Side-by-side comparison · Image, Logo & Design
FLUX vs Ideogram 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.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Developers, designers and hands-on marketers who want precise, cheap image generation and editing without a subscription.
Pick it if: Marketers and small business owners who need graphics with words on them, fast.
Pick it if: Marketers, store owners and creators who need realistic images and edits that stay true to the original person or product.
Overview
| Attribute | FLUX | Ideogram | Nano Banana |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Black Forest Labs' image models: pay per image in the browser or run them free yourself. | Generates images that spell words correctly, so posters and ads come out readable. | Google's image model. Describe an edit and it keeps faces and products looking the same. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | From $0.041 per image | $20/mo | $19.99/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | FLUX | Ideogram | Nano Banana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.6Winner |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | FLUX | Ideogram | Nano Banana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | No | Yes |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | No | No | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | No |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | No | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | Yes | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes video | Yes | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | No | No |
| Learns your brand or style | No | Yes | No |
| Works in many languages | Yes | No | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 10/ 17 | 8/ 17 | 9/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | FLUX | Ideogram | Nano Banana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Open weights Free Developers and hobbyists with a decent graphics card. | Free Free Seeing whether it suits you. | Free (Gemini app and AI Studio) Free Trying it and occasional images. |
Playground and APIOur pick From $0.041 per image Anyone who wants the best FLUX models without a subscription. | PlusOur pick $20/mo, or $15/mo billed yearly Most marketers and small businesses. | Google AI ProOur pick $19.99/mo Marketers and creators making images every week. | |
Self-hosting licence Custom Companies running FLUX on their own servers. | Pro $60/mo, or $42/mo billed yearly Agencies and heavy ad testing. | Google AI Ultra From $99.99/mo Heavy daily image and video makers. | |
Team $30/user/mo, or $20/user/mo billed yearly Small teams sharing one bill. | Gemini API From $0.034 per image Developers and automated workflows. | ||
Enterprise Custom Larger organisations. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Top up $10 to $20 of Playground credits and you will get a couple of hundred standard images. If you already pay for Krea, Magnific or Leonardo, try FLUX there first. Only look at open weights or a self-hosting licence if you have a developer and a reason to run it yourself. | Treat Free as a demo, not a plan, because everything you make is public. Plus covers a normal week of social and ad graphics. Only step up to Pro if you are testing many ad variations a day. | 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
| Attribute | FLUX | Ideogram | Nano Banana |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | FLUX | Ideogram | Nano Banana |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | FLUX | Ideogram | Nano Banana |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, FLUX, Ideogram or Nano Banana?
Nano Banana scores highest overall in our ratings (FLUX 4.0/5, Ideogram 4.1/5 and Nano Banana 4.6/5). FLUX is best for precise layouts with elements placed where you want and editing one part of a photo and keeping the rest. Ideogram is best for posters and ad creatives and quote and announcement graphics. Nano Banana is best for editing photos by describing the change and product shots and lifestyle scenes.
Which is cheaper, FLUX, Ideogram or Nano Banana?
FLUX: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at From $0.041 per image. Ideogram: 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.
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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