Image model comparison

Grok Imagine Image 2.0 vs Nano Banana 2.1

xAI's Grok Imagine Image 2.0 and Google's Nano Banana 2.1, side by side: price per image, image sizes, editing and aspect ratios — and when to choose which. Both run on one Cheaper Gen. API key.

xAI

Up to −63%

Grok ImagineImage 2.0

Grok Imagine Image 2.0

xAI's top-ranked image model — photoreal, bold, fast

from

$0.022/image

Google

Up to −59%

Nano Banana2.1

Nano Banana 2.1

Google's newest Nano Banana — top-ranked quality at a quarter of Pro's price

from

$0.022/image

Price

Grok Imagine Image 2.0 vs Nano Banana 2.1: price per image

Live prices at the tiers both models offer. Official list prices are on each model's pricing page.

Grok Imagine Image 2.0 and Nano Banana 2.1 prices at shared tiers
Tier	Grok Imagine Image 2.0	Nano Banana 2.1	Cheaper
1K	$0.022/image 1K · low	$0.022/image 1K	Same
2K · low	$0.0528/image 2K · low	$0.033/image 2K	Nano Banana 2.1 −38%

Grok Imagine Image 2.0 pricing →Cheap Grok Imagine Image 2.0 API →Nano Banana 2.1 pricing →Cheap Nano Banana 2.1 API →

Specs

Side-by-side specifications

From each model's API parameters in our catalog.

Grok Imagine Image 2.0 vs Nano Banana 2.1 specifications
Spec	Grok Imagine Image 2.0	Nano Banana 2.1
Developer	xAI	Google
Released	—	Oct 6, 2026
Tasks	Text to image, Image editing	Text to image, Image editing
Sizes	1K · 2K	1K · 2K · 4K
Edit inputs	Up to 3 images	Up to 14 images
Quality levels	low · medium	—
Aspect ratios	13 (1:1, 3:4, 4:3, 9:16, 16:9, 2:3…)	14 (1:1, 2:3, 3:2, 3:4, 4:3, 4:5…)
Starting price	$0.022/image (1K · low)	$0.022/image (1K)
Below official price	up to 63%	up to 59%

Verdict

When to choose which

Each point below comes from the price and spec data above.

Choose Grok Imagine Image 2.0 for

The same tasks at a similar price — pick by output style; try both in the Studio.

Grok Imagine Image 2.0 at a glance

Leaderboard quality — A top text-to-image model
1K / 2K — Two size tiers
13 ratios — Including 9:19.5 phone
3 inputs — Image editing

Choose Nano Banana 2.1 for

Higher maximum resolution: 4K vs 2K.
Edits with up to 14 input images (vs 3).
More aspect ratios: 14 vs 13.

Nano Banana 2.1 at a glance

Up to 4K — 1K, 2K and 4K output
Low price — About 2 cents per 1K image
14 inputs — Multi-image editing
14 ratios — From 8:1 banners to 1:8

Try both with the same prompt

Same API key and balance; only the endpoint changes. Failed generations are refunded.

POST /api/v1/run/xai/grok-imagine-image/text-to-image
POST /api/v1/run/google/nano-banana-2.1/text-to-image

Grok Imagine Image 2.0 in Studio Nano Banana 2.1 in Studio

FAQ

Grok Imagine Image 2.0 vs Nano Banana 2.1 questions

Nano Banana 2.1 is cheaper at 2 of 2 shared tiers. 1K: Grok Imagine Image 2.0 $0.022/image, Nano Banana 2.1 $0.022/image; 2K · low: Grok Imagine Image 2.0 $0.0528/image, Nano Banana 2.1 $0.033/image. Prices are live and billed per image.

Grok Imagine Image 2.0: up to 2K, edits with up to 3 input images. Nano Banana 2.1: up to 4K, edits with up to 14 input images.

Yes. Both run through the same Cheaper Gen. API and balance: POST /v1/run/{endpoint} with the model's endpoint id, then poll or receive a webhook. Switching models means changing the endpoint and its input fields — no new account or SDK.

Keep comparing

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All comparisons →All AI image APIs →Cheapest image APIs →

Grok Imagine Image 2.0 is developed by xAI; Nano Banana 2.1 by Google. Cheaper Gen. provides API access to both through official upstream endpoints and does not own either model. Trademarks belong to their respective owners.