Comparisons7 min read
Nano Banana vs DALL·E: What the Prompts Actually Show
DALL·E 3 is no longer OpenAI's image model — GPT Image is. Compared against Nano Banana across 5,348 real generations: which one people trust with photography, and which with text.
On this page
- First, a naming problem worth clearing up
- The measurement
- Where Nano Banana wins: photographs
- Where GPT Image wins: words and layout
- Choosing between them
- Run the comparison yourself
- FAQ
- Is DALL·E 3 still available?
- Which is better, Nano Banana or DALL·E?
- Which one is better at text in images?
- Can I use both without two subscriptions?
- What about Stable Diffusion?
First, a naming problem worth clearing up
If you are searching for "DALL·E vs Nano Banana," you are comparing a current model against a retired name.
DALL·E 3 is no longer OpenAI's image model. Image generation in ChatGPT and the OpenAI API now runs on GPT Image, a different architecture with noticeably different behaviour — most obviously, it renders text inside pictures far more reliably than DALL·E ever did. Comparisons written against DALL·E 3 are describing a model most people can no longer reach.
Nano Banana is the nickname for Google's Gemini image models — gemini-2.5-flash-image and the newer generation people call Nano Banana 2.
So the real comparison is Nano Banana vs GPT Image, and that is what this article measures.
The measurement
Rather than trading adjectives, we looked at a corpus: 9,667 images in the LocalBanana gallery, each stored with the prompt that produced it and the model that ran it. Since both models are available side by side, what people choose reveals what each is trusted with.
| Nano Banana | GPT Image | |
|---|---|---|
| Images in corpus | 3,305 | 2,043 |
| Prompts asking for text or typography | 21.8% | 51.7% |
| Prompts with camera cues (shot on, 85mm, f/1.4, film grain) | 45.5% | 28.0% |
| Prompts asking for illustration or anime | 19.4% | 36.2% |
2.4×
GPT Image is asked for text more often than Nano Banana
51.7% vs 21.8% of prompts
1.6×
Nano Banana is given camera specifications more often
45.5% vs 28.0% of prompts
The split is not subtle, and it points at two different tools rather than a better and a worse one.
What this is
Revealed preference from people spending their own credits with both models available — strong evidence about fitness for a job, but not a controlled capability benchmark. Treat the percentages as "what each model gets hired for."
Where Nano Banana wins: photographs
Nearly half of Nano Banana prompts specify a lens, an aperture, a film stock, or a lighting setup. People write to it the way they would brief a photographer, and the outputs hold up to that brief — skin that reads as skin, light that falls the way light falls.
Urban Still Shadow Crowd Flow
Nano Banana ProPrompt▾
Ultra-realistic cinematic street portrait of a young woman standing still in a crowded city street, sharp focus on her face with calm, intense expression. Long-exposure effect with people moving around her creating strong directional motion blur, streaked crowd movement while the subject remains perfectly still. Natural soft daylight, shallow depth of field, creamy bokeh, realistic skin texture, subtle freckles, neutral makeup, dark winter coat and scarf. Emotional, introspective mood, urban storytelling photography, DSLR quality, 85mm lens look, f/1.8, high dynamic range, 8K, professional color grading.
It is also the stronger of the two at conditional consistency: hold one character's face across a sheet of poses, keep a single object's colour while everything else goes monochrome. These are the instructions that separate models most visibly, because they require the model to track a rule across the whole image rather than apply a mood to it.
Orange Sunglasses Selective Color Portrait
Nano Banana ProPrompt▾
A studio-style close-up editorial portrait of a person with strong, well-defined facial features and slightly imperfect, natural skin texture. The subject wears a black tailored turtleneck with sharp, clean lines, layered under a high-collared black jacket in a minimalist contemporary fashion style. The subject wears semi-transparent orange acetate sunglasses — rectangular frames with softly rounded edges, glossy finish, and amber gradient lenses — serving as the only colored element in the image. Color concept: selective color photography — monochrome black-and-white image with only the sunglasses in vivid orange. Mood is calm and confident, serious expression, direct gaze into the camera. Lighting is soft frontal studio light with gentle shadows, even skin tones, cinematic contrast, and visible natural skin texture. Shot on a professional portrait camera, f/2.0, ISO 100, 1/125s. High resolution, ultra-sharp focus on the face. Style: editorial luxury fashion portrait, photorealistic, professional studio photography, no illustration, no painterly effects.
Where GPT Image wins: words and layout
Over half of GPT Image prompts ask for text in the frame. That is the single sharpest number in the corpus, and it matches the model's reputation: if the picture needs a headline, a caption, a label, or a chart, this is the one people reach for.
Futuristic Earbuds Ad
GPT ImagePrompt▾
Create a high-end futuristic product advertisement poster for Apple Pods Pro 3, styled like a premium tech magazine cover. Vertical composition, clean soft gray studio background with subtle rainbow prism lens flares around the edges. A fashionable young person is centered in the background, face obscured by a simple rectangular blur block, wearing a bright neon-lime knit beanie, wavy shoulder-length pink hair, and a black-and-white zebra striped top. One white wireless earbud is visible in their ear. In the extreme foreground, their hand is extended toward the camera holding an open glossy white charging case, shot with dramatic shallow depth of field and forced perspective so the case dominates the frame. Inside the open case, exactly 2 white earbuds are visible. Add 4 larger floating earbuds around the composition: 2 on the left side and 2 on the right side, softly blurred as if suspended in space. Place huge bold white sans-serif headline text across the top reading AIRPODS. On the upper right, add smaller stacked white sans-serif product text reading Apple Pods Pro 3. On the left middle, add a white feature callout in stacked text: Premium sound and noise cancellation. On the right side, add 2 large numeric feature blocks in white: one reading "30" with smaller text "hours of battery life." beneath it, and one reading "1" with smaller text "year warranty." beneath it. Sleek commercial lighting, glossy reflections on the case, crisp product detail, modern fashion-tech aesthetic, polished Apple-inspired ad design, photorealistic, premium editorial finish.
Hong Kong Office Lady Outfit Guide
GPT ImagePrompt▾
{"type":"fashion infographic poster","topic":"Hong Kong office lady daily outfit guide","style":"clean premium editorial layout, realistic fashion photography combined with product callouts, beige and white minimalist palette, sharp Chinese typography, modern magazine aesthetic","canvas":{"orientation":"portrait","aspect_ratio":"2:3","background":"split layout with full-height street photo on the left and light beige infographic panel on the right"},"text":{"main_title":"香港OL日常穿搭指南","subtitle":"Typical Business Outfit for Office Ladies in Hong Kong","tagline":"專業得體・時尚有型・自信返工每一天","bottom_caption":"自信・專業・時尚 – 香港OL的魅力日常","quote":"在專業與時尚之間取得平衡，這就是香港OL的日常魅力。"},"subject":{"gender_presentation":"female","role":"Hong Kong office lady","full_body":true,"face":"intentionally blurred or anonymized","hair":{"color":"dark brown","style":"long straight hair with a side part, smooth and slightly tucked behind shoulder"},"pose":"walking confidently on a city sidewalk while holding a smartphone in both hands, one leg stepping forward","expression":"neutral, poised, professional","outfit":{"dress":{"type":"sleeveless fitted sheath dress","color":"white","length":"above knee","neckline":"deep scoop neckline","fit":"body-skimming tailored silhouette"},"bag":{"type":"structured black leather handbag","carry":"on forearm","details":"top handles, small triangle logo, attached teddy-bear charm in red shirt"},"bracelet":{"type":"thin silver bracelet","wrist":"left wrist"},"earrings":{"type":"small round stud earrings","metal":"silver"},"shoes":{"type":"pointed high heel pumps","color":"white","details":"low-cut vamp and square buckle ornament on toe"},"phone":{"type":"smartphone","color":"silver or gray"}},"location":{"city":"Central, Hong Kong","setting":"busy downtown business district with pedestrians and tall glass office towers in soft blur background"}},"layout":{"sections":[{"title":"OUTFIT BREAKDOWN\n穿搭元素解析","position":"top-right","count":6,"labels":["連身裙 Dress","手袋 Handbag","小飾物 Charm","手飾 Bracelet","耳環 Earrings","高跟鞋 High Heel Pumps"]},{"title":"穿搭重點 KEY POINTS","position":"lower-left overlay","count":4,"labels":["簡約俐落，專業感滿分","適合香港辦公室環境","舒適得體，應對通勤返工日常","細節配搭，展現個人品味"]},{"title":"整體造型小貼士 STYLING TIPS","position":"bottom-right","count":4,"labels":["選擇透氣面料，應對香港潮濕天氣","攜帶外套／薄身西裝外套，應對冷氣環境","保持妝容自然，髮型整潔專業","配搭得體，展現自信專業形象"]}],"left_panel":{"main_image":"full-body street-style fashion photo of the office lady","location_badge":"Central, Hong Kong\n中環・返工日常","quote_box":"large beige quote panel with oversized quotation marks near the bottom"},"right_panel":{"product_list":"6 vertically stacked item callouts with isolated product image beside each description","highlight_box":"beige recommendation box under the high heel section","tips_box":"rounded rectangle styling tips box at the bottom"}},"items":[{"name":"連身裙 Dress","image":"sleeveless white sheath dress on plain background","description":"修身剪裁的連身裙，簡約大方，展現專業與優雅氣質。","recommendation":"建議顏色：白色／米色／淺灰／海軍藍"},{"name":"手袋 Handbag","image":"black structured handbag with teddy-bear charm","description":"結構感手袋，容量實用，適合放上班必需品，展現專業形象。","recommendation":"建議：中型手挽袋／肩背袋"},{"name":"小飾物 Charm","image":"small yellow teddy-bear charm with red shirt","description":"可愛小飾物為造型增添個人特色，低調中展現品味。","recommendation":"建議：簡約吊飾／絲巾／小配件"},{"name":"手飾 Bracelet","image":"thin silver bracelet","description":"精緻手飾提升整體造型層次，細節彰顯品味。","recommendation":"建議：簡約金屬手鍊／珍珠手飾"},{"name":"耳環 Earrings","image":"pair of small round silver stud earrings","description":"低調耳環修飾臉型，增添優雅氣質。","recommendation":"建議：珍珠／鑽石／簡約金屬款"},{"name":"高跟鞋 High Heel Pumps","image":"white pointed pumps with decorative buckle","description":"細跟高跟鞋拉長腿部線條，提升專業氣場。","recommendation_title":"重點推介：Roger Vivier Belle Vivier Pumps","recommendation_points":["經典方扣設計，優雅高貴","舒適鞋跟高度，適合長時間穿著","意大利製造，品質保證","百搭易襯，提升整體造型"],"footnote":"Tips: 建議跟高 5-7cm，舒適又得體。"}],"visual_notes":"Use crisp, legible Traditional Chinese text exactly as shown, realistic product cutouts, soft natural daylight, polished commercial retouching, subtle shadows, balanced spacing, luxurious but practical office fashion tone.","parameters":["香港OL日常穿搭指南","在專業與時尚之間取得平衡，這就是香港OL的日常魅力。","white","black","Central, Hong Kong"]}It also leans further into illustration (36.2% vs 19.4%), which fits the same profile — posters, character sheets, editorial graphics.
Choosing between them
| Your job | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Portrait, product, or lifestyle photography | Nano Banana | 45.5% of its prompts are camera-directed; it's the photographic default |
| Anything with readable words in the image | GPT Image | 51.7% of its prompts are text jobs |
| Film-stock emulation | Nano Banana | Film grain and stock names cluster heavily in its prompts |
| Poster, infographic, title card | GPT Image | Layout and typography handled together |
| One character across many frames | Nano Banana | Conditional consistency is its clearest edge |
| Illustration, anime, character design | GPT Image | Nearly twice the illustration share |
Don't pick once and stop
The corpus shows the same people using both — routing photography one way and layout the other. If a tool forces you to commit to one model, that constraint costs you more than any quality difference between them.
Run the comparison yourself
The argument settles in about twenty minutes: take one prompt, run it on both, and look. Every image in our gallery carries its full prompt for exactly this purpose.
✕ Unfair comparison
Use a different showcase prompt for each model and compare the prettiest outputs✓ Matched comparison
Give both models the same subject, exact layout, required text and edit instruction; score instruction following and artifact rate separatelyFAQ
Is DALL·E 3 still available?
Not as OpenAI's primary image model. Image generation in ChatGPT and the API is served by GPT Image. If an article compares "DALL·E 3" against current models, check its date — it is likely describing something you can no longer use.
Which is better, Nano Banana or DALL·E?
For photographic work, Nano Banana — by a clear margin in our data. For images containing text, GPT Image (OpenAI's current model, the successor to DALL·E). The honest answer is that they are specialised differently, and the question "which is better" hides the useful question, which is "better at what."
Which one is better at text in images?
GPT Image, and it isn't close in usage terms: 51.7% of its prompts in a 2,043-image sample request text, against 21.8% for Nano Banana.
Can I use both without two subscriptions?
Yes — that is what LocalBanana does: Nano Banana, GPT Image and other models behind one prompt box, with every gallery prompt runnable on whichever you choose.
What about Stable Diffusion?
Different category — it runs on your own hardware. If privacy, offline use, or fixed cost matter more to you than top-end quality, start with Can you run Nano Banana locally?, which covers the open-weight options and their real VRAM requirements.
LocalBanana Team
We run Nano Banana, GPT Image and other models side by side, and publish every prompt in our gallery. These guides are written from that corpus.
Updated @LocalBanana_io
