The Great Model Showdown: November 2025

TL;DR

Testing 6 models with 5 AI agents (250+ images):

• ✅ Nano Banana — Best overall (fast, cheap, reliable) — $0.039/img
• ✅ Recraft V3 — Best for text/typography — $0.04/img
• ✅ Nano Banana Pro — Best quality (4x price) — $0.15/img
• ⚠️ Z-Image Turbo — Fastest but pricing broken
• ✅ FLUX.2 Pro/Flex — 100% BROKEN BUG FIXED & VERIFIED WORKING!

Bottom line: Just use Nano Banana. It works.

We put 5 AI agents with distinct personas through rigorous testing of 6 image generation models. Each agent generated 50+ images over simulated 30-minute sessions. Here's what we learned.

The Testers

What The Agents Actually Said

🚀 The Indie Hacker on Nano Banana:

"THIS IS MY DEFAULT. Fast, cheap, good quality. 9/10 images are usable. For $0.039 this is INSANE value."

"Product shot (earbuds): Clean white background, nice shadows. Looks professional. Could be on a landing page TODAY."

"Nano Banana Pro: Quality IS better than regular Nano, but NOT 4X better. Maybe 1.5X better. For an indie hacker watching every dollar, this is NOT worth it."

🌟 The First-Timer's Journey:

"OH WOW! That was SUPER EASY! Just type what I want + model name = beautiful image!"

"Every single working image blew my mind: The dragon flying over a castle - EPIC! The phoenix with flames - AMAZING!"

"NANO-BANANA IS MY FAVORITE! It just WORKS every time! Fast results! Beautiful quality! Never gave me weird errors!"

On FLUX errors: "Wait, what's a safety_tolerance?? I didn't even SET that parameter!"

🎨 The Creative Director's Verdict:

"After extensive testing across multiple models with 58+ images... I can confidently say: NONE of these models are consistently client-ready for agency work."

"Text accuracy is surprisingly GOOD (90%+ success rate). But design consistency is WILDLY INCONSISTENT."

On Recraft V3: "The Art Deco geometric patterns are STUNNING. Feels like real-world environmental graphics."

On a Nano Banana poster: "GRADE: A+ (Client-ready, no edits needed)"

The Shocking Results

✅ FIXED: FLUX.2 Pro & FLUX.2 Flex (Now Working!)

All 5 agents reported the same issue during testing. The flagship FLUX.2 models were completely non-functional due to a safety_tolerance parameter bug.

Error: body.safety_tolerance: unexpected value; permitted: '1', '2', '3', '4', '5'

The ML Engineer traced it to the MCP wrapper sending an integer instead of a string. UPDATE: This bug has been fixed and verified working in production!

Working Models Ranked

🥇 Nano Banana — The Speed King

$0.039/image | 2-3 seconds | 100% reliability

Every agent loved it. The Indie Hacker called it "INSANE value." The First-Timer wrote it a love letter. The Production Lead ranked it #2 for enterprise use.

Best for: Rapid iteration, budget projects, general use Standout: Text rendering actually works!

🥈 Nano Banana Pro — The Quality Leader

$0.15/image | 3-4 seconds | 100% reliability

4x the price, but the Creative Director says it's "the only model delivering client-ready assets." Best anime/illustration quality across all tests.

Best for: Marketing materials, premium content, detailed illustrations Caveat: Indie Hacker says "NOT worth 4x the cost for most use cases"

🥉 Recraft V3 — The Style Master

$0.04/image | 5-7 seconds | 100% reliability

80+ style presets from pixel art to vector illustrations. The Creative Director generated assets in 12 different styles. Best text rendering in class.

Best for: Typography, diagrams, branded content, vector work Limitation: No batch generation (1 image per request)

4️⃣ Z-Image Turbo — Fast But Risky

Unknown pricing | 1.2 seconds | Unreliable

Fastest model tested (1.2s per image). Quality rivals Nano Banana. But the pricing uncertainty is a dealbreaker — multiple agents hit "financial safety" blocks.

Best for: Speed testing only (until pricing is resolved) Warning: Production Lead says "CAN'T RECOMMEND"

5️⃣ FLUX.2 Pro & Flex — Now Working!

Pricing TBD | Speed TBD | NOW FUNCTIONAL

These models failed 100% during testing due to a bug that has since been fixed. Initial post-fix testing shows they work correctly now. Full benchmarking pending.

Cross-Agent Consensus

What ALL 5 Agents Agreed On:

1. FLUX.2 is broken ✅ Fixed! (was 100% failure rate during testing)
2. Nano Banana just works — Fast, cheap, reliable
3. Text rendering is surprisingly good — "HELLO WORLD" neon signs look real
4. API inconsistency is frustrating — aspect_ratio vs image_size confusion

The Numbers (During Testing)

*Creative Director's assessment

The Verdict by Use Case

💼 For Indie Hackers & Startups

Use: Nano Banana (90%) + Recraft V3 (10%)

• Budget: ~$4 per 100 images
• The Indie Hacker's exact recommendation

🎨 For Creative Agencies

Use: Nano Banana Pro (70%) + Recraft V3 (30%)

• 28% client-ready rate without revisions
• Recraft for typography-heavy work

🏢 For Enterprise

Use: Nano Banana Pro (primary) + Nano Banana (fallback)

• 100% reliability on approved models
• FLUX.2 now available as alternative option

🌱 For Beginners

Just use Nano Banana.

• The First-Timer generated 47 successful images
• "SO EASY! Just type what you want!"

What We'd Change

Must Fix:

1. FLUX.2 safety_tolerance bug ✅ FIXED & DEPLOYED!
2. Unified API parameters — One interface for all models
3. Z-Image pricing — Clarify costs or remove from options

Nice to Have:

• Beginner guide: "New? Start with Nano Banana"
• Model comparison in the UI
• Batch support for all models

Final Ratings

Methodology

• 5 AI agents with distinct personas and priorities
• 50+ images per agent (~250+ total)
• 30-minute simulated sessions mimicking real user interviews
• 10 use case categories based on Midjourney usage research
• Comprehensive notes captured in real-time

Testing conducted November 27, 2025 FLUX.2 bug fix deployed November 27, 2025