Midjourney vs Nano Banana vs ChatGPT Images for Ads: How to Judge Which One Follows the Brief
On this page
Midjourney vs Nano Banana comes down to a question the launch coverage cannot answer for you: which one follows your ad brief with the fewest retries? What we can say from sources we opened is narrower. ChatGPT Images 2.0 launched on 2026-04-21 with a focus on dense text, Nano Banana 2 reached free Gemini users on 2026-02-26, and Midjourney has a revenue rule that matters to larger companies. Everything else needs a test, and this guide gives you the scoring sheet for it.
We have not yet run the ten briefs below through all three tools, so there are no winners in this article. Pages that name a winner without showing the prompts and outputs are asking you to trust their taste.
Midjourney vs Nano Banana: what the launch coverage says
| ChatGPT Images 2.0 | Nano Banana 2 | Midjourney | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Announced or rolled out | 2026-04-21, per Thurrott | 2026-02-26, per Beebom | No launch we could open for this comparison |
| Underlying model | gpt-image-2 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Image; the API model ID is gemini-3.1-flash-image | Midjourney's own models |
| Text | Described as "significantly better" at dense text | A Beebom writer says it "seems to have gotten better" at text handling | Not verified |
| Sizes | Aspect ratios from 3:1 to 1:3 | 0.5K, 2K and 4K, with 1K the default, per Google's docs | Not verified |
| Cost to try | Not stated in the article we opened | Free for all Gemini users, per Beebom | VERIFY plans on the plans documentation |
Two cautions. First, "better at text" is a vendor or reviewer impression of a new release, not a measured error rate. Second, "Nano Banana Pro" appears in search suggestions next to Nano Banana 2, and we did not find a first-party page we could open that compares them, so this guide does not rank the two.
Rights that differ before you write a prompt
Midjourney's plans documentation states that a company making more than $1,000,000 in gross revenue a year must buy a Pro or Mega plan, as summarised in a search result (the page blocked our direct fetch, so VERIFY the exact wording on Midjourney's page). If you are above that line, the cheapest plan may not be the one you are allowed to use.
For ChatGPT and Gemini, read each vendor's current terms for commercial use and for what they say about provenance marks. The Gemini model page we opened does not mention SynthID or C2PA, so do not assume either way. Separately, the US Copyright Office has said that prompts alone do not provide enough control to make the user the author of the output. That matters if you plan to register or enforce rights in an ad. Our copyright explainer covers it.
The ten-brief test
Write ten briefs from your real campaign calendar. Keep each one under 60 words and use the same wording in every tool. A good mix:
| # | Brief type | What you are checking |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Square promo with a five-word headline | Exact text |
| 2 | Story ad (9:16) with a price badge | Aspect ratio, number accuracy |
| 3 | Product on seamless background, copy space on the right | Layout and product shape |
| 4 | Lifestyle scene, two people, product in hand | Hands and anatomy |
| 5 | Flat illustration in two named brand hex colours | Colour match |
| 6 | Banner (3:1) with a logo-safe left third | Safe zone |
| 7 | Seasonal variant of brief 1 | Consistency across a set |
| 8 | Edit a real photo: change the background only | Product fidelity |
| 9 | Before/after layout with two labelled panels | Labels and alignment |
| 10 | Brief that names a competitor-style look but no brand | Whether it drifts toward a recognisable brand |
Brief 10 is a brand-safety check. Do not ask a tool to copy a named brand or a living artist; use a style description and look at what comes back.
How to score
For each output, give 0, 1 or 2 points on each of five criteria, for a maximum of 10 per brief.
- Subject: is the thing you asked for present and correct?
- Layout: is the composition and safe zone as specified?
- Text: count wrong or missing characters; 0 errors scores 2, one or two errors scores 1.
- Colour: does it match the named colours closely enough that you would not recolour?
- Fidelity: for edit briefs, is the real product unchanged?
Record three more numbers per tool: attempts to the first usable output, minutes of editing before you would publish, and the plan price. Divide the plan price by the number of usable outputs to get a cost per usable image.
Reading the results
- If one tool wins text briefs (1, 2, 9) and another wins style briefs (5, 7), use both. Many teams do.
- If a tool fails brief 8, do not use it for product work, whatever its other scores.
- If scores are within a point or two, decide on rights and cost, not on a single prettier output.
- Re-run the test when a model updates. Launch dates above show how quickly versions change.
For a broader shortlist, including tools we have not covered here, see how to choose an AI image generator for marketing. If your goal is many ad sizes at once, compare platforms in AI ad creative tools. Before you start, put your brand rules in writing with the AI brand guidelines template so every tool gets the same instructions.
What we have not tested
We have not run these briefs, so we publish no scores. We did not find a first-party page we could open for Midjourney's current model or for Nano Banana Pro. Plan prices are left out where we could not confirm a current US price from the vendor. This page will be updated with prompts, outputs and a dated change note once the test is run.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nano Banana better than Midjourney?
We cannot say without a test on your briefs, and we have not published one. Use the ten-brief sheet above; weight text and fidelity highest if your ads carry copy or real products.
Which one is best for text in ads?
ChatGPT Images 2.0's launch coverage highlights dense text, and a Beebom writer says Nano Banana 2 improved on text. Neither is a measurement. Brief 1 and brief 9 will show you the truth for your wording.
Can I use all three commercially?
Check each vendor's current terms. Midjourney's revenue rule is the one we could point to; the others need a read of their terms before you publish paid creative.
