Nano Banana vs Seedream
Nano Banana Pro vs Seedream 4.5 tested on the same prompts. See side-by-side results, strengths and which to use.
Nano Banana Pro is the safer choice whenever an image has to carry text: in our 10-prompt test it spelled every UI label, Chinese headline, infographic note and product label correctly, while Seedream 4.5 garbled small text, Chinese characters and labels (it wrote 广东省城市足级联赛 for 广东省城市足球超级联赛 and "Srapppal" on a can). Seedream 4.5 holds its own on photos and short, large English headlines, gives warmer cinematic light, was the better fit for one of the two portraits, and costs about a third as much per image. Median time was 27 s for Nano Banana Pro at 1K and 13 s for Seedream 4.5 at 2K, through different providers.
How we tested
We used the same 10 library prompts as our GPT Image 2 vs Nano Banana guide: on-image text, a UI screen, a Chinese poster, infographics, portraits, a product photo, a logo and an illustration. None needs a reference image.
Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image) ran each prompt once at 1K on October 28, 2026 through our usual provider. Seedream 4.5 ran each prompt once on 29. Oktober 2026 at 2K, its smallest size on GPT Image Hub, with the same aspect ratio, through fal's Seedream 4.5 API, because our provider had no Seedream capacity that day. We did not retry, edit or cherry-pick any image, and both sides are shown at the same display size.
"Nano Banana" here means Nano Banana Pro, the most capable model in Google's Nano Banana family. Times run from request to finished image and include the download. The two models ran through different providers and Seedream renders four times as many pixels, so the times are not a like-for-like speed test.
Side-by-side results
01 UI screen with text 9:16
Both nail the big "It's a Match!" headline and the Chat and Continue buttons. Nano Banana Pro gives the two people different names, ages, cities and jobs inside a full phone mockup; Seedream 4.5 repeats "Alex, 28, New York, Graphic Designer" on both cards. Winner: Nano Banana Pro.
Open this template02 Poster with Chinese typography 9:16
Nano Banana Pro writes the full title 广东省城市足球超级联赛 邀请函 and a clean slogan. Seedream 4.5 has a livelier layout but drops characters from the title (足级联赛), prints "9:16" in the corner, invents a city called 黄南 and doubles a character in 省省体育场. Winner: Nano Banana Pro.
Open this template03 Annotated infographic 4:5
Nano Banana Pro picks a durian and labels the rind, pulp and seed with real composition notes that hug the edges, as asked. Seedream 4.5 draws the cut specimen well but leaves the labels as empty templates ("Structure Name", "Composition Data") with one garbled word. Winner: Nano Banana Pro.
Open this template04 20-step drawing guide 4:3
Nano Banana Pro draws all 20 numbered, titled panels and each one builds on the last. Seedream 4.5 skips several step numbers and shows separate parts instead of a growing drawing, though its finished robot in panel 20 is clean. Winner: Nano Banana Pro.
Open this template05 Portrait 4:5
Both are convincing film-style portraits with the right sweater, earrings and gerbera bouquet. Seedream 4.5 has the warmer golden backlight, but it holds the single pink gerbera over one eye; Nano Banana Pro keeps it near her face with both eyes on the lens, as the prompt asks. Winner: Nano Banana Pro, narrowly.
Open this template06 Cinematic portrait 4:5
Both render wet skin, droplets and a head tilted back in the rain. Only Seedream 4.5 includes the rain-soaked boxing ring the prompt asks for, against blurred city lights; Nano Banana Pro puts the boxer on a neon street with no ring. Winner: Seedream 4.5.
Open this template07 Product photo 1:1
The sand, pebbles, split blue and yellow background and blurred pineapple match in both. Nano Banana Pro prints clean, readable branding ("Pineapple Paradise Sparkling Water"); Seedream 4.5's can says "Srapppal" with a misspelled tagline. Winner: Nano Banana Pro.
Open this template08 Logo 1:1
Both spell ANGEL correctly with the daisy, stripes and cyan underline. Nano Banana Pro follows the details exactly: italic letters and three stripes on each side. Seedream 4.5 sets the word upright and draws six thinner stripes per side, with a stronger CRT texture. Winner: Nano Banana Pro.
