Midjourney vs Nano Banana (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Nano Banana grades higher than Midjourney: 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
Midjourney grades higher on features. Nano Banana grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Midjourney
Image and short-video generator run on monthly GPU time
Nano Banana
Google's image creation and editing model inside the Gemini app
Which one is for you
Pick Midjourney if
- Fits if you want stylized images and will put time into steering the prompt
- Works for heavy users on Standard, where slower Relax-mode image jobs are unlimited
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to try before paying, as there's no free plan or trial
- Not for you if your images must stay private, since Stealth Mode needs Pro at $48 a month; Basic and Standard images go in the public gallery
- Tight if you're on Basic: about 200 fast minutes, no Relax mode, and unused time doesn't roll over
- Watch out: companies earning over $1 million a year must be on Pro or Mega to use images commercially
- Watch out: plan details come from a third-party summary, as Midjourney's own pages turned our reader away, and there's no phone app or API
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
| 2.0GPAMidjourneyFair | 3.0GPANano BananaVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BBasic is $8 a month on yearly billing ($10 monthly), inside this category's cheaper quarter of $9.99. It buys about 200 minutes of fast GPU time and no slower Relax mode. The price is from a third-party summary, as Midjourney's own pages turned our reader away. | 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 | FNo free plan and no trial on record, so the least you can pay is $8 a month. And Basic's fast minutes don't roll over if you have a quiet month. | BA free Gemini plan includes Nano Banana 2 for generating and editing, at lower limits. Limits are stated only as multiples of it. |
| Features | BV8 text-to-image, an edit model that fills, swaps and extends with up to four reference images, image-to-video with loops and end frames, and style profiles and moodboards. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in making images. | 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-store rating on record. It runs on the website or as a Discord bot, and it's sold in GPU hours rather than images, so it takes a while to know what a month buys. | 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 | CThe midjourney.com website and a Discord bot, and that's it. No phone or desktop app of its own, and no API in the listing. | BWeb, iPhone and Android through Gemini, with Google Flow and Search. No desktop app. |
| Best for | stylized images and short clips from a prompt | 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: Midjourney and Nano Banana. How we grade
Price against what you get
Midjourney starts at $8 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Nano Banana starts at $4.99 a month and scores 2.7.
Nano Banana scores higher and starts $3.01 a month lower. Of the other AI image and video generators on the chart, 13 score higher than Midjourney for less, and 2 score higher than Nano Banana for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Midjourney also covers video generation.
- Nano Banana also covers chat assistant.
At a glance
| Midjourney | Nano Banana | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8 per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly) | $4.99 per month (Google AI Plus) |
| Free plan | None | 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 | Midjourney | |
| Price read from | eesel.ai (not the vendor's own page) | gemini.google |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Midjourney
- Midjourney's own pricing and help pages turned away our reader, so plan details come from a third-party summary edited June 5, 2026.
- Basic has no Relax mode, so every job draws on its monthly fast time, and unused fast hours do not roll over.
- Private generation (Stealth Mode) starts at Pro; on Basic and Standard, images appear in the public gallery.
- Companies with more than $1 million in yearly gross revenue must be on Pro or Mega to use images commercially.
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
Midjourney
- Text-to-image with V8 models
- V8.1 became the default model in June 2026 and V8.2 followed in July, with an HD setting that renders at a higher resolution.
- Image editing
- The V8.2 edit model changes images from written instructions, fills or replaces chosen areas, extends the canvas and takes up to four reference images.
- Image-to-video
- Any image, including an uploaded one, can be animated into short clips that can be extended, looped or given a set end frame.
- Personalization and moodboards
- Rating images builds a personal style profile, and moodboards or style references steer new images toward a chosen look.
- Conversational mode
- A text and voice mode on the website takes requests in plain language and can use the reference images and settings already in place.
- Organize page
- Past jobs can be searched, filtered and sorted into folders on the website.
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
Midjourney
Basic$8
per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)
About 3.3 hours (200 minutes) of fast GPU time a month and no Relax mode; SD video only.
Standard$24
per month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
15 fast GPU hours a month plus unlimited image jobs in the slower Relax mode.
Pro$48
per month, billed annually ($60 billed monthly)
30 fast GPU hours, Stealth Mode for private images, unlimited SD video in Relax mode and 12 fast jobs at once.
Mega$96
per month, billed annually ($120 billed monthly)
60 fast GPU hours a month, with everything in Pro and more video jobs at once.
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
Midjourney
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, Midjourney or Nano Banana?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Nano Banana is cheaper to start with: $4.99 a month, against $8 a month for Midjourney. Midjourney starts at $8 per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly), and Nano Banana starts at $4.99 per month (Google AI Plus).
Which has a free plan, Midjourney or Nano Banana?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Nano Banana has a free plan. Midjourney does not.
Which platforms do Midjourney 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.