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Nano Banana 2.1, tested: 15 pictures, the prompts and the price

Google's Nano Banana 2.1 wrote a Tamil shop sign correctly on the first try. Fifteen test pictures at 2K, the prompts behind them, the price, and where it still slips.

October 7, 202612 min readAIKIZI

Google released Nano Banana 2.1 on 6 October 2026, and it became the default image model on aikizi the same day, at Nano Banana 2's price: 4 credits at 1K, 8 at 2K and 12 at 4K. The next morning we made fifteen pictures with it at 2K, this cover included, to test what Google says improved. It wrote Tamil correctly on the first try, short typeset text came out letter-perfect, and skin and water hold up at full size. Text nobody asked for is still invented, and two of the fifteen needed a second attempt.

What Google changed

Google's own words for the release: "notable leaps in visual design, mask-based editing, and subject consistency to help you create more natural-looking images." In the API the model is called gemini-nano-banana-2.1. It follows Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image), and Google lists it at $0.0336 per 1K image, half of Nano Banana 2's $0.067. It is in the Gemini app, Google AI Studio, Flow, AI Mode in Search and the Gemini API.

We tested three of those four claims. Mask-based editing needs a brush to paint the mask, and the aikizi Studio does not have one, so nothing on this page says anything about it.

What it costs on aikizi

Model	1K	2K	4K	Google's API list price at 1K
Nano Banana 2.1	4	8	12	$0.0336
Nano Banana 2	4	8	12	$0.067
Nano Banana Pro	8	16	24	$0.134
Nano Banana 2 Lite	2	–	–	$0.0336

Credits are the same as Nano Banana 2 at every size. On the $20 plan, 540 credits, that is 67 pictures at 2K or 135 at 1K.

Everything on this page was made at 2K for 8 credits a picture: seventeen attempts on Nano Banana 2.1, fifteen of them kept, plus one picture on Nano Banana 2 for the comparison further down. 144 credits in all. The full ladder, with a picture bought at each size, is in what one AI image costs on aikizi.

Text, in Tamil and English

A red tin signboard over a small Chennai tea stall at dusk, reading நானோ பனானா டீ கடை in bold yellow Tamil letters with NANO BANANA TEA STALL — EST. 2.1 in white beneath; a man in a checked lungi pours tea under a bare bulb, a bunch of small bananas hangs from the awning — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 4:5 — **8 credits**, first attempt, made for this page.

When we wrote our guide to prompting Nano Banana 2, the shop sign in its test picture came out as illegible squiggle. Those words were never in the prompt, and that is still the line to watch. Short text you quote comes out right on both models now (the same-prompt test below shows Nano Banana 2 spelling every quoted word too), and text you leave to the model is still invented.

The hardest test we could think of was not in English, and we ran it on 2.1 only. The prompt asked for a hand-painted Tamil signboard reading நானோ பனானா டீ கடை (Nano Banana tea stall), with a line of English beneath it. Every Tamil letter and vowel sign is right, the English is right, and it was the first attempt.

A hand-painted 1970s-style Tamil cinema banner titled நானோ பனானா with NANO BANANA 2.1 beneath; a banana with a moustache, aviator sunglasses and a gold chain strikes an action pose against exploding film reels, a boxy robot glares from the lower left, a yellow starburst reads இன்று முதல், and a strip along the bottom reads STARRING A BANANA • DIRECTED BY A PROMPT — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 4:5 — **8 credits**, first attempt.

Then a 1970s Tamil cinema banner with four separate pieces of text: a Tamil title, an English title, a Tamil starburst reading இன்று முதல் ("from today") and a credits strip. All four came out as written.

Top-down photograph of a white rice-flour kolam on a wet black stone doorstep at dawn, its looping lines forming the words NANO BANANA 2.1, with marigold petals scattered around, the rim of a brass pot and a bare foot at the edge of the frame — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 1:1 — **8 credits**, first attempt.

The kolam was a different kind of hard: the words had to be made of the pattern itself, rice-flour loops on wet stone. It reads NANO BANANA 2.1 at a glance, with the dots and interlaced loops of a real kolam around it.

Soft watercolour anime illustration of a smiling girl in a yellow and green half-saree with jasmine in her braid, winking and holding a banana, beside a hand-lettered speech bubble that reads: Vanakkam! I'm the new banana. Be nice to me! — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 1:1 — **8 credits**, first attempt.

Hand lettering works too. The speech bubble says exactly what the prompt asked for, punctuation included.

One rule still holds: text you did not ask for is invented. The shop signs, cinema posters and billboards in the backgrounds further down this page are a believable mix of real and made-up Tamil and English. If a word matters, put it in the prompt, in quotes.

Same prompt on Nano Banana 2 and 2.1

Nano Banana 2.1's version: a watercolour-and-ink botanical plate on cream cotton paper titled THE ANATOMY OF A NANO BANANA, a half-peeled banana and a cross-section slice with five leader lines to the labels Visual design, Mask-based editing, Subject consistency, Natural-looking images and Half the price, a 1 cm scale bar and the plate number PL. 2.1 — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 4:5 — **8 credits**.

