Nano Banana (Gemini)
Nano Banana is the nickname that stuck for Google's Gemini image generation model. The rest of this lesson looks at what it is, how to use it inside the Gemini app, its most useful features, and a few practical ways to get better results.
Official site: Open Gemini. Nano Banana is the community nickname for Gemini's image-generation model.
What is Nano Banana?
Nano Banana isn't a separate product; it's the community nickname for Gemini's native image generation and editing model, built by Google. The name spread because it was surprisingly capable for something that started out as a fast, low-cost model, and it stuck even after Google shipped a stronger version.
There are two versions in everyday use: the standard model most free Gemini users get, and Nano Banana Pro, a higher-quality version with better detail, text rendering, and editing accuracy, available with more generous limits on paid Google AI plans.
Getting started
- Go to gemini.google.com and sign in with a Google account.
- Type a description of the image you want, or attach a photo to edit.
- Press Enter and the image appears right in the chat.
- Ask for changes in plain language to refine it, instead of starting over.
The image appears inline; you can download it or ask for changes.
What Nano Banana can do
These are the features it's particularly known for. The examples show the sort of request each one handles well.
Editing real photos
Upload a photo and describe the change; it edits that photo instead of generating a new one from scratch.
The edit keeps the rest of the photo unchanged.
Blending multiple images
Combine elements from two or more photos into a single, coherent image.
"Put the person from the first photo on this beach, matching the lighting."
Readable text in images
Posters, signs, and memes with the words spelled correctly, not garbled.
FEST
"A festival poster with the words 'SUMMER FEST' in bold letters at the top." The text renders legibly, not as garbled shapes.
Consistent characters
Keep the same face, outfit, or mascot recognizable across a series of separate generations.
The mascot's design carries over from the earlier image.
Pricing
There's no separate "Nano Banana" subscription: access comes through the free Gemini tier or the wider Google AI plans, which also cover Gemini's chat and other features. Google adjusts these limits fairly often, so check the official plans page before relying on a specific quota. The main differences are the quota and model access:
- · A small number of images a day
- · Falls back to the standard model after that
- · No card required
- · Roughly double the free allowance
- · Access to Nano Banana Pro
- · Cheapest paid tier
- · Higher daily limits
- · More generous Pro model access
- · Bundled with the rest of Gemini Advanced
- · The highest usage limits
- · Priority access to new models
- · For heavy daily use
Developers calling Nano Banana through the Gemini API are billed per image instead, on a separate pay-as-you-go rate.
Prompting tips
- For edits, upload the actual photo rather than describing it from memory.
- Say what should stay the same as well as what should change, so it doesn't redo the whole image.
- Spell out any text you want to appear in the image exactly as you want it written.
- To keep a character consistent, refer back to "the same [character]" and reuse earlier generations as a starting point.
- If a result is close but not quite right, describe the specific fix rather than rewriting the whole prompt.
More usage details live in Google's help center.
How it fits with Gemini
Nano Banana opens the image tools section of this AI Tools Course, after the general assistants and AI agents like Manus. Up next are more image generation tools, then video and audio tools.
What's Next
Next up: more AI image generation tools, and how they compare to Nano Banana.