Midjourney vs Nano Banana 2.1: Which Image Model to Use in 2026

Zoey Zhang

Oct 2026

Midjourney and Google's Nano Banana 2.1 are both in Flick's image node, and they pull in different directions: one toward a look, the other toward the instructions. We re-ran three of our Midjourney prompts on Nano Banana 2.1 with the same saved Flick style and compared.

The short version: Midjourney kept the mood and the style; Nano Banana 2.1 followed the prompt literally, rendered both sign texts, and came back in about 20 seconds. At the time of writing Midjourney is temporarily unavailable in Flick's picker; the Midjourney images here come from our earlier runs.

Quick answer: Midjourney or Nano Banana 2.1?

In an image node on Flick:

Pick Midjourney for atmosphere. It held our saved style, grain and light most closely.
Pick Nano Banana 2.1 for speed and instructions. About 20 seconds an image, every listed object placed, clean sign text.
Expect Nano Banana to reinterpret subjects. Our "small dog" came back as a different breed in a wider shot.

	Midjourney	Nano Banana 2.1
Maker	Midjourney	Google
Credits on Flick	10 per batch of 4 images	8 per image at 1K; 12 at 2K; 28 at 4K
Output we got (16:9)	1456 × 816	1376 × 768
Text in images	Legible but rough in our test	Clean
Reference images	Style reference	Character references, editing, style transfer
Status on Flick	Temporarily unavailable at the time of writing	Available on every plan

Run one prompt on two image models

Keep your style, switch the model, compare.

How we tested

Three prompts from our own canvases: a dog carrying a bowl, a peach tree, and a haunted mansion with two signs. Each was first run on Midjourney with a saved Flick style; we then used Regenerate on the Midjourney node and switched to Nano Banana 2.1 at 1K, which keeps the prompt, the aspect ratio and the style. One Nano Banana image per prompt; Midjourney returns four, and we show the one from the node we regenerated.

Midjourney and Nano Banana 2.1 side by side on three prompts: a small dog carrying a bowl, a peach tree in summer sun, and a haunted mansion at night with pumpkins and signs

Test 1: a dog carrying a bowl

A small dog walks by carrying a dog bowl in its mouth. The dog is shown in profile, not facing the camera. The scene is sun-drenched and summery, filmed in rich, warm golden-hour light in front of a beautiful house.

Midjourney framed a white terrier close, in profile, like a film frame. Nano Banana 2.1 pulled back to a wide lawn with a stone farmhouse and a smaller brown terrier: every element is there, but the dog is a different breed and much smaller in frame. If the subject matters, describe it.

Test 2: a peach tree

A low-angle view of a peach tree laden with fruit, under the blazing summer sun. It evokes a lazy, indulgent summer afternoon, something both fleeting and eternal, with the kind of lush, richly sensuous countryside aesthetic.

Midjourney went close into heavy, saturated fruit with film grain. Nano Banana 2.1 shot the whole tree into the sun, with a lens flare and many more peaches. Both are low angles; Midjourney's reads warmer and more intimate.

Test 3: a haunted mansion with two signs

A long prompt in a "Textured Silhouette Art" style, asking for a mansion on the right, a figure in the tower window, pumpkins along a stone path, a crow, a lantern, and two signs reading "Some Houses Never Forget" and "All Who Wander Are Not Lost".

Close-ups of the two signs from each model: Midjourney's lettering is small and rough; GPT Image 2.5 and Nano Banana 2.1 render both signs cleanly

Midjourney kept the silhouette look and lettered both signs roughly, the second one blurred. Nano Banana 2.1 drew a detailed, felted-looking illustration rather than silhouettes, placed the crow, lantern, pumpkins and tower figure, and set both signs in clean lettering.

Cost and speed

	Midjourney	Nano Banana 2.1
Credits	10 for 4 images	8 for 1 image (1K)
Per image	2.5	8
Our times	32 s for a batch of 4 (mansion)	21 s each (two timed runs)

Rates for every model are on model credit costs.

Which one to use

You want	Use	Why
A frame with mood and texture	Midjourney	Closest to the saved style
Every object in a long prompt	Nano Banana 2.1	Placed everything we listed
Readable sign or poster text	Nano Banana 2.1	Clean lettering on both signs
A specific subject kept as described	Midjourney	Nano Banana changed our dog's breed and scale
The same character across shots	Nano Banana 2.1	Supports character references

The column "Why" is our assessment from these three prompts. More: Nano Banana 2.1 vs 2 vs Pro, character reference.

Sources

Version and Style Reference, Midjourney documentation, checked October 21, 2026
Gemini Nano Banana 2.1 model page, Google, updated October 6, 2026
Nano Banana 2.1 vs 2 vs Pro, Flick, with Google's documentation linked there
Images, credit rates and timings from Flick canvases, July to October 2026

Preguntas frecuentes

Is Nano Banana 2.1 better than Midjourney?

Which is cheaper per image? Midjourney: 10 credits for 4 images. Nano Banana 2.1: 8 credits per image at 1K.

Which is cheaper per image?

Can Nano Banana 2.1 keep a character consistent? Yes. It supports character references in Flick.

Can Nano Banana 2.1 keep a character consistent?

Is Midjourney available on Flick? It is temporarily unavailable at the time of writing.