How to Use Google Nano Banana Edit: 10 Reference Images for 5 Credits

Google Nano Banana Edit on VdoBloom costs 5 credits — $0.25 — per edit, accepts up to 10 reference images in a single instruction, and outputs in ten aspect ratios from 9:16 through 21:9, which makes it the cheapest way on the platform to composite a subject, a garment and a background into one coherent image. It is an edit-only model: it always needs at least one uploaded image and will not generate from a blank prompt. What follows is how it behaves in practice, what the ten-reference limit is actually good for, and where it loses to other editors on VdoBloom.

The one thing this model does better than its price suggests

Nano Banana became shorthand for subject-consistent editing — put the same face into a new scene and it still looks like the same person. The edit listing extends that with reference depth. Most image editors take one source image and a prompt. This one takes as many as ten, so a single instruction can pull a person from photo one, a jacket from photo two, and a location from photo three, and the model reconciles them into one frame instead of forcing you through three separate rounds of editing.

That multi-reference behaviour is the reason to choose it over a cheaper single-image editor. If you only ever feed it one photo, you are paying for a capability you are not using — and at 5 credits it is still the least expensive edit in the Nano Banana family, so that is not much of a penalty.

Real specifications

Attribute	Nano Banana Edit
Model ID on VdoBloom	google/nano-banana-edit
Capability	Image editing only — requires at least one input image
Maximum reference images	10 per edit
Aspect ratios	1:1, 2:3, 3:2, 3:4, 4:3, 4:5, 5:4, 9:16, 16:9, 21:9
Default ratio in the tool	9:16
Default output format	PNG
Resolution selector	None — Nano Banana Pro is the tier with 1K/2K/4K
Credit cost	5 credits per edit
Dollar cost at Lite rates	$0.25 per edit
Content filtering	Strict — Google provider-side filters apply in full
User rating	4.2

One credit is $0.05, since the Lite plan is $15 a month for 300 credits. The 10 free credits every new account gets without a card therefore cover exactly two Nano Banana edits — enough to test the multi-reference workflow properly before spending anything. Longer-term, credit packs from $2.49 for 75 credits never expire, which is 15 edits. The pricing page has the annual rates, where Lite drops to $10 a month.

How it compares to the other editors on VdoBloom

Editor	Credits	Cost	Max references	Pick it when
Nano Banana Edit	5	$0.25	10	Multi-reference compositing on a budget
Flux Kontext Pro	7	$0.35	1	Clean single-image edits
Seedream 4.5 Edit	7	$0.35	Multiple	Output up to 4K, and far looser content filtering
Flux Kontext Max	10	$0.50	1	Highest-fidelity single-image pass
Nano Banana 2	15	$0.75	14	Most references plus 1K/2K/4K control
Nano Banana Pro	18 (1K/2K) or 24 (4K)	$0.90 / $1.20	8	A fixed delivery resolution is required

What makes a good input image

The model reconciles your references; it does not repair them. Four things reliably change the outcome:

• One clear subject per reference. A photo containing two people gives the model an ambiguity it has to guess at. Crop first.
• Matching light direction across references. A subject lit from the left dropped into a scene lit from the right is the single most common reason a composite reads as fake. Pick references whose light roughly agrees, or state the light you want in the prompt.
• Resolution above your target. There is no resolution selector here