Skip to content
llmwise
Sign inStart free

Image models compared

Nano Banana Pro vs Qwen-Image 2.1: the same prompts, side by side

Google's Nano Banana Pro and Alibaba's Qwen-Image 2.1 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.

Start freeSee pricing

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 Pro passed 13 and Qwen-Image 2.1 11, each image checked the same way. Nano Banana Pro was quicker, 36.2 s an image against 79.9 s. In llmwise a Nano Banana Pro image counts as 5 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages and a Qwen-Image 2.1 image as 1 Claude Haiku 4.5 message: up to 50 and 250 images a month on Pro.

Nano Banana Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 in llmwise

What llmwise asks Nano Banana Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 for, and what an image of each counts as.

Nano Banana Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 in llmwise
FactNano Banana ProQwen-Image 2.1
Made byGoogleAlibaba
Made throughkie.aikie.ai
Output size2K1K
Aspect ratiossquare 1:1, portrait 2:3, landscape 3:2square 1:1, portrait 2:3, landscape 3:2
An image counts as5 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages1 Claude Haiku 4.5 message
Images on Proup to 50 a monthup to 250 a month

Job by job

Nano Banana Pro passed 13 of 16 and Qwen-Image 2.1 11 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 Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1, job by job
JobNano Banana ProQwen-Image 2.1
Logos2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks
Text in images1 of 2 passed, 13 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 images1 of 2 passed, 10 of 11 checks0 of 2 passed, 9 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 checks2 of 2 passed, 13 of 13 checks
YouTube thumbnails1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks
Social media posts2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks

The same prompts, side by side

Nano Banana Pro's and Qwen-Image 2.1'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 Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 passed; Nano Banana Pro's image came 17.9 s sooner (38.6 s to 56.5 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

    Nano Banana ProPassed
    Nano Banana Pro's image for “A coffee shop logo with its name”
      Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
      Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A coffee shop logo with its name”

      • A wheel and a wrench in one icon

        Only Nano Banana Pro passed, not Qwen-Image 2.1; Nano Banana Pro's image came 15.2 s sooner (38.5 s to 53.7 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

        Nano Banana ProPassed
        Nano Banana Pro's image for “A wheel and a wrench in one icon”
          Qwen-Image 2.1Failed
          Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A wheel and a wrench in one icon”
          • Is there a bicycle wheel in the icon? No: The icon is a plain circle with a short horizontal line, with no spokes, tire or hub, so it reads as a ring rather than a bicycle wheel.

        • A bakery sign with two lines

          Only Qwen-Image 2.1 passed, not Nano Banana Pro; both images took about as long, and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

          Nano Banana ProFailed
          Nano Banana Pro's image for “A bakery sign with two lines”
          • Is the writing on the sign in two lines, one above the other? No: The writing is in four lines (FRESH, BREAD, DAILY, OPEN 7AM), not two.
          Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
          Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A bakery sign with two lines”

          • A café menu board with four prices

            Both Nano Banana Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 passed; Nano Banana Pro's image came 51.1 s sooner (31.6 s to 82.7 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

            Nano Banana ProPassed
            Nano Banana Pro's image for “A café menu board with four prices”
              Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
              Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A café menu board with four prices”

              • A white sneaker on a grey background

                Both Nano Banana Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 passed; Nano Banana Pro's image came 92.0 s sooner (44.4 s to 136.5 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                Nano Banana ProPassed
                Nano Banana Pro's image for “A white sneaker on a grey background”
                  Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                  Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A white sneaker on a grey background”

                  • A perfume bottle and its reflection

                    Both Nano Banana Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 passed; Nano Banana Pro's image came 54.6 s sooner (36.4 s to 91.0 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                    Nano Banana ProPassed
                    Nano Banana Pro's image for “A perfume bottle and its reflection”
                      Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                      Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A perfume bottle and its reflection”

                      • A bowl of ramen from above

                        Only Nano Banana Pro passed, not Qwen-Image 2.1; Nano Banana Pro's image came 73.9 s sooner (44.1 s to 118.0 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                        Nano Banana ProPassed
                        Nano Banana Pro's image for “A bowl of ramen from above”
                          Qwen-Image 2.1Failed
                          Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A bowl of ramen from above”
                          • Are chopsticks resting across the bowl? No: The chopsticks lie on the table and reach the bowl's lower left edge, but they do not rest across the bowl. They look more like they pass over or in front of the rim than rest on it.

