Thinking Image Models Compared: GPT-Image 2 vs Nano Banana Pro vs Seedream 5.0 Pro and How to Choose
The image generation race has moved to new dimensions: reasoning, text rendering, editing, and layers. This comparison runs the new five-way slate - GPT-Image 2 (first natively reasoning image model: Thinking mode with web access + 8-image consistency, ~99% text rendering), Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image, the multi-round "no-shuffle" editing reputation king with native 4K), Seedream 5.0 Pro (launched July 8: Chinese small text finally stops garbling + layer separation, 0.3 CNY per 1K image), Ideogram 4.0 (June 3: the text-rendering specialist open-sources 9.3B weights), and FLUX.2 (generation+editing unified, 10 reference images). Exclusive ledger: GPT-Image 2's low tier at $0.006 is the table floor, Seedream 5.0 Pro is the 1K-2K value king, and the open-weights duo's true cost is the GPU. Five scenario-based verdicts; all prices tagged with provenance and snapshot dates.