FLUX by Black Forest Labs vs Nano Banana (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Nano Banana grades higher than FLUX by Black Forest Labs: 3.0 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Nano Banana grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
FLUX by Black Forest Labs
FLUX image and video models, paid per use via API and playground
Nano Banana
Google's image creation and editing model inside the Gemini app
Which one is for you
Pick FLUX by Black Forest Labs if
- Fits if you make the odd image and would rather pay per picture than monthly
- Works for developers building image or video generation into their own product
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want an app with styles, projects and a gallery, not a playground
- Not for you if you need a known monthly bill, since you pay per image and $0.17 a second for HD video
- Pricey if you make hundreds of FLUX 3 images a month, as every one is charged
- Watch out: FLUX.2 [klein] 9B, FLUX.2 [dev] and FLUX.1 [dev] weights are non-commercial, and license prices aren't published
- Skip it if you want a phone app, integrations or a student discount, as the listing shows none
Pick Nano Banana if
- Fits if you already use Gemini and want to edit photos by describing the change
- Works for casual image making on a free plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want the newest model on the free plan, as Nano Banana 2.1 needs a paid Google AI plan
- Watch out: generated images carry a visible watermark as well as an invisible one
- Tight if you make many images: limits are stated as multiples of the free plan, not image counts
- Not for you if you want a standalone app, since it lives inside Gemini
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFLUX by Black Forest LabsFair | 3.0GPANano BananaVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo subscription, so no monthly plan to set against this category. You prepay credits at $0.01 each: a FLUX 3 image costs $0.048 and a Klein one $0.009, so $10 makes about 200 FLUX 3 images. Light use beats any plan here, heavy use won't. | AGoogle AI Plus is $4.99 a month, under 60% of the category's cheaper quarter of $8.33. Pro is $19.99 and Ultra $99.99. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe FLUX.2 [klein] 4B weights are free under Apache 2.0, commercial use included, but only if you can run them on your own hardware. The hosted playground and API have no free credits on record. | BA free Gemini plan includes Nano Banana 2 for generating and editing, at lower limits. Limits are stated only as multiples of it. |
| Features | CFLUX 3 makes images with accurate text and clips up to 20 seconds with sound, and FLUX Tools erase, outpaint and deblur. For a person, though, the listing shows a playground over an API, with no styles, projects or gallery around it. | CText-to-image, editing by instruction, combining and restyling, text in images and resizing. The newest model needs a paid plan. |
| Ease of use | CNo app rating on record. The playground needs no code, but you're buying credits, picking models and resolutions and paying per image, which is a developer's way of working. | BNo rating figure here, but it lives inside Gemini, an account most people already have, so there is nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA web playground and an API, plus open weights to run on your own machine. No phone app and no integrations in the listing. | BWeb, iPhone and Android through Gemini, with Google Flow and Search. No desktop app. |
| Best for | pay-per-image FLUX models and open weights | Google image generation and editing in Gemini |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: FLUX by Black Forest Labs and Nano Banana. How we grade
Where they differ
- FLUX by Black Forest Labs is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- FLUX by Black Forest Labs also covers video generation.
- Nano Banana also covers chat assistant.
At a glance
| FLUX by Black Forest Labs | Nano Banana | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $4.99 per month (Google AI Plus) |
| Free plan | The FLUX.2 [klein] 4B weights are free to download and run yourself under Apache 2.0, commercial use included. The hosted playground and API need bought credits. | Free Gemini plan with Nano Banana 2 image generation and editing, at lower usage limits than the paid plans. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Black Forest Labs | |
| Price read from | bfl.ai | gemini.google |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
FLUX by Black Forest Labs
- Hosted use is pay as you go: FLUX 3 Image costs $0.048 per 1K image, Klein $0.009, and FLUX 3 video $0.17 a second at HD.
- There is no subscription for the playground or API, and no published monthly price for any self-hosting license.
- FLUX.2 [klein] 9B, FLUX.2 [dev] and FLUX.1 [dev] weights are non-commercial; running them commercially needs a paid license.
- There is no student discount, and volume discounts on API use are arranged through sales.
Nano Banana
- Nano Banana 2.1, the newest model, needs a paid Google AI plan; the free plan has Nano Banana 2.
- Generated images carry a visible watermark as well as an invisible one.
- Usage limits are stated only as multiples of the free plan, not as image counts.
Key features
FLUX by Black Forest Labs
- FLUX 3 image and video
- One model family covers images with accurate text rendering and video clips of up to 20 seconds with optional generated speech, effects and ambience.
- Image editing tools
- FLUX.2 models edit images from a prompt, and FLUX Tools add outpainting, object erasing and deblurring.
- Browser playground
- Try the models without code in the playground, which charges the same credit prices as the API.
- API with prepaid credits
- Credits cost $0.01 each, are shared across an organization's projects, do not expire, and can be topped up automatically.
- Open weights
- Models such as FLUX 3 Image Klein and FLUX.2 [klein] can be downloaded from Hugging Face and GitHub and fine-tuned on your own hardware.
Nano Banana
- Text-to-image generation
- Describe a scene in the Gemini chat and get an image back, then ask for changes in plain follow-up messages.
- Photo editing by instruction
- Upload a photo and ask for a different background, lighting, camera angle or an added object while the rest is kept.
- Combine and restyle images
- Merge two uploaded pictures into one, or apply the texture, color or style of a reference photo to your subject.
- Text inside images
- Google says logos, invitations, posters and comics can carry readable text, in many languages.
- Resizing to other formats
- A creation can be resized to a different aspect ratio for each place it will be shared.
- SynthID watermark
- Images carry an invisible SynthID mark and a visible watermark that shows they are AI-generated.
Plans
FLUX by Black Forest Labs
FLUX.2 [klein] 4B open weights$0
Download from Hugging Face and host it yourself under Apache 2.0, with free commercial use.
Builder licenseCustom
Self-serve monthly license bought in the dashboard; price not published. 10K images a month, 1 domain, 10 users.
Platform licenseCustom
For products offering FLUX to their own users: 100K images a month on 1 domain, sold through sales.
Professional licenseCustom
For agencies making images for named clients: 100K images a month, first 3 clients included, sold through sales.
EnterpriseCustom
All models and new releases, custom volume, volume discounts and an SLA, with combined API and weights pricing.
Nano Banana
Free$0
per month with a Google Account
Image generation and editing with Nano Banana 2; Flow access includes limited Nano Banana Pro.
Google AI Plus$4.99
per month
Twice the usage of Free, 200 Flow credits and 400 GB of storage.
Google AI Pro$19.99
per month
Four times the usage of Free, 1,000 Flow credits and 5 TB of storage; Nano Banana 2.1 per Google's FAQ.
Google AI Ultra$99.99
per month, or $199.99 for the higher tier
Highest limits: 5x the usage of Pro at $99.99, 20x at $199.99, with 10,000 or 25,000 Flow credits.
Ways to pay less
FLUX by Black Forest Labs
No public discounts listed.
Nano Banana
- Education
Students: a Plus plan free for one year
The Gemini page says students can unlock more Nano Banana access with a Google AI Plus plan at no cost for one year.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, FLUX by Black Forest Labs or Nano Banana?
As of Nov 13, 2026, FLUX by Black Forest Labs publishes no starting price, and Nano Banana starts at $4.99 per month (Google AI Plus).
Which has a free plan, FLUX by Black Forest Labs or Nano Banana?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both FLUX by Black Forest Labs and Nano Banana have a free plan.
Which platforms do FLUX by Black Forest Labs and Nano Banana run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Nano Banana lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.