Nano Banana can turn photos dreamy with text prompts, context-aware edits, and subtle watermarks.
AI image tools are shifting from simple fun to pro-grade workflows, reshaping how we think about photo editing.
Competing tools focus on precision, realism, playful edits, social media visuals, and limitless experimentation.
Google’s Nano Banana AI model, also known as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, has been creating buzz for turning photos into a dreamy picture with just a simple text prompt. It can transform portraits, landscapes, and product shots with simple text prompts, while maintaining consistent edits across multiple iterations. It’s fun, it’s powerful, and it’s making people rethink what photo editing means. Social media is flooded with Nano Banana edits, and the AI is being touted as the most advanced photo editor of 2025.
SurveyWhile Nano Banana might be dominating conversations, several alternatives offer unique features, from professional-grade workflows to casual, social-friendly content creation. Check out these five alternatives.
Adobe Firefly & Adobe Express
Adobe knows design better than anyone, and with its latest updates, Firefly and Express are now fully AI-powered. Think of them as Photoshop’s smarter cousin — type in what you need, and they’ll generate it instantly.
But Adobe’s strength isn’t just speed; it’s control. Firefly is built with businesses in mind, letting marketers keep branding consistent while experimenting with fresh visuals. Layer control is still there for those who want pixel-perfect edits, which makes it feel like Photoshop with an AI turbo boost. If Nano Banana is about fun and creativity, Firefly is about precision and polish.
Imagen 4
Funny enough, Nano Banana isn’t even Google’s main event. That honour goes to Imagen 4, the company’s flagship text-to-image generator. While Nano Banana shines in editing existing photos, Imagen 4 can create new images from scratch.
The model is known for hyper-realism. Portraits look like they came out of a DSLR. Product shots look ad-ready without ever touching a camera. Plus, Imagen understands context far better than older AI models, so prompts don’t result in weird, nonsensical outputs. And because it sits inside Google’s creative pipeline, you can easily generate an image in Imagen and fine-tune it in Nano Banana.
OpenAI’s DALL·E 4
OpenAI may be in the spotlight for ChatGPT, but its image model DALL·E hasn’t lost steam. In fact, DALL·E 4 remains one of the most flexible AI tools around.
What makes it stand out is inpainting and outpainting. Want to extend your photo beyond its borders? Easy. Need to swap a background or add a missing detail? Done. You can even insert completely new objects into a scene, and they’ll blend in naturally. Plus, DALL·E is incredibly forgiving with prompts. You don’t need to craft complicated instructions; a casual description usually does the job.
Nano Banana might win in long, multi-turn editing sessions, but when it comes to fast, playful creativity, DALL·E is still one of the best options.
Canva AI Image Generator
We don’t need cinematic landscapes or pro-grade workflows all the time. Sometimes we just need a clean, good-looking Instagram post. That’s where Canva’s AI Image Generator shines.
Built directly into Canva’s design platform, it lets users whip up custom visuals without ever leaving their workspace. The free plan gives you 50 credits to start with, and Canva even suggests styles and aspect ratios optimised for social platforms. The best part? It works hand-in-hand with scheduling tools like Metricool, so you can go from “idea” to “post” in minutes.
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DeepAI
DeepAI, unlike the polished platforms above, feels more like a playground. You get unlimited instant generations, a wide range of art styles (over a hundred, from photorealistic to abstract), and plenty of knobs to tweak colours, aspect ratios, and image quality.
Is it as sharp as Nano Banana or Imagen? Not really. But it’s fun, accessible, and offers an API for developers who want to plug AI image generation into their own apps. It’s less about glossy commercial output and more about giving people freedom to experiment without limits.
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Himani Jha
Himani Jha is a tech news writer at Digit. Passionate about smartphones and consumer technology, she has contributed to leading publications such as Times Network, Gadgets 360, and Hindustan Times Tech for the past five years. When not immersed in gadgets, she enjoys exploring the vibrant culinary scene, discovering new cafes and restaurants, and indulging in her love for fine literature and timeless music. View Full Profile
