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Side-by-side comparison ยท Image, Logo & Design

Adobe Photoshop vs Claude Design vs Nano Banana

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Adobe Photoshop

4.0

From $19.99/mo

Claude Design

4.1

From $20/mo

Best overall

Nano Banana

4.6

From $19.99/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Pick it if: Designers, photographers and marketing teams who need full control over images, not just quick fixes.

Pick it if: Founders, marketers and product people who need presentable decks and mockups without a designer on call.

Best overallEasiest to use

Pick it if: Marketers, store owners and creators who need realistic images and edits that stay true to the original person or product.

Overview

AttributeAdobe PhotoshopClaude DesignNano Banana
In one lineThe standard photo editor, with Generative Fill to add or remove things by typing.Describe a deck, one-pager or prototype and get a polished, on-brand version.Google's image model. Describe an edit and faces and products stay the same.
Pricing modelPaidPaidFreemium
Starting price$19.99/mo$20/mo$19.99/mo
Free plan No Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeAdobe PhotoshopClaude DesignNano Banana
Overall rating4.04.14.6Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
3.0
4.0
4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
5.0
4.0
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.5
4.5
5.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
3.5
4.5
4.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
3.5
4.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeAdobe PhotoshopClaude DesignNano Banana
Access & platform
Free plan No Yes Yes
Mobile app Yes No Yes
Desktop app Yes No No
Browser extensionโ€“ No No
API access Yes No Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes No
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes Yes
Understands images Yes Yes Yes
Makes images Yes Yes Yes
Makes video No No No
Writes code No Yes No
Runs agents or automationsโ€“ No No
Learns your brand or styleโ€“ Yes No
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score10/ 1710/ 179/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeAdobe PhotoshopClaude DesignNano Banana
Plans

PhotographyOur pick

$19.99/mo, annual plan

Small businesses and photographers who edit photos regularly.

Free

Free

Trying a deck or two.

Free (Gemini app and AI Studio)

Free

Trying it and occasional images.

Photoshop

$22.99/mo, annual plan billed monthly

People who only need Photoshop.

ProOur pick

$20/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly

Anyone making decks or mockups most weeks.

Google AI ProOur pick

$19.99/mo

Marketers and creators making images every week.

Creative Cloud Pro

$69.99/mo, annual plan billed monthly

Designers who use several Adobe apps.

Max

From $100/mo

Heavy users who also live in Claude Code.

Google AI Ultra

From $99.99/mo

Heavy daily image and video makers.

Photoshop for teams

$37.99/licence/mo

Businesses managing licences centrally.

Team

From $20/seat/mo billed yearly

Businesses that want shared brand context and central billing.

Gemini API

From $0.034 per image

Developers and automated workflows.

Enterprise

From $20/seat/mo billed yearly, plus usage

Larger organisations needing SSO and audit controls.

Which plan to pickMost small businesses should take the Photography plan: it's cheaper than Photoshop alone and adds Lightroom, more storage and more generative credits. Pick Creative Cloud Pro only if you also need Illustrator, Premiere or InDesign. Watch for introductory discounts that jump at renewal.If you already pay for Claude Pro, you have it. If not, try Design on the Free plan and move to Pro when the daily limits get in the way, which happens quickly once you're iterating on a deck. Team makes sense when several people need the same brand setup.Start free in the Gemini app to see if it suits your work. If you make images most weeks, Google AI Pro is the one to buy because it unlocks Nano Banana Pro and comes with Gemini, video credits and storage. Developers should use Nano Banana 2 on the API and save Pro for hero images.

Key features

AttributeAdobe PhotoshopClaude DesignNano Banana
Standout features
  • Generative Fill
  • Generative Expand
  • One-click selections and removal
  • Choice of AI models
  • Layers and full editing
  • Desktop, web and mobile
  • Brief it like a designer
  • Brand matching
  • Decks, pages and prototypes
  • Export where you need it
  • Hand off to Claude Code
  • Shared with your Claude plan
  • Edit by describing
  • Consistent characters
  • Blend reference images
  • Sharp text and 4K
  • Grounded in Google Search
  • Gemini API

Pros and cons

AttributeAdobe PhotoshopClaude DesignNano Banana
Pros
  • The most complete photo editing toolset available
  • AI results land on layers you can keep editing
  • Works on desktop, web and mobile with one subscription
  • Photography plan bundles Lightroom and storage at a fair price
  • Matches your brand far better than other generators
  • No extra subscription if you already use Claude
  • Handles decks, pages and prototypes in one place
  • Clean hand-off to Claude Code for building
  • You refine by talking, which non-designers find natural
  • The best at editing a photo while keeping the person or product identical
  • Free to try in the Gemini app
  • Pro renders accurate text and up to 4K
  • Cheap, fast API with a half-price batch mode
  • Built into Canva, Photoshop and Higgsfield as well as Google's apps
Cons
  • Steep learning curve for non-designers
  • No free plan, and Adobe's cancellation fees on annual plans draw complaints
  • Only 25 premium generative credits a month on the single-app plan; retries burn them
  • Users report vague errors and fills that got worse after some updates
  • Still new, so layouts occasionally need manual fixing
  • Slower to generate than Gamma
  • Uses up your Claude usage limits, which bite on Free and Pro
  • No standalone API for automated deck generation
  • Less artistic flair than Midjourney
  • Free images carry a visible watermark, and every image has an invisible SynthID mark
  • Model names and plan limits change often
  • Safety filters can block harmless requests involving people

Who each one is for

AttributeAdobe PhotoshopClaude DesignNano Banana
Best for
  • Retouching product and brand photos
  • Removing or replacing objects
  • Extending images to new sizes
  • Layered files for print and ads
  • Pitch and client decks
  • Landing page and app prototypes
  • One-pagers and proposals
  • On-brand marketing visuals
  • Editing photos by describing the change
  • Product shots and lifestyle scenes
  • Consistent characters across images
  • Posters and graphics with readable text
You'll find it used by
  • Graphic designers
  • Photographers
  • E-commerce teams
  • Agencies
  • Marketing teams
  • Founders
  • Marketers
  • Product teams
  • Agencies
  • Marketers
  • Ecommerce store owners
  • Content creators
  • Designers
  • Developers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Adobe Photoshop, Claude Design or Nano Banana?

Nano Banana scores highest overall in our ratings (Adobe Photoshop 4.0/5, Claude Design 4.1/5 and Nano Banana 4.6/5). Adobe Photoshop is best for retouching product and brand photos and removing or replacing objects. Claude Design is best for pitch and client decks and landing page and app prototypes. Nano Banana is best for editing photos by describing the change and product shots and lifestyle scenes.

Which is cheaper, Adobe Photoshop, Claude Design or Nano Banana?

Adobe Photoshop: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $19.99/mo. Claude Design: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo. Nano Banana: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $19.99/mo.

Which is easier to use, Adobe Photoshop, Claude Design or Nano Banana?

Nano Banana rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Marketers, store owners and creators who need realistic images and edits that stay true to the original person or product.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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