For text that has to read inside the image, the three models their own vendors pitch for typography are Ideogram 4.5, GPT Image 2 and Nano Banana Pro. On 8frame they cost 9, 29 and 21 credits per image at the settings their nodes open on, about $0.09, $0.29 and $0.21 at pack rate; the cheapest serious attempt is Ideogram 4.5 Low at 5 credits or GPT Image 2 on low quality at 2, and the dearest are Ideogram 4.5 High at 30 and Nano Banana Pro at 4K, 42. We have not measured which one spells your words right most often, so this page compares price, limits and what each vendor says on its own page.
The short answer
- Ideogram 4.5: 5 / 9 / 30 credits for Low / Medium / High quality; the image size does not change the price. The node opens on Medium.
- GPT Image 2: low 2; medium 8 square, 6 other shapes; high 29 square, 20 other shapes. The node opens on high and square.
- Nano Banana Pro: 21 at 1K or 2K, 42 at 4K. The Nano Banana node opens on Nano Banana 2 (11), so Pro is a switch.
- All three vendors call text a strength (quoted below); none of that is our measurement. When the words must be exactly right, generate the image without them and set the type yourself: see best AI image generator for text.
The nuance: three models, three price dimensions
Ideogram prices by quality only. fal, 8frame's route, says: "Your request will cost $0.03 per image with Low, $0.06 with Medium, and $0.22 with High quality. The image size does not change the price." A 16:9 poster and a square logo cost the same.
GPT Image 2 prices by quality and by shape. A square image costs more than a landscape or portrait one at the same quality (29 against 20 credits on high, 8 against 6 on medium) because the square preset carries more pixels, and the node opens on high and 1:1.
Nano Banana Pro prices by resolution. 21 credits at 1K and 2K, 42 at 4K; the number of reference images does not change it.
And a text-heavy design with exact wording still needs a proofread: every one of these models redraws the words rather than placing a font, and label text drifts in ways that are easy to miss at thumbnail size (see why AI changes your product label).
Price per image: vendor pages and 8frame credits
Vendor list prices as shown on 2026-10-18, next to 8frame credits (a credit is about $0.01 at pack rate).
| Model | Vendor list price (own page, 2026-10-18) | On 8frame |
|---|---|---|
| Ideogram 4.5 | fal: $0.03 Low, $0.06 Medium, $0.22 High per image; size does not change the price. Ideogram's own app: Plus $20 a month for 2,400 credits, and "The cost depends on the model, quality, size and number of outputs" | Low 5, Medium 9 (default), High 30 |
| GPT Image 2 | OpenAI, per image: 1024x1024 at $0.006 low, $0.053 medium, $0.211 high; 1024x1536 and 1536x1024 at $0.005, $0.041, $0.165 | low 2; medium 8 square, 6 other shapes; high 29 square, 20 other shapes (default high, square) |
| Nano Banana Pro | Google Gemini API: "$0.134 per 1K/2K image", "$0.24 per 4K image". fal, 8frame's route: "$0.15 per image", "4K outputs will be charged at double the standard rate" | 21 at 1K or 2K, 42 at 4K |
On 8frame each image is a fixed number of credits: Ideogram Medium 9, Nano Banana Pro 21, GPT Image 2 high 29 for a square image.
Limits, sizes and shapes on 8frame
| Ideogram 4.5 | GPT Image 2 | Nano Banana Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reference images | A source image plus up to 4 references; attaching an image switches the node to edit mode | Up to 10 | Up to 10 on 8frame (Google's own API page says up to 14) |
| Images per run | 1 | Up to 4, each billed | 1 |
| Shapes | 1:1, 4:3, 3:4, 16:9, 9:16 for text-to-image; an edit keeps the source geometry | 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4 | Aspect ratio set on the node; resolution 1K, 2K or 4K |
| Output size | A size preset per shape | Square 1024x1024; other shapes about 0.66 to 0.8 megapixels (1088x608 for 16:9, 1024x768 for 4:3) | 1K, 2K or 4K |
| Measured median wait on 8frame | Not yet measured (added 2026-10-07) | About 120 seconds | About 37 seconds |
What each vendor says about text
The vendors' own words, fetched 2026-10-18.
Ideogram says on its text rendering page: "Ideogram generates legible, publication-ready typography in every image." "Ideogram achieves 95% text rendering accuracy, compared to 30-50% for most other AI image generators." That is Ideogram's own figure; even at face value it means one design in twenty has a wrong word. On languages: "Ideogram supports text rendering in English and other Latin-script languages. Support for additional scripts is expanding."
OpenAI describes GPT Image 2 as "our state-of-the-art image generation model for fast, high-quality image generation and editing" and lists, under limitations for GPT Image models, "Text Rendering: Although significantly improved, the model can still struggle with precise text placement and clarity." fal, 8frame's route for the model, is more bullish: "capable of creating extremely detailed images with fine typography", "Built for: Generation of extremely complex images, text-heavy image generation", "across both Latin and CJK scripts (Chinese, Japanese, Korean)".