One prompt, run once on each model at 2K with nothing else changed: a scientific poster titled THE ANATOMY OF A NANO BANANA, with an italic subtitle, five labelled leader lines, a scale bar and a plate number.

Nano Banana 2's version of the same prompt: a clean digital illustration of a peeled banana and a slice on a white poster, the same title and five labels, presented as a poster mockup on a sage-green background — Nano Banana 2, the same prompt, 2K, 4:5 — **8 credits**.

Both spelled every word correctly, so on short, quoted, typeset text the two models did not differ. The finish did. Nano Banana 2.1 painted a watercolour plate on cotton paper, with a cross-section that looks like a real banana's. Nano Banana 2 drew a clean digital illustration and presented it as a poster mockup on a sage background, which the prompt did not ask for.

Skin, water, steam and dust

Extreme close-up of an elderly fisherman's eye and cheek at golden hour, deeply creased skin with visible pores, grains of sand and salt crystals, grey stubble and a bead of water on the lower lashes, blue sea out of focus behind — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 1:1 — **8 credits**, first attempt.

"More natural-looking images" is the claim that is easiest to fake in a thumbnail and hardest at full size, so these four were judged at 100%, not on a phone screen.

The fisherman's skin holds pores, creases, sand, salt and a bead of water on the lower lashes, and nothing has been smoothed.

Macro photograph of a strung jasmine garland at a dawn flower market, dew beading on the white buds and one drop hanging from a petal tip, holding a tiny refracted image of the market; marigolds and a vendor blurred behind — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 1:1 — **8 credits**, first attempt.

The drop hanging from the jasmine petal holds a tiny refracted picture of the market, sky at the bottom, the way a real drop turns the world upside down.

High-speed photograph of milky filter coffee poured from a raised steel tumbler into a steel vessel below, foam in the stream, small splashes at the rim, steam lit by a kitchen window, weathered hands — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 1:1 — **8 credits**, first attempt.

The filter coffee pour has foam inside the stream, splashes at the rim and steam lit from the window. One flaw: the lower vessel is closer to a small pan with a handle than a dabarah.

A shaft of morning sunlight full of glowing dust cutting through a high-ceilinged mansion corridor with patterned Athangudi tiles and peeling lime-washed pillars, a tabby cat asleep on the tiles near the patch of light — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 1:1 — **8 credits**, first attempt.

And the Chettinad corridor's beam is full of dust, with the tile pattern running on cleanly into the shadow.

One character, three pictures

Character reference sheet titled MEERA — CHARACTER SHEET: a woman with short curly black hair in a mustard kurta, black jeans and sandals with a film camera on a braided strap, shown from the front, three-quarter, side and back, with face close-ups labelled CALM, LAUGHING and FOCUSED and detail callouts of the camera, a jhumka earring and the sandals — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 16:9 — **8 credits**, first attempt.

Subject consistency decides whether a model is useful for more than one picture. We made a character sheet for Meera, a street photographer who does not exist: four turnaround views, three expressions and close-ups of her camera, earring and sandals.

Then that one sheet went back in as the only reference, in direct mode, for two new scenes.

The same woman crouching at the edge of a rain-soaked Chennai road at dusk, photographing a yellow auto-rickshaw as it splashes through a puddle, street lights blurred behind — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 4:5, the sheet as its reference — **8 credits**, second attempt.

The same woman laughing at a roadside tea stall at night, a glass of tea in her hand and the film camera at her hip, a bare bulb and steam behind her — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 4:5, the sheet as its reference — **8 credits**, first attempt.

Her curls, nose stud, jhumkas, mustard kurta with rolled sleeves and braided camera strap carried into both scenes. The sheet has one mistake: it labels SANDAL twice. And the first rain attempt put a neon sign reading CRIMINAL STORE behind her, so the second prompt asked for an out-of-focus background instead. The method in full is in our turnaround sheet guide.

1998 and 2026: one family, aged by an edit

A 1998-style point-and-shoot flash photograph of a laughing family of four on one light-blue scooter in Chennai traffic, the mother side-saddle with a steel tiffin carrier, auto-rickshaws, a city bus and painted cinema posters behind, an orange date stamp in the corner — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 3:2 — **8 credits**, first attempt.

The last test was an edit. First, a point-and-shoot print from 1998: a family of four on one scooter in Chennai traffic, direct flash, warm film colour and an orange date stamp.

Then that picture went back to the model with one request: the same photograph 28 years later, at the same street.

The same family 28 years later on the same light-blue scooter: grey-haired parents, a grown son with a beard squeezed in front, the daughter in the middle, the mother still holding the tiffin carrier; a concrete metro line, green and yellow auto-rickshaws and digital billboards behind — Nano Banana 2.1, 2K, 3:2, the 1998 picture as its reference — **8 credits**, second attempt.

It kept the scooter, the tiffin carrier, the seating and the laughter, aged the parents, and swapped the painted cinema posters for a metro line and digital billboards. Two things went wrong. The first attempt kept the son child-sized under an adult's beard; the second, shown here, fixed that once the prompt said he was too big for his old spot. And the daughter, who should be 37, still looks younger.

