pro costs 25 credits at 1K or 2K and 50 at 4K.
Which renders text better?
GPT Image 2.5 Flare. It inherits GPT Image 2's text rendering, the strongest available, including non-Latin scripts.
Can I use both on the free plan?
Flare is on every plan, including free. Nano Banana Pro starts on Hobby.