                        • A rainy street at night, one red umbrella

                          Neither Nano Banana Pro nor Qwen-Image 2.1 passed; Nano Banana Pro's image came 100.4 s sooner (31.3 s to 131.7 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                          Nano Banana ProFailed
                          Nano Banana Pro's image for “A rainy street at night, one red umbrella”
                          • Is it night? No: The sky is overcast and light, so it looks like daytime or dusk with neon signs lit, not full night.
                          Qwen-Image 2.1Failed
                          Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A rainy street at night, one red umbrella”
                          • Is the person walking away from the camera? No: The person is seen from the side or back and appears to be crossing or facing sideways, so it isn't clearly walking away from the camera.

                        • A watercolour fox for a children's book

                          Both Nano Banana Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 passed; Nano Banana Pro's image came 96.3 s sooner (47.3 s to 143.6 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                          Nano Banana ProPassed
                          Nano Banana Pro's image for “A watercolour fox for a children's book”
                            Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                            Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A watercolour fox for a children's book”

                            • Three people at one laptop, flat vector

                              Both Nano Banana Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 passed; Nano Banana Pro's image came 74.0 s sooner (30.7 s to 104.6 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                              Nano Banana ProPassed
                              Nano Banana Pro's image for “Three people at one laptop, flat vector”
                                Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                                Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “Three people at one laptop, flat vector”

                                • A studio headshot

                                  Both Nano Banana Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 passed; Nano Banana Pro's image came 76.2 s sooner (28.1 s to 104.3 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                                  Nano Banana ProPassed
                                  Nano Banana Pro's image for “A studio headshot”
                                    Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                                    Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A studio headshot”

                                    • A fisherman holding a rope in both hands

                                      Both Nano Banana Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 passed; Qwen-Image 2.1's image came 2.6 s sooner (30.8 s to 33.4 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                                      Nano Banana ProPassed
                                      Nano Banana Pro's image for “A fisherman holding a rope in both hands”
                                        Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                                        Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A fisherman holding a rope in both hands”

                                        • A cooking video thumbnail

                                          Only Nano Banana Pro passed, not Qwen-Image 2.1; Nano Banana Pro's image came 15.1 s sooner (28.3 s to 43.4 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                                          Nano Banana ProPassed
                                          Nano Banana Pro's image for “A cooking video thumbnail”
                                            Qwen-Image 2.1Failed
                                            Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A cooking video thumbnail”
                                            • Are there flames coming from the pan? No: The flames are on the far left beside the man, not coming from the pan, which only holds food and flying bits.

                                          • A phone review thumbnail with a question

                                            Only Qwen-Image 2.1 passed, not Nano Banana Pro; Nano Banana Pro's image came 5.0 s sooner (30.7 s to 35.7 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                                            Nano Banana ProFailed
                                            Nano Banana Pro's image for “A phone review thumbnail with a question”
                                            • Is there only one piece of writing? No: Besides the large "WORTH IT?", the phone screen shows several small labels such as HDR, 4K, VIDEO and PHOTO.
                                            Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                                            Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A phone review thumbnail with a question”

                                            • A summer sale post

                                              Both Nano Banana Pro and Qwen-Image 2.1 passed; Qwen-Image 2.1's image came 20.4 s sooner (23.1 s to 43.5 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                                              Nano Banana ProPassed
                                              Nano Banana Pro's image for “A summer sale post”
                                                Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                                                Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A summer sale post”

                                                • A book club announcement, top and bottom

                                                  Only Nano Banana Pro passed, not Qwen-Image 2.1; Nano Banana Pro's image came 50.8 s sooner (40.8 s to 91.7 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.070 less at kie.ai.

                                                  Nano Banana ProPassed
                                                  Nano Banana Pro's image for “A book club announcement, top and bottom”
                                                    Qwen-Image 2.1Failed
                                                    Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A book club announcement, top and bottom”
                                                    • Apart from those two lines, is nothing else written? No: The open book's pages show small blurry lines of text, so there is other writing, though it is unreadable.

                                                  More image models, compared

                                                  Questions

                                                  Is Nano Banana Pro better than Qwen-Image 2.1?

                                                  On our 16 image test prompts, Nano Banana Pro passed 13 and Qwen-Image 2.1 11, each image checked the same way. Nano Banana Pro was quicker, 36.2 s an image against 79.9 s. In llmwise a Nano Banana Pro image counts as 5 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages and a Qwen-Image 2.1 image as 1 Claude Haiku 4.5 message: up to 50 and 250 images a month on Pro.

                                                  Which is cheaper in llmwise, Nano Banana Pro or Qwen-Image 2.1?

                                                  Qwen-Image 2.1: in llmwise its image counts as 1 Claude Haiku 4.5 message, against 5 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages for Nano Banana Pro.

                                                  Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Kimi, and GLM, in one chat.

                                                  See what a message costs before you send it. Free is 5 messages to try; sign in with an email link, no password or card.

                                                  Start freeSee pricing