Nano Banana 2 vs GPT Image 2 vs Seedream 5: Text and Edits

The three models at a glance

Every model below is available on every Aura AI plan, with flat credit costs and no aspect ratio multiplier. Upstream limits are the model makers' figures.

Full variant lists and pricing tables are on the Nano Banana Pro and 2 page, the GPT Image 2 page, the GPT Image 2.5 page and the Seedream 5.0 page.

Best for text in images

Text used to be the deciding factor. Head-to-head tests published in 2026 report that all three render a short label such as a product name or a volume line correctly, so for one headline any of them will do. The gap opens with density and scripts.

GPT Image 2 reasons about the layout before rendering a pixel and covers paragraphs, small lettering and non-Latin scripts including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi and Bengali. Reviewers still route to it first when a brief contains burned-in copy: price callouts, feature claims, CTA buttons, UI overlays. Seedream has had clean Chinese and English typography since 4.0, and ByteDance says the 5.0 line handles long strings, infographic labels and multilingual layouts more reliably. Nano Banana 2 renders legible multilingual text and adds a trick the others lack: it can translate the text inside an existing image while keeping the layout.

Best for editing your own photos

Seedream was rebuilt around editing. Seedream 4.5 unified generation and editing in one model, keeps subject details, lighting and color tone intact through a change, and accepts up to 14 reference images upstream, at 2 credits per edit on Aura AI, the lowest of the three. Seedream 5.0 Lite (3 credits) adds the reasoning step and 5.0 Pro (4 credits) is the pick for product and packaging work; reviewers describe its precision edits as a finishing step rather than a brainstorm step.

GPT Image 2 Edit processes every input at high fidelity by default, with no toggle to remember, so a face, a logo or a label stays exactly as it was while the rest of the scene changes; it costs 4 credits. Nano Banana Edit (2 credits) and Nano Banana 2 Edit (3 credits) are the identity-preserving option: hand over a person or a product and get a new scene with the same face and the same packaging. All of them run in the same AI image editor, so you can try a background swap on each and keep the cleanest one.

Best for consistency and references

Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro keep up to 14 reference objects and up to five people consistent across a series of images upstream, and both can ground a prompt in web search so a landmark or a dish looks like the real thing. Seedream 4.5 Edit matches the 14-image reference limit and Seedream 5.0 adds search grounding of its own. GPT Image 2 accepts multiple input images, and GPT Image 2.5 keeps details consistent across a chain of edits, but its edit mode on Aura AI takes one input image per request.

For a character sheet, a mascot, a comic or a product catalog, start on Nano Banana 2. For a set of variations of one product shot, Seedream 4.5 at 2 credits is the economical route. For a sequence of edits on one image where nothing you did not touch may move, GPT Image 2.5 is built for that.

Speed and credits

On Aura AI, Nano Banana 2 costs 3 credits per image, GPT Image 2 costs 4, Seedream 5.0 costs 3 and Seedream 5.0 Pro 4. Edits run from 2 credits (Nano Banana Edit, Seedream 4.5) to 4 (GPT Image 2 Edit, Seedream 5.0 Pro). Every cost is flat, only successful generations are charged, and the same credits work across 40+ image and video models.

Speed is where the three diverge most. Published API tests report Nano Banana 2 returning in roughly 2 to 5 seconds, GPT Image 2 in about 8 seconds at 1024 x 1024, and Seedream 5.0 Pro taking well over a minute at 1K. If you iterate ten times before a final, Nano Banana 2 is the model that keeps up. If you generate once and ship, a slower Seedream Pro or GPT Image 2 render costs you nothing but patience.

Where GPT Image 2.5 fits

OpenAI released GPT Image 2.5 on September 8, 2026 and split the line in two. Flare is the small model optimized for speed, with quality OpenAI rates as comparable to GPT Image 2 and about 50 percent lower latency. Sunburst is the base model optimized for quality, above GPT Image 2, with longer generation times. Both bring improved fidelity, better subject preservation in edits, consistent details across a chain of edits and comment-based edits that change only the part you point at. At launch, Arena.ai reported Sunburst first and Flare second on its text-to-image and image-edit leaderboards, on preliminary scores.

On Aura AI both cost 4 credits per image and 4 per edit, with size presets, several images per request and one input image per edit. The practical reading for this comparison: Flare closes most of the speed gap to Nano Banana 2 while keeping GPT Image's text strengths, and Sunburst is the new ceiling for a final render. Start on Flare to explore a brief, then rerun the keeper on Sunburst.

How to do it in Aura AI

All five models sit in the same selector, so switching between them is one click.

1. Open Text to Image for a new image, or the Image Editor for a photo of your own.
   Sign in with your Aura AI account; every model here is on every plan.
2. Pick the model for the job.
   Nano Banana 2 for speed and consistency, GPT Image 2 or 2.5 for dense text, Seedream 4.5 or 5.0 Pro for edits. Choose an aspect ratio or size preset; the credit cost is shown before you generate.
3. Write the brief like a designer.
   Subject, layout, lighting, camera, and every line of text in quotation marks. For an edit, describe only what should change and list what must stay.
4. Generate, compare and download without watermark.
   Every result is saved to your history and can go straight into Image to Video to become a clip.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related

• Nano Banana Pro and Nano Banana 2 model page
• GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Sunburst model page
• Seedream 5.0 model page: generation and editing variants
• AI image editor: edit photos with any of these models
• GPT Image 2: how to use OpenAI's image generator and editor
• Meta Muse Image: AI images with pixel-exact text