Nano Banana
If you came here for Imagen, it is gone: the Gemini API has shut the Imagen models down, Vertex AI lists their endpoints as discontinued, and the DeepMind page redirects to Nano Banana. What replaced it is a stronger editing-first family that keeps characters consistent, follows layout instructions and renders text, priced by the image at rates that undercut most rivals at the Lite tier. Pick it when you need editing and consistency inside a Google stack; look elsewhere if you need an open-weights model you can run yourself.
Pros
- Three tiers from a cheap Lite model to a 4K Pro model, all under one API
- Editing, multi-image reference and character consistency are first-class rather than bolted on
- Readable in-image text, a weak spot of earlier generators
- Free access in the Gemini app and AI Studio before any API spend
Cons
- The Imagen name, SDK method and response format are retired, so existing integrations break
- No free tier in the API for image models — every generated image is billed
- Output carries Google's SynthID watermark and usage sits under Google's content policies
- Pro-tier 4K images cost about seven times a Lite image