Open this template09 UI device mockup 16:9
Both produce a believable laptop on a wooden desk. Nano Banana Pro's dashboard reads like a real product (Monthly Recurring Revenue, Active Users 5,325, Churn Rate); most of Seedream 4.5's small labels are garbled and the laptop badge reads "MacSaot Air". Winner: Nano Banana Pro.
Open this template10 Illustration 1:1
Nano Banana Pro has the two koi circle each other to form the Taiji shape, but adds stones and moss the prompt did not ask for. Seedream 4.5 paints a literal yin-yang symbol in the water with a glowing white koi, striking but less subtle. Winner: a tie; pick by taste.
Open this templateComparison table
| Nano Banana Pro | Seedream 4.5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Developer and model | Google, gemini-3-pro-image-preview | ByteDance, Seedream 4.5 |
| Text in images (our test) | Spelled correctly in all 10 images, including small labels and Chinese | Large English headlines fine; small text, labels and Chinese often garbled |
| Photorealism (our test) | Convincing photos, natural light | Convincing photos, warmer cinematic light |
| Following the prompt (our test) | Won 8 of 10 pairs | Won 1 of 10 (the boxing ring); 1 tie |
| Time per image, median of 10 (our test) | 27 s at 1K | 13 s at 2K |
| Price on GPT Image Hub | 108 credits at 1K or 2K, 193 at 4K | 33 credits at 2K or 4K |
| Sizes on GPT Image Hub | 1K, 2K and 4K; 11 aspect ratios | 2K and 4K; 16 aspect ratios |
| Reference images | Up to 14 | Up to 10 |
| API | Google Gemini API; GPT Image Hub API | BytePlus ModelArk; GPT Image Hub API |
Rows marked "our test" come from the 10 pairs above; the rest come from the models' configuration on GPT Image Hub.
Which should you choose?
- Choose Nano Banana Pro for anything with text that must be right: UI screens, posters, infographics, packaging, step-by-step guides and any Chinese typography. It also followed detailed instructions (counts, positions, poses) more closely in our test.
- Choose Seedream 4.5 for photos, mood pieces and art where text is absent or short and large, when you want warm cinematic light or a high-resolution 2K–4K image at a low price per image.
- On price, Seedream 4.5 costs 33 credits per image even at 4K, against 108 for Nano Banana Pro at 1K.
FAQ
Is Seedream better than Nano Banana?
Not overall in our test: Nano Banana Pro won 8 of 10 same-prompt pairs, mostly because it renders text correctly and follows detailed instructions more closely. Seedream 4.5 won the cinematic boxing portrait, matched it on photorealism, and costs about a third as much per image, so it is the better value for photos and art without much text.
Which is better for text in images?
Nano Banana Pro. It spelled every label, UI string and Chinese headline correctly in our 10 images. Seedream 4.5 got short, large English headlines right ("It's a Match!", "ANGEL") but garbled small labels, packaging text and Chinese characters.
Which is cheaper?
On GPT Image Hub, Seedream 4.5 costs 33 credits per image at 2K or 4K. Nano Banana Pro costs 108 credits at 1K or 2K and 193 at 4K, so a 4K Seedream image costs a fraction of a 1K Nano Banana Pro one.
Which Nano Banana and Seedream models did you test?
Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image), the most capable model in Google's Nano Banana family, and Seedream 4.5 from ByteDance. GPT Image Hub also runs Nano Banana 2 and 2.1 and Seedream 4.0, 5.0, 5.0 Pro and 5.0 Lite.
Can I run my own prompt on both models?
Yes. Open any template, generate it with one model, then switch the model in the generator and run it again. New accounts get 25 free credits.
How was this comparison made?
Each prompt ran once per model, Nano Banana Pro at 1K on October 28, 2026 and Seedream 4.5 at 2K on 29. Oktober 2026, with the same aspect ratio and no retries or edits. It is a small test, not a benchmark.
Browse the prompts