GPT Image 2.6 vs Nano Banana, FLUX 3, Seedream, Grok and More

How does GPT Image 2.6 compare with the other top image models? OpenAI released GPT Image 2.6 on 4 November 2026. We ran the same four prompts on GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst and seven of the strongest image models on Flixly: Google's Nano Banana 2.1 and Nano Banana Pro, xAI's Grok Imagine Image 2.0, Meta Muse Image, ByteDance's Seedream 5.0 Pro, Black Forest Labs' FLUX 3 and Ideogram 4.5. Every image below is the first result we got. Short answer: at the top, the gap is small. GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst was at or near the top in all four tests, and it had the richest light and texture. Nano Banana Pro and 2.1 matched it on instructions and were faster, and Meta Muse Image and FLUX 3 came surprisingly close for a fraction of the price.

What are the best AI image models right now?

Two public leaderboards rank image models by blind human votes, and they agree on most of the order. On the LMArena text-to-image leaderboard (snapshot of 2 November 2026, about 7 million votes), OpenAI holds the top five places: GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst first, then GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst (preliminary), 2.5 Flare, 2.6 Flare and GPT Image 2. Next come Microsoft's MAI-Image-2.6, Google's Nano Banana 2.1, xAI's Grok Imagine Image 2.0, Reve 2.1 and Meta Muse Image. On imagebattle.ai's November 2026 leaderboard, the order is similar, with Black Forest Labs' FLUX 3 Image in sixth place.

These are the models we tested, all available on Flixly:

Not in this test: Microsoft's MAI-Image-2.6 and Alibaba's Qwen-Image-3.0-Pro, which are not on Flixly, and Reve 2.1.

How we tested. Each model got the same prompt in a square format. GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst ran at High quality; the other models ran at their standard settings on Flixly. Every image is the first result, resized for the web and otherwise unedited. The result images below are shown in two rows of four.

Test 1: a recipe card full of text

A minimalist recipe card on linen paper titled "LEMON OLIVE OIL CAKE". Under the title, a neatly typeset ingredient list: "200 g flour", "3 eggs", "150 ml olive oil", "2 lemons, zested", "180 g sugar". At the bottom: "Bake 45 min at 180°C". A small watercolor lemon illustration in the corner, soft daylight, top-down photo.

GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst	Nano Banana 2.1	Nano Banana Pro	Grok Imagine Image 2.0

Meta Muse Image	Seedream 5.0 Pro	FLUX 3	Ideogram 4.5

Result: all eight spelled it right. Every model got the title, all five ingredients and "Bake 45 min at 180°C" correct, including the degree sign. Text in images is no longer what separates the top models. The differences are in layout: GPT Image 2.6 and FLUX 3 set the largest, easiest-to-read type, Seedream 5.0 Pro added a small illustration beside each ingredient, and Ideogram 4.5 set the text smallest.

Test 2: seven cups, five instructions

Seven teacups in a row on a white wooden shelf, from left to right: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. The third cup has a small chip on its rim, a black cat sleeps next to the blue cup, and a sticky note on the wall above reads "DO NOT TOUCH". Soft morning light, product photo.

GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst	Nano Banana 2.1	Nano Banana Pro	Grok Imagine Image 2.0

Meta Muse Image	Seedream 5.0 Pro	FLUX 3	Ideogram 4.5

Result: all eight passed, and three were exact. Every model got seven cups in the right colour order, a chip on the third cup and the note. The cat is where they differ. GPT Image 2.6, Nano Banana 2.1 and Nano Banana Pro curled it up in the row, right next to the blue cup. Grok, Seedream and Meta Muse put it behind or on top of the cups, and FLUX 3 and Ideogram 4.5 put it in front of them.

Test 3: a photoreal portrait

Close-up portrait of an elderly fisherman mending a blue net on a wooden dock at golden hour, weathered skin, silver stubble, rope-calloused hands in focus, a seagull on a post behind him, shallow depth of field, 85mm photograph.

GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst	Nano Banana 2.1	Nano Banana Pro	Grok Imagine Image 2.0

Meta Muse Image	Seedream 5.0 Pro	FLUX 3	Ideogram 4.5

Result: a strong field with one weak entry. Seven of the eight made a convincing old fisherman with a blue net and a seagull. GPT Image 2.6 had the warmest golden-hour light and the most texture in the skin, stubble and wool. Nano Banana Pro, Grok and Meta Muse were close behind. Ideogram 4.5 made a younger man with a teal net and a doubled, blurry gull.

Test 4: a children's book illustration

A children's book illustration of a fox and a badger sharing an umbrella in the rain on a cobblestone bridge, gouache texture, warm lamplight, puddle reflections, gentle and cozy.

GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst	Nano Banana 2.1	Nano Banana Pro	Grok Imagine Image 2.0

Meta Muse Image	Seedream 5.0 Pro	FLUX 3	Ideogram 4.5

Result: down to taste. All eight made a charming scene. GPT Image 2.6 was the only one with a visibly painted, gouache-like surface, plus the most detail in the rain, the reflections and the village. Nano Banana Pro, Meta Muse and FLUX 3 went for a clean, polished storybook look. Ideogram 4.5 chose a bright, flat style with a cyan sky.

Speed

Average time from pressing Generate to the finished image on Flixly, over the four prompts. Each prompt ran once, so treat these as a rough guide:

For speed with GPT Image 2.6, use Flare, the fast version. At Medium quality it finished in 32 to 39 seconds in our launch examples.

Which image model should you use?

• GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst when quality matters most: rich light and texture, exact instructions, and keeping a character consistent across keyframes, as our GPT Image 2.6 vs 2.5 vs 2.0 test showed.
• Nano Banana Pro or Nano Banana 2.1 for a close second that follows instructions just as literally, in less time.
• Meta Muse Image or FLUX 3 for drafts and volume: results close to the top models, quickly and at a fraction of the price.
• Seedream 5.0 Pro when you want larger output: it returned 2048 × 2048 images here.
• Ideogram 4.5 for designs and graphic styles rather than photos.
• Grok Imagine Image 2.0 if you like its look and don't mind the wait.

Flixly shows the exact credit price of every model before you generate.

How to compare these models yourself

1. Open the Image Generator with GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst selected and write your prompt.
2. Switch the model to Nano Banana Pro, Nano Banana 2.1, FLUX 3, Meta Muse Image, Seedream 5.0 Pro, Grok Imagine Image 2.0 or Ideogram 4.5 and keep the same prompt.
3. Check the credit price shown for each one, then press Generate.
4. Compare the results side by side in your history, or use Compare to run one prompt through two models with identical settings.