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Image models compared

Ideogram 3.0 vs Nano Banana 2: the same prompts, side by side

Ideogram 3.0 and Google's Nano Banana 2 on the same 16 prompts, two for each of 8 jobs, from logos to YouTube thumbnails: each image as it was made, what the checks found, what it cost and how long it took.

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Based on 32 images made on September 29, 2026 through kie.ai with llmwise's own settings for each model, each checked by Claude Sonnet 5.5. How the images are checked.

Short answer

On our 16 image test prompts, Nano Banana 2 passed 14 and Ideogram 3.0 11, each image checked the same way. Ideogram 3.0 was quicker, 73.5 s an image against 88.0 s. In llmwise an image from either counts as 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages, up to 125 images a month on Pro.

Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 in llmwise

What llmwise asks Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 for, and what an image of each counts as.

Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 in llmwise
FactIdeogram 3.0Nano Banana 2
Made byIdeogramGoogle
Made throughkie.aikie.ai
Output sizeabout 1 megapixel1K
Aspect ratiossquare 1:1, portrait 3:4, landscape 4:3square 1:1, portrait 2:3, landscape 3:2
An image counts as2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages
Images on Proup to 125 a monthup to 125 a month

Job by job

Ideogram 3.0 passed 11 of 16 and Nano Banana 2 14 of 16. A prompt passes when every piece of writing it asked for is there and every question about the image is a yes.

Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2, job by job
JobIdeogram 3.0Nano Banana 2
Logos2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks
Text in images2 of 2 passed, 14 of 14 checks2 of 2 passed, 14 of 14 checks
Product photos1 of 2 passed, 6 of 12 checks2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks
Photorealistic images2 of 2 passed, 11 of 11 checks2 of 2 passed, 11 of 11 checks
Illustrations1 of 2 passed, 9 of 10 checks2 of 2 passed, 10 of 10 checks
Portraits0 of 2 passed, 5 of 13 checks2 of 2 passed, 13 of 13 checks
YouTube thumbnails2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks
Social media posts1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks1 of 2 passed, 10 of 12 checks

The same prompts, side by side

Ideogram 3.0's and Nano Banana 2's image for each prompt, with each question either one was answered no on; a prompt's title links to it in full, with every answer.

  1. A coffee shop logo with its name

    Both Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 passed; Nano Banana 2's image came 55.8 s sooner (48.6 s to 104.4 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

    Ideogram 3.0Passed
    Ideogram 3.0's image for “A coffee shop logo with its name”
      Nano Banana 2Passed
      Nano Banana 2's image for “A coffee shop logo with its name”

      • A wheel and a wrench in one icon

        Both Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 passed; Ideogram 3.0's image came 55.9 s sooner (63.6 s to 119.5 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

        Ideogram 3.0Passed
        Ideogram 3.0's image for “A wheel and a wrench in one icon”
          Nano Banana 2Passed
          Nano Banana 2's image for “A wheel and a wrench in one icon”

          • A bakery sign with two lines

            Both Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 passed; Nano Banana 2's image came 16.1 s sooner (48.6 s to 64.6 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

            Ideogram 3.0Passed
            Ideogram 3.0's image for “A bakery sign with two lines”
              Nano Banana 2Passed
              Nano Banana 2's image for “A bakery sign with two lines”

              • A café menu board with four prices

                Both Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 passed; Nano Banana 2's image came 18.0 s sooner (44.1 s to 62.1 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

                Ideogram 3.0Passed
                Ideogram 3.0's image for “A café menu board with four prices”
                  Nano Banana 2Passed
                  Nano Banana 2's image for “A café menu board with four prices”

                  • A white sneaker on a grey background

                    Only Nano Banana 2 passed, not Ideogram 3.0: Ideogram 3.0 made no image.

                    Ideogram 3.0Failed

                    No image: kie.ai reported that the task failed, both times we tried.

                    Nano Banana 2Passed
                    Nano Banana 2's image for “A white sneaker on a grey background”

                    • A perfume bottle and its reflection

                      Both Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 passed; Nano Banana 2's image came 19.0 s sooner (44.6 s to 63.6 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

                      Ideogram 3.0Passed
                      Ideogram 3.0's image for “A perfume bottle and its reflection”
                        Nano Banana 2Passed
                        Nano Banana 2's image for “A perfume bottle and its reflection”

                        • A bowl of ramen from above

                          Both Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 passed; Ideogram 3.0's image came 69.9 s sooner (83.3 s to 153.1 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

                          Ideogram 3.0Passed
                          Ideogram 3.0's image for “A bowl of ramen from above”
                            Nano Banana 2Passed
                            Nano Banana 2's image for “A bowl of ramen from above”

                            • A rainy street at night, one red umbrella

                              Both Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 passed; Ideogram 3.0's image came 81.4 s sooner (62.7 s to 144.1 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

