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🎨 Image Generation

AI image generation has evolved from a novelty to a genuine creative tool. Whether you need marketing visuals, concept art, or product mockups, these tools can produce professional-quality images in seconds. The key is knowing which tool excels at what.

6 resources — sorted by rating

🎨 Image Generation Freemium

Nano Banana 2

Google DeepMind's newly released Nano Banana 2 — currently the absolute top tier for photorealistic AI image generation, precision editing, and layout.

Best for: Photorealistic image generation, extremely strong photo editing, UI/UX screen mockups, and structured infographics.

Fabian's take — "The recent update from Nano Banana Pro to Nano Banana 2 changes the game entirely. Its photo editing is absurdly strong now, and the fact that you can just ask it to dump out ready-to-use screen mockups or detailed infographics makes it arguably the most useful visual tool available today."

Included with Google AI Plus/Pro/Ultra / API access / Available on third-party platforms Read review
🎨 Image Generation Paid

FLUX-2-Pro

Black Forest Labs' production-grade image generator. Delivers photorealistic results at high speed with excellent prompt adherence — a strong open-ecosystem alternative.

Best for: Developers and production workflows needing fast, reliable photorealistic image generation via API

Fabian's take — "FLUX-2-Pro is a strong image generation model with excellent photorealism and speed. It's particularly appealing for developers and production workflows where you need reliable, high-quality output via API. For most non-technical users, Nano Banana Pro is the better choice, but FLUX-2-Pro is worth knowing about."

~$0.03/image via API / Available on third-party platforms (fal.ai, Replicate, etc.) Read review
🎨 Image Generation Paid

Sora (Image)

Uses the Sora diffusion-transformer to generate still images, enabling consistent imagery that can also be animated into video.

Best for: Generating images that maintain consistency and can be animated smoothly, plus combining two images without losing characteristics of either

Fabian's take — "I've had a lot of fun with this creatively, but now it already feels a bit outdated. It might still be the best model at combining two images without losing the characteristics of either."

Included with ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) / Pro ($200/month) for higher limits Read review
🎨 Image Generation Freemium

GPT Image

OpenAI's built-in image generation in ChatGPT. Convenient and often surprisingly good, but usually a step behind the best dedicated image generators.

Best for: Quick image generation within ChatGPT conversations — convenient when you don't need the absolute best quality

Fabian's take — "GPT Image is often not bad at all, but usually not as good as Nano Banana Pro. Its strength is convenience — if you're already in a ChatGPT conversation and need a quick visual, it's right there. For anything important, I reach for Nano Banana Pro instead."

Included with ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) / API access available Read review
🎨 Image Generation Paid

Grok Imagine

xAI's visual model that generates images and short videos from text or reference images, supporting text-to-image, image editing, and text-/image-to-video workflows.

Best for: Comparing image generation outputs across models and getting surprisingly creative results from an underdog contender

Fabian's take — "The image model in Grok provided by xAI is still a bit hit or miss. I like to use it to compare its output with that of other image generators and editors. Sometimes the results are hilariously bad, but sometimes it surprises me and produces the best result of them all."

Included with X Premium+ ($16/month) / Grok standalone plans Read review
🎨 Image Generation Paid

Midjourney

Still produces stunning, artistic images with a distinctive aesthetic that's hard to match — but its lead has narrowed as competitors have caught up.

Best for: Design professionals, concept art, and creative work where aesthetic quality matters most

Fabian's take — "I used to experiment with Midjourney but never got more out of it than some playful edits. It's likely more suitable for design professionals who can invest the time in prompt craft. For non-designers, Nano Banana Pro or GPT Image are more approachable starting points."

$10/month Basic / $30/month Standard / $60/month Pro Read review

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