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Nano Banana AI Image Generator

Nano Banana is Google's Gemini 2.5 Flash Image. Its recommended successor, Nano Banana 2 Lite, runs on free Kavel credits: characters, photo edits and scenes.

The model behind the nameGoogle's pick runs free here
No key, no quota page

Nano Banana AI Image Generator

5 credits
Examples

What people made with Nano Banana

Each image was posted on X by its maker, with the model named. Take the idea and make it yours.

Worlds no camera could shoot
Ornate art in one pass
Portraits with a mood

Worlds no camera could shoot

How to start

From a Nano Banana search to your first image in four moves

No AI Studio quota and no API key. The short road:

01

Log in

Free credits land in your account, no card asked.

02

Pick a successor

Lite on free credits, or version 2 and Pro on a plan.

03

Type or upload

Write the scene, or add the one photo you want changed.

04

Choose the shape and go

Five ratios, square, wide or tall, with the credit cost shown before you press.

Access

Where to run Nano Banana now

Google's Gemini API docs call Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) the legacy pioneer of the series, schedule its API shutdown for the second of October, and strongly recommend moving to Nano Banana 2 Lite. Kavel runs the line that replaces it: Lite on the free credits you get at login, version 2 and Pro on a paid plan or credit pack. The first-generation model is not in our picker, and there is nothing to download, because Google keeps the weights private.

Nano Banana — Fata Morgana
A long-haired woman stands beneath a twisting tree in dense folk-art linework, birds scattering across a sunset sky. Posted by @stoneflowe41058 as made with the model.

Creative engine

Running on Kavel

15 credits
Per Lite image
4K
Top size on version 2
5 ratios
Square, wide, tall

Start free on Lite

Google's own recommended replacement, run on the credits you get at login.

Go bigger on version 2

Pick 1K, 2K or 4K where the first model stopped near 1024 pixels.

Know the price first

The exact credits show before you press, and failed runs refund themselves.

What people post about

Three things Nano Banana fans ask for, and how to get them

A character in a simple pose or a new outfit

A character in a simple pose or a new outfit

"Sometimes I just want to make an OC character in a very simple pose or outfit change and I find vanilla NB totally satisfactory for it," an r/GeminiAI user wrote. This sorceress, posted as made with the model, holds one clear spell-casting pose.

  • Name the pose with verbs: arms raised, cloak whipping back
  • Change one thing per run: outfit, pose or setting
  • Paste the same character description word for word each time
One photo, one change

One photo, one change

Nano Banana made its name on edits you describe in a sentence. A creator asked it to "reconstruct this monument to show what it would have looked like in its complete, original glory during its peak" and got this Colosseum back.

  • Say the change in one plain sentence
  • Name what must stay: faces, framing, the building itself
  • Upload to Lite or version 2, which both edit here
Wide and tall frames, not only squares

Wide and tall frames, not only squares

When Google added aspect ratios to the model, the r/Bard thread's top reply read "The aspect ratio is great news!" This tall frame of an armored figure under a giant mech shows why: the height carries the scale.

  • Pick the ratio before you write, then compose for it
  • Tall for a subject towering overhead, wide for a skyline
  • Choose from 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3 and 3:4 in the generator
Prompts

A Nano Banana prompt you can copy

The creator's own prompt, word for word. Run it and start from their result.

A rider on an empty road

A rider on an empty road

@saniaspeaks_

Hair, outfit, both hands, gaze, then hills, sky, road and bike, one detail at a time.

{
  "prompt": "A young woman with long, straight brown hair is sitting on a cruiser-style motorcycle on an empty road. She is wearing a black leather jacket, black pants, black boots, and red sunglasses. Her left hand is on the handlebars, and her right hand is in her pocket. She is looking to her right, away from the camera. The background consists of rolling hills with dry, golden-brown grass under a slightly overcast sky. The road is asphalt and stretches into the distance. The motorcycle is chrome and black with a prominent headlight and spoked wheels."
}
Run this prompt
What people say

What people said after using Nano Banana

Posts and replies on X and Reddit, quoted as written. Each name links to the source.

Nano Banana aka Gemini-2.5-flash-image is incredible!!

Compared

Nano Banana vs the models that replace it

Google's naming is where people get lost. Each name, what it is, and where to run it.

Nano Banana vs 2 Lite

Google's docs recommend moving from Nano Banana to Lite for better quality, faster generation and lower API pricing, and AI Studio now says the same. On Kavel, Lite is the one your free credits run, and it edits your photos.

There is no longer free quota on this model, use Nano Banana 2 Lite for free quota.

Start free on Lite

Nano Banana vs version 2

Google lists Gemini 3.1 Flash Image, sold as Nano Banana 2, as the API replacement. Google's docs put the first model at 1024 pixels and best with up to three input images; on Kavel, version 2 renders 1K, 2K or 4K and edits your photos.

Open the version 2 page

Nano Banana vs Pro

Google calls Pro the premium choice for its most complex visual tasks. On Kavel, Pro makes images from text at up to 4K; for photo edits, pick version 2 or Lite.

See the Pro page

Nano Banana vs Gemini 2.5 Flash Image

The same model. Nano Banana is the nickname, Gemini 2.5 Flash Image the API name, gemini-2.5-flash-image the model id. The newer Gemini Flash Image is version 2.

See Gemini Flash Image
FAQ

Nano Banana FAQ

The questions people ask most in the threads.

Not in Kavel's picker. Google now sells it only as a paid API model until its shutdown date and recommends its Lite successor instead. Here, Lite runs on free credits, and version 2 and Pro on a plan.

Yes. Google's Gemini API deprecations page lists gemini-2.5-flash-image with a shutdown date of the second of October, and names Gemini 3.1 Flash Image as the replacement.

AI Studio dropped its free quota and points to its Lite successor. On Kavel, log in and free credits run Lite, no card and no API key.

Yes. Google's image generation docs list it as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, model id gemini-2.5-flash-image. The second generation is Gemini 3.1 Flash Image, and Pro is Gemini 3 Pro Image.

Pick the ratio in the generator before you press. Lite, version 2 and Pro all offer 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3 and 3:4 here, and the prompt needs no ratio flags.

Google made this model paid-only in its API, so free-tier calls come back 429 Resource Exhausted. Kavel has no quota page or key: your credits are the only limit.

Lite costs 15 credits an image, photo edits included, and free credits cover it. Version 2 starts at 20 credits for a 1K image. Failed runs are refunded automatically unless they broke the content policy.

Yes. Upload the photo to Lite or version 2 and say the fix in one sentence: repair the scratches, add natural color, keep every face as it is.

Make your first Nano Banana image

A Lite image costs 15 credits, your free credits cover it, and a failed run gives its credits back. Type the scene or upload one photo and leave with the image.