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Image models compared

Nano Banana 2 vs Seedream 5.0 Lite: the same prompts, side by side

Google's Nano Banana 2 and ByteDance's Seedream 5.0 Lite 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.

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 and Seedream 5.0 Lite each passed 14, each image checked the same way. Seedream 5.0 Lite was quicker, 47.0 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.

Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite in llmwise

What llmwise asks Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite for, and what an image of each counts as.

Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite in llmwise
FactNano Banana 2Seedream 5.0 Lite
Made byGoogleByteDance
Made throughkie.aikie.ai
Output size1K2K
Aspect ratiossquare 1:1, portrait 2:3, landscape 3:2square 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

Nano Banana 2 passed 14 of 16 and Seedream 5.0 Lite 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.

Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite, job by job
JobNano Banana 2Seedream 5.0 Lite
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 photos2 of 2 passed, 12 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
Illustrations2 of 2 passed, 10 of 10 checks2 of 2 passed, 10 of 10 checks
Portraits2 of 2 passed, 13 of 13 checks1 of 2 passed, 12 of 13 checks
YouTube thumbnails1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks
Social media posts1 of 2 passed, 10 of 12 checks1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks

The same prompts, side by side

Nano Banana 2's and Seedream 5.0 Lite'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 Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 2.5 s sooner (46.2 s to 48.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

  2. A wheel and a wrench in one icon

    Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 76.0 s sooner (43.4 s to 119.5 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

  3. A bakery sign with two lines

    Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 4.8 s sooner (43.7 s to 48.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

  4. A café menu board with four prices

    Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Nano Banana 2's image came 30.5 s sooner (44.1 s to 74.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

  5. A white sneaker on a grey background

    Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 2.5 s sooner (41.2 s to 43.8 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

  6. A perfume bottle and its reflection

    Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 2.8 s sooner (41.8 s to 44.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

  7. A bowl of ramen from above

    Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 106.5 s sooner (46.6 s to 153.1 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

  8. A rainy street at night, one red umbrella

    Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 106.9 s sooner (37.2 s to 144.1 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

  9. A watercolour fox for a children's book

    Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Nano Banana 2's image came 10.2 s sooner (47.2 s to 57.4 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

  10. Three people at one laptop, flat vector

    Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 145.2 s sooner (38.4 s to 183.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

  11. A studio headshot

    Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 25.8 s sooner (40.7 s to 66.5 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

  12. A fisherman holding a rope in both hands

    Only Nano Banana 2 passed, not Seedream 5.0 Lite; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 63.7 s sooner (53.5 s to 117.2 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

    Nano Banana 2Passed
    Nano Banana 2's image for “A fisherman holding a rope in both hands”
      Seedream 5.0 LiteFailed
      Seedream 5.0 Lite'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 fingers are mostly hidden or wrapped around the rope, so five fingers on each hand cannot be confirmed.
    • A cooking video thumbnail

      Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Nano Banana 2's image came 45.5 s sooner (15.5 s to 61.1 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

    • A phone review thumbnail with a question

      Only Seedream 5.0 Lite passed, not Nano Banana 2; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 148.7 s sooner (40.7 s to 189.4 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

      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.
      Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
      Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A phone review thumbnail with a question”
      • A summer sale post

        Both Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 10.1 s sooner (45.9 s to 56.0 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

      • A book club announcement, top and bottom

        Neither Nano Banana 2 nor Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 46.7 s sooner (38.8 s to 85.5 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.013 less at kie.ai.

        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.
        Seedream 5.0 LiteFailed
        Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A book club announcement, top and bottom”
        • Apart from those two lines, is nothing else written? No: The book's pages show tiny, unreadable text-like marks, so the image contains more than those two lines.

      More image models, compared

      Questions

      Is Nano Banana 2 better than Seedream 5.0 Lite?

      On our 16 image test prompts, Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5.0 Lite each passed 14, each image checked the same way. Seedream 5.0 Lite was quicker, 47.0 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, Nano Banana 2 or Seedream 5.0 Lite?

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

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