Where it slipped

Background text. Anything you do not quote is invented, in any script.
Labels. The character sheet labels SANDAL twice.
Age. Asked for a woman of 37, it drew someone nearer 25.
Scale. Its first try at the grown-up son kept a child's body.
Not tested. Mask-based editing, and long chains of repeated edits, where early testers disagree about how far a face drifts.

Thirteen of the fifteen pictures kept were first attempts. The other two cost one extra attempt each, 16 credits in all.

The prompts

Four of the prompts, exactly as sent. Each picture came from its prompt in one pass; the 2026 photograph also had the 1998 picture attached as its reference.

The Tamil signboard

Candid street photograph of a tiny roadside tea stall in Mylapore, Chennai, at dusk. Above the stall hangs a hand-painted tin signboard with bold yellow Tamil letters on a red background reading exactly "நானோ பனானா டீ கடை", and below it smaller white English letters reading "NANO BANANA TEA STALL — EST. 2.1". A bunch of small yellow bananas hangs from the awning, a steel kettle steams, a man in a lungi pours tea, a bare tungsten bulb glows. Shot on a phone, natural colour, slight motion blur on passing scooter, real photograph.

The kolam

Top-down photograph of a freshly drawn white rice-flour kolam on a wet black stone doorstep at dawn on a Chennai street. The kolam's continuous looping lines and dot grid cleverly and organically form the words "NANO BANANA 2.1", woven into the traditional pattern so the letters reveal themselves on a second look. A few orange marigold petals, the rim of a brass water pot and the toes of bare feet at the frame edge. Soft blue dawn light, grains of rice flour visible, real photograph.

The anatomy plate

A museum-quality scientific poster that blends a vintage botanical plate with modern editorial design. At the top, an elegant serif title in capitals: "THE ANATOMY OF A NANO BANANA". Below it, a small italic subtitle: "Musa nanobanana, var. 2.1 — collected October 2026". In the center, a single ripe yellow banana drawn as a precise watercolour-and-ink botanical illustration, with one strip of peel pulled back and a clean cross-section slice drawn beside it. Five thin leader lines run from the banana to five neatly typeset labels: "Visual design", "Mask-based editing", "Subject consistency", "Natural-looking images", "Half the price". Bottom left: a small scale bar reading "1 cm". Bottom right: a plate number reading "PL. 2.1". Off-white cotton paper texture, muted ochre, sage and ink-black palette, generous white space, crisp kerning, every word spelled exactly as written.

The same family, 28 years later

Recreate this exact photograph 28 years later, in October 2026, at the same Chennai street, as a crisp modern smartphone photo. The same family, aged naturally, re-staging their old pose on the same light-blue scooter, now restored. The father, now about 70 with grey hair and glasses, is still driving. The son is now a tall, full-grown 33-year-old man with a trimmed beard, clearly adult-sized and broad-shouldered, far too big for his childhood spot: he squeezes onto the front footboard in front of his father, knees bent and sticking out, gripping the handlebars, which makes everyone laugh. The daughter, now a 37-year-old woman with jasmine in her braid, is squeezed in the middle. The mother, now about 66 in a cotton saree, rides side-saddle at the back holding the same steel tiffin carrier. All four are laughing at the camera. The background is updated to 2026: a concrete metro pillar, newer electric auto-rickshaws and a digital billboard where the painted cinema posters used to be. Natural colour, and an orange date stamp in the bottom-right corner reading '26 10 07.

Three habits held across all fifteen: put every word you want in quotes and ask for it spelled exactly as written; name the lens, film or medium instead of adding quality words; and say what the light is doing.

FAQ

What is Nano Banana 2.1?

Google's image generation and editing model, released on 6 October 2026 as the successor to Nano Banana 2. Its API name is gemini-nano-banana-2.1. Google says it improves visual design, mask-based editing, subject consistency and how natural pictures look.

How much does Nano Banana 2.1 cost?

On aikizi, 4 credits at 1K, 8 at 2K and 12 at 4K, the same as Nano Banana 2. Google's API list price is $0.0336 per 1K image, half of Nano Banana 2's.

Can Nano Banana 2.1 write Tamil and other non-English text?

In our test it wrote a Tamil shop sign and a Tamil film title correctly on the first attempt. Put the exact words in quotes in the prompt; text you do not specify, such as background signs, is still invented.

Is Nano Banana 2.1 better than Nano Banana 2?

On the same poster prompt both spelled every word right, and 2.1 drew the richer, more convincing illustration. Its API list price is half of Nano Banana 2's, and on aikizi the credit price is the same. In that one same-prompt test, Nano Banana 2 did nothing better.

Does Nano Banana 2.1 keep a character consistent?

Across a character sheet and two scenes made from it, the face, hair, jewellery, clothes and camera held. Give it the sheet as a direct reference rather than describing the character again in words.

Where can I use Nano Banana 2.1?

In the Gemini app, Google AI Studio, Flow and the Gemini API, and on aikizi, where it is the default model in the Studio.

Run one of the prompts above in the Studio: at 4 credits for 1K it is the cheapest test on the site. For when Nano Banana Pro is still worth its 8 credits, read Nano Banana Pro against Nano Banana 2.