Google wrote at launch that "Nano Banana Pro is the best model for creating images with correctly rendered and legible text directly in the image, whether you're looking for a short tagline, or a long paragraph." Its API documentation says the Gemini 3 image models are "Capable of generating legible, stylized text for infographics, menus, diagrams, and marketing assets".
Three vendors, three "best at text" claims. We have not run a spelling test across them, so we rank none.
How to run the comparison on 8frame
- Board all three nodes with the same prompt and the exact words in quotation marks. Ideogram's own advice: "Put the exact words in your prompt, specify the typographic style such as serif, sans-serif, or hand-lettered, and describe the placement."
- Draft cheap. One round on Ideogram Low (5), GPT Image 2 low (2) and Nano Banana Pro 1K (21) is 28 credits, about $0.28.
- Finish on the tier the layout earned. Three takes each at the node defaults come to 27 + 87 + 63 = 177 credits, about $1.77; Ideogram High (30) and Nano Banana Pro 4K (42) are the print-size tiers.
- Proofread at full size. Read every character. If a word is wrong, regenerate or set the type yourself; for packaging and labels, where words carry legal weight, see free AI packaging design generators.
Failed generations are refunded automatically; every model's per-image price is in AI image generator price per image.
FAQ
What is the best AI image generator for text in images?
We have not measured it, so we do not rank them. Ideogram, OpenAI and Google each describe text rendering as a strength of their model (quoted above); on 8frame the three cost 9, 29 and 21 credits at the settings their nodes open on. Run your own words through all three and read every letter.
Ideogram 4.5 vs GPT Image 2: which is cheaper?
Tier for tier, Ideogram 4.5: 5, 9 or 30 credits against GPT Image 2's 8 or 6 on medium and 29 or 20 on high. The exception is GPT Image 2 on low quality, 2 credits, which undercuts Ideogram Low; GPT Image 2 is also the only one of the three that returns up to 4 images per run.
Does Nano Banana Pro render text better than Ideogram?
Google says Nano Banana Pro is "the best model for creating images with correctly rendered and legible text"; Ideogram says it reaches "95% text rendering accuracy". Both are vendor claims about their own models. We have not tested either.
How many reference images can each model take?
On 8frame: Ideogram 4.5 a source image plus up to 4 references, GPT Image 2 up to 10, Nano Banana Pro up to 10 (Google's own API documentation says 14).
Why does GPT Image 2 cost more for a square image?
The square preset is 1024x1024, about 1 megapixel; the other shapes are about 0.66 to 0.8 megapixels, and the price follows the pixels: 29 against 20 credits on high. Ideogram and Nano Banana Pro do not price by shape.
Sources
- Ideogram on text rendering (legible typography, 95% accuracy, Latin-script languages, prompt advice): ideogram.ai/features/text-rendering, checked 2026-10-18. The Ideogram home page and the API price tab of ideogram.ai/pricing did not load for us ("Loading current prices"), so Ideogram's own per-image API price is not quoted.
- Ideogram plans (Free 30 credits a week; Plus $20 a month or $15 a month billed yearly, 2,400 credits; cost depends on model, quality, size and number of outputs; last verified October 15, 2026): docs.ideogram.ai/plans-and-billing/available-plans, checked 2026-10-18
- Ideogram 4.5 on fal (price by quality, size does not change the price, "accurate text rendering"; edit endpoint "with up to 4 reference images"): fal.ai/models/ideogram/v4.5 and fal.ai/models/ideogram/v4.5/edit, checked 2026-10-18
- OpenAI GPT Image 2 token prices ($5.00 text input, $8.00 image input, $30.00 image output per 1M tokens): developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing, checked 2026-10-18
- OpenAI GPT Image 2 per-image prices by quality and size, sizes, quality values and the "Text Rendering" limitation: developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/image-generation, checked 2026-10-18
- OpenAI GPT Image 2 model description: developers.openai.com/api/docs/models/gpt-image-2, checked 2026-10-18
- GPT Image 2 on fal ("fine typography", "text-heavy image generation", Latin and CJK scripts, per-image prices): fal.ai/models/openai/gpt-image-2, checked 2026-10-18
- Nano Banana Pro Gemini API prices (gemini-3-pro-image, $0.134 per 1K/2K image, $0.24 per 4K image; page last updated 2026-10-16): ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing, checked 2026-10-18
- Google on text and reference images (legible, stylized text; up to 14 images): ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/image-generation and blog.google/technology/ai/nano-banana-pro (published 2025-11-20), checked 2026-10-18
- Nano Banana Pro on fal ($0.15 per image, 4K double, 1K/2K/4K, up to 14 images, legible text in multiple languages): fal.ai/models/fal-ai/nano-banana-pro, checked 2026-10-18
- 8frame prices, defaults and limits: the 8frame app, checked 2026-10-18
- Measured median waits (Nano Banana Pro about 37 seconds, GPT Image 2 about 120 seconds; completed generations, 120 days, template examples excluded): 8frame content fact sheet, measured 2026-09-30
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