Nano Banana
by Google DeepMind
The original Gemini image model. Cheap, quick, good enough to explore with.
What it is
Nano Banana is the model that made this family famous, and it is still the cheapest way in the studio to find out whether an idea is worth pursuing. Google describes the family as "state-of-the-art image generation and editing models, built on Gemini", with the same real-world reasoning behind them.
It is not the one you finish on. It is the one you use for the first forty attempts, when you are still working out the composition, the mood and the framing , and where paying full price per attempt would make you stop exploring too early.
Once you know what you want, move the same prompt to Nano Banana 2 or Pro and run it once properly.
What it is good at
Exploration is a volume game. This is the model that lets you run the volume without watching the meter.
It reads a prompt the way the rest of the Gemini image family does, so what you learn here transfers straight to the Pro tier.
Google's framing: images that follow real-world logic thanks to Gemini's reasoning. Naming real things does real work.
Where it struggles
- It is the oldest of the three. Fine detail, small text and complex scenes are where you will feel it.
- No resolution setting , what you get is what it makes. For 2K or 4K, that is Nano Banana 2 or Pro.
- Not the one for final delivery. Use it to find the shot, then re-run the winner on a stronger model.
How to prompt it
Keep it simple and iterate. Because a run costs so little, you learn more from ten quick attempts that change one thing each than from one long prompt you agonise over. Get the composition right here, then take the winning prompt somewhere stronger.
An example that shows what that means
A single ripe fig split open on a dark slate board, shallow depth of field, soft window light from the right, a scatter of coarse salt beside it, muted natural colour.
What we offer here
Straight from the catalogue, so this list never goes stale. The price is the provider’s published rate with our markup on top, and it is on the button before you run anything.
Questions
Why use this instead of Nano Banana 2?
Price, while you are still exploring. Once you know the shot you want, run it on a stronger model. The cost of both is on the button, so the trade is always visible.
Can it edit images?
The family is built for generation and editing, but for edits that have to be precise, Nano Banana 2 or Pro will hold up better.
What resolution does it produce?
It has no resolution setting here, because the provider does not expose one. If you need 2K or 4K, use Nano Banana 2 or Pro.