                              Ideogram 3.0Passed
                              Ideogram 3.0's image for “A rainy street at night, one red umbrella”
                                Nano Banana 2Passed
                                Nano Banana 2's image for “A rainy street at night, one red umbrella”

                                • A watercolour fox for a children's book

                                  Only Nano Banana 2 passed, not Ideogram 3.0; Nano Banana 2's image came 35.8 s sooner (47.2 s to 83.0 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

                                  Ideogram 3.0Failed
                                  Ideogram 3.0's image for “A watercolour fox for a children's book”
                                  • Is it a watercolour painting, not a photo or a 3D render? No: It looks like a digital painting with soft brushwork and detailed rendering, not clearly a watercolour, photo or 3D render.
                                  Nano Banana 2Passed
                                  Nano Banana 2's image for “A watercolour fox for a children's book”

                                  • Three people at one laptop, flat vector

                                    Both Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 passed; Ideogram 3.0's image came 120.1 s sooner (63.5 s to 183.6 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

                                    Ideogram 3.0Passed
                                    Ideogram 3.0's image for “Three people at one laptop, flat vector”
                                      Nano Banana 2Passed
                                      Nano Banana 2's image for “Three people at one laptop, flat vector”

                                      • A studio headshot

                                        Only Nano Banana 2 passed, not Ideogram 3.0: Ideogram 3.0 made no image.

                                        Ideogram 3.0Failed

                                        No image: kie.ai reported that the task failed, both times we tried.

                                        Nano Banana 2Passed
                                        Nano Banana 2's image for “A studio headshot”

                                        • A fisherman holding a rope in both hands

                                          Only Nano Banana 2 passed, not Ideogram 3.0; Ideogram 3.0's image came 53.6 s sooner (63.5 s to 117.2 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

                                          Ideogram 3.0Failed
                                          Ideogram 3.0's image for “A fisherman holding a rope in both hands”
                                          • Does every hand you can see have five fingers and look natural? No: The hands are clasped and partly hidden by the rope, so not every finger can be counted and confirmed as five.
                                          Nano Banana 2Passed
                                          Nano Banana 2's image for “A fisherman holding a rope in both hands”

                                          • A cooking video thumbnail

                                            Both Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 passed; Nano Banana 2's image came 109.0 s sooner (15.5 s to 124.6 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

                                            Ideogram 3.0Passed
                                            Ideogram 3.0's image for “A cooking video thumbnail”
                                              Nano Banana 2Passed
                                              Nano Banana 2's image for “A cooking video thumbnail”

                                              • A phone review thumbnail with a question

                                                Only Ideogram 3.0 passed, not Nano Banana 2; Ideogram 3.0's image came 125.8 s sooner (63.6 s to 189.4 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

                                                Ideogram 3.0Passed
                                                Ideogram 3.0's image for “A phone review thumbnail with a question”
                                                  Nano Banana 2Failed
                                                  Nano Banana 2's image for “A phone review thumbnail with a question”
                                                  • Is there only one piece of writing? No: Besides the large 'WORTH IT?' text, there are small app labels on the phone screen such as YouTube, Foto, Settings and Camera.

                                                • A summer sale post

                                                  Both Ideogram 3.0 and Nano Banana 2 passed; Nano Banana 2's image came 7.6 s sooner (56.0 s to 63.7 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

                                                  Ideogram 3.0Passed
                                                  Ideogram 3.0's image for “A summer sale post”
                                                    Nano Banana 2Passed
                                                    Nano Banana 2's image for “A summer sale post”

                                                    • A book club announcement, top and bottom

                                                      Neither Ideogram 3.0 nor Nano Banana 2 passed; Ideogram 3.0's image came 22.0 s sooner (63.5 s to 85.5 s), and Ideogram 3.0's cost $0.005 less at kie.ai.

                                                      Ideogram 3.0Failed
                                                      Ideogram 3.0's image for “A book club announcement, top and bottom”
                                                      • Is there an open book? No: The book is standing upright with its page edges facing the viewer, so it is closed, not open.
                                                      Nano Banana 2Failed
                                                      Nano Banana 2's image for “A book club announcement, top and bottom”
                                                      • Is there one line of writing at the top and one at the bottom? No: The top has two lines, 'BOOK' and 'CLUB', not one, and the bottom has one line, 'THURSDAY 7PM'.
                                                      • Apart from those two lines, is nothing else written? No: The book pages have tiny text and the tea bag tag has small writing, so there is more writing than the headline and the bottom line.

                                                    More image models, compared

                                                    Questions

                                                    Is Ideogram 3.0 better than Nano Banana 2?

                                                    On our 16 image test prompts, Nano Banana 2 passed 14 and Ideogram 3.0 11, each image checked the same way. Ideogram 3.0 was quicker, 73.5 s an image against 88.0 s. In llmwise an image from either counts as 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages, up to 125 images a month on Pro.

                                                    Which is cheaper in llmwise, Ideogram 3.0 or Nano Banana 2?

                                                    Neither: in llmwise an image from either counts as 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages.

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