ChatGPT Image Gen vs Midjourney vs Nano Banana vs Stable Diffusion

All plans1 min read
ChatGPT (GPT-4o)MidjourneyNano BananaStable Diffusion
Text renderingExcellentPoorExcellentPoor to moderate
Aesthetic qualityGoodBest in classGood (photorealistic lean)Varies (model dependent)
Multi turn consistencyExcellentLimitedGoodVia manual seed control
Max resolution1024x1024Up to 2048x2048Up to 4K (4096x4096)Unlimited (hardware dependent)
Image editingConversationalLimitedStrong conversationalInpainting tools
Free tierYes (2 to 3/day)Yes (with watermark)Free (open source)
Cheapest paid$20/mo (Plus)$10/mo (Basic)$7.99/mo (AI Plus)Free (hardware costs)
Conversational workflowYes (full ChatGPT)No (Discord/web)Yes (Gemini)No (CLI/UI tools)

The right tool depends on your priority

For text in images and conversational iteration: ChatGPT. For pure aesthetic quality: Midjourney. For 4K resolution and editing: Nano Banana. For full local control and customization: Stable Diffusion. Many professionals use two or more of these tools, choosing based on the specific task.

0px

Nano Banana max resolution

0px

ChatGPT max resolution

0px

Midjourney max resolution