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AI image model comparison

Seedream 5.0 Pro vs Nano Banana 2.1

Nano Banana 2.1 ranks ahead of Seedream 5.0 Pro on Arena's text-to-image, text-rendering, and image-edit boards, though its scores are still marked preliminary and Seedream 5.0 Pro's are not. Seedream 5.0 Pro runs unlimited from the Pro plan on Mage, against the Pro Plus plan for Nano Banana 2.1, and ByteDance built it for dense infographics and edits that follow marks drawn on an image.

Try Seedream 5.0 ProTry Nano Banana 2.1
  • A watchmaker's workbench by a rain-streaked window at dusk. Brass gears and tiny screws are scattered across a green leather mat, a loupe rests on an open pocket watch, tweezers stand in a small ceramic cup next to a tin of oil, and a gooseneck lamp casts a warm pool of light. City lights blur outside the window. 50mm photograph, shallow depth of field. 2K.
    Seedream 5.0 ProA watchmaker's workbench by a rain-streaked window at dusk. Brass gears and tiny screws are scattered across a green leather mat, a loupe rests on an open pocket watch, tweezers stand in a small ceramic cup next to a tin of oil, and a gooseneck lamp casts a warm pool of light. City lights blur outside the window. 50mm photograph, shallow depth of field. 2K.
  • A white dragon perched on a city tower at dusk, in a telephoto news-photo style
    Nano Banana 2.1A white dragon perched on a city tower at dusk, in a telephoto news-photo style

Side by side

Prices, plans, resolutions, ratios, and reference limits are Mage's own, for the model compared. Makers, release dates, search grounding, and watermarks are what each maker publishes. Arena ranks come from its text-to-image and text-rendering and image-edit boards of November 7, 2026.

Seedream 5.0 ProNano Banana 2.1
Made byByteDance SourceGoogle Source
ReleasedJuly 8, 2026 SourceOctober 6, 2026 Source
Price on Mage, from68 Gems ($0.068) per image51 Gems ($0.051) per image
Unlimited on Mage fromProPro Plus
Top resolution on Mage2K4K
Aspect ratios on Mage21:9, 16:9, 3:2, 5:4, 1:1, 4:5, 2:3, 9:16, 9:211:1, 3:2, 2:3, 3:4, 4:1, 4:3, 4:5, 5:4, 8:1, 9:16, 16:9, 21:9
Reference images on Mage, up to1014
Search groundingNone documented SourceYes, Google Web and Image Search Source
Arena text-to-image#17 of 84 Source#7 of 84 (preliminary) Source
Arena text rendering#19 of 84 Source#7 of 84 (preliminary) Source
Arena image edit#14 of 63 Source#9 of 63 (preliminary) Source
WatermarkNone stated SourceSynthID on every image Source

Last checked November 2026

Which should you use?

Choose Seedream 5.0 Pro for

  • Dense infographics, diagrams, and text-heavy posters, which ByteDance built it for
  • Edits that follow points, boxes, and sketches marked on your image
  • Unlimited images from the Pro plan

Choose Nano Banana 2.1 for

  • The higher-ranked images, text, and edits of the two on Arena
  • 4K images, or panoramas and banners up to 8:1
  • Up to 14 reference images, and pictures grounded in Google Search

Image quality

In Arena's blind votes, where people pick the better of two images without seeing which model made them, Nano Banana 2.1 ranks seventh of 84 for text-to-image and ninth of 63 for image editing, on scores still marked preliminary. Seedream 5.0 Pro ranks 17th of 84 and 14th of 63, on scores that are not.

ByteDance released Seedream 5.0 Pro on July 8, 2026 and built it for dense infographics, photographic realism down to skin texture, and edits that follow points, boxes, and sketches marked on an image. Google built Nano Banana 2.1 as a high-efficiency workhorse at Flash speed and cost.

Text in images

Arena's text-rendering board puts Nano Banana 2.1 seventh and Seedream 5.0 Pro 19th. ByteDance says Seedream 5.0 Pro takes prompts and renders text natively in a dozen widely used languages. Google notes that small text can blur at 1K on Nano Banana 2.1, so render text-heavy images at 2K or higher.

Reference images

Nano Banana 2.1 takes up to 14 reference images on Mage, which Google splits into objects held at high fidelity and characters kept consistent. Seedream 5.0 Pro takes up to 10, enough to put a person, an outfit, and a place into one scene.

Resolution and shape

Nano Banana 2.1 renders up to 4K on Mage in 12 aspect ratios, including 4:1 and 8:1 panoramas. Seedream 5.0 Pro renders up to 2K in 9 ratios, from 9:21 to 21:9.

Price on Mage

Seedream 5.0 Pro starts at 68 Gems (about $0.068) per image on Mage and runs unlimited from the Pro plan. Nano Banana 2.1 starts at 51 Gems (about $0.051) per image on Mage and runs unlimited from the Pro Plus plan.

A little more clarity

Questions

Is Nano Banana 2.1 better than Seedream 5.0 Pro?
On Arena's leaderboards, yes: Nano Banana 2.1 ranks ahead of Seedream 5.0 Pro for text-to-image, text rendering, and image editing, on scores still marked preliminary. Seedream 5.0 Pro is the pick for unlimited images on the Pro plan, dense infographics, and edits that follow marks drawn on an image.
Which is better for text in images?
Nano Banana 2.1 ranks higher on Arena's text-rendering board: seventh, against 19th for Seedream 5.0 Pro. ByteDance says Seedream 5.0 Pro renders text natively in a dozen widely used languages, so try both for signs and packaging in other languages.
Which costs less on Mage?
Nano Banana 2.1 starts at 51 Gems (about $0.051) per image on Mage and runs unlimited from the Pro Plus plan. Seedream 5.0 Pro starts at 68 Gems (about $0.068) per image on Mage and runs unlimited from the Pro plan.
Can I use both on Mage?
Yes. Both run in the same prompt box on Mage, on the same Gems and plans, and through the Mage API and the Mage MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT, so you can try a prompt on each and keep the better image.

Try Seedream 5.0 Pro and Nano Banana 2.1 on one prompt

Run the same prompt on both in Mage's prompt box and keep the better image. New accounts get 300 free Gems.

Try Seedream 5.0 Pro