Technology
GPT Image 2 vs Nano Banana 2 vs Seedream 5 Lite: One Prompt, Three Models
We ran the same prompt through GPT Image 2, Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5 Lite across a poster, a product shot and a portrait. See every result and which model wins each job.
· Kubeez
Three of the best text-to-image models, one identical prompt each, no cherry-picking. We ran GPT Image 2 (OpenAI), Nano Banana 2 (Google) and Seedream 5 Lite (ByteDance) through three real briefs, a typographic poster, a photoreal product shot and a portrait, and compared the first result from each. Here is what actually came back.
The three models at a glance
- GPT Image 2 (OpenAI) renders text autoregressively, so it reasons about letters the way a language model reasons about words. That makes it the strongest at typography, dense copy and precise layout.
- Nano Banana 2 (Google, Gemini 3 Pro Image) leads on photorealism: real skin, natural light and a "shot on a real camera" look, with Google grounding for real places and objects.
- Seedream 5 Lite (ByteDance) is the detail-and-atmosphere specialist. It defaults to a higher native resolution and renders gorgeous light and texture, though it takes more creative liberty with the brief.
How we tested
Same prompt for all three models in each round. Same aspect ratio. Each model at its standard resolution (Seedream 5 Lite defaults to 2K; the other two to 1K). One generation each, no retries, no prompt tweaking between models. The point is what you get on the first try, not after ten attempts.
Round 1: Typography, a gig poster
Prompt: Editorial gig poster. A bold ultra-condensed sans-serif headline reads exactly: MIDNIGHT ECHO. Below it, smaller text reads exactly: Live at Hollow Hall, Oct 14. Deep navy background, one coral accent bar, film-grain texture, Swiss-poster layout, generous negative space.
GPT Image 2
Nano Banana 2
Seedream 5 Lite
All three spelled the text correctly, short headlines are a solved problem now. The difference was design. GPT Image 2 was the only one that took the "ultra-condensed Swiss-poster" instruction seriously: a towering condensed headline, real negative space, and the coral bar used as a deliberate accent. Nano Banana 2 and Seedream 5 Lite both played it safe with a clean, centered headline and an underline, perfectly legible, but closer to a template than a designed poster. For a piece where the type IS the design, GPT Image 2 wins.
Round 2: Photoreal product, a pour-over coffee dripper
Prompt: Photoreal lifestyle product shot: a matte-black ceramic pour-over coffee dripper on a sunlit oak cafe table, thin steam rising, a linen napkin and a single roasted coffee bean nearby, warm morning window light, shallow depth of field, editorial food-photography style.
GPT Image 2
Nano Banana 2
Seedream 5 Lite
GPT Image 2 rendered the most accurate product: a real dripper with a paper filter and visible coffee, steam, the napkin, the bean, all present and reading as a polished product photo. Nano Banana 2 produced the most believable real photograph, a candid cafe scene with natural window light that genuinely looks shot, not generated (its grounding shows). Seedream 5 Lite made the most atmospheric image, with beautiful light and wood grain, but it abstracted the dripper into a vague black cone and dropped the filter and coffee entirely, the strongest mood and the weakest brief-fidelity. Use GPT Image 2 when the product has to be exactly right, and Nano Banana 2 when you want it to look candidly real.
Round 3: Portrait, skin and detail
Prompt: Photoreal editorial portrait of a young woman with light freckles and natural curly auburn hair, soft north-window light, shallow depth of field, candid expression, warm-grey background, fine skin texture, 50mm look.
GPT Image 2
Nano Banana 2
Seedream 5 Lite
This was the closest round. GPT Image 2 gave a warm, intimate, convincing portrait with natural freckles. Nano Banana 2 produced the most candid, "real snapshot" feel, an off-gaze, natural-light moment, though with a wider crop and subtler freckles. The surprise was Seedream 5 Lite: the same model that fumbled the coffee dripper rendered the finest skin texture and the most convincing freckles of the three, in a tight beauty-editorial frame. For pure skin and detail, Seedream edged ahead here.
The verdict
| If you need | Reach for |
|---|---|
| Typography, posters, dense or multilingual text, UI, real brands | GPT Image 2 |
| Photoreal product accuracy with a clean layout | GPT Image 2 |
| A candid, "looks like a real photo" lifestyle shot | Nano Banana 2 |
| Real places, products or faces, multi-image editing | Nano Banana 2 |
| Maximum skin and texture detail, plus atmosphere | Seedream 5 Lite |
| Uncensored output or a higher default resolution | Seedream 5 Lite |
No single model won everything, which is the whole point. GPT Image 2 was the most consistent all-rounder and the only one to be reliable on text. Nano Banana 2 made the most natural photographs. Seedream 5 Lite swung the widest: weakest on the literal product, strongest on skin. The best workflow is not loyalty to one model, it is matching the model to the job, and on Kubeez you can run all three from the same prompt and pick the winner.
Try it yourself
Every image above was generated on Kubeez with the prompt shown, on the first try, with no edits. Open the studio, paste one of these prompts, and run it across all three models to see which one fits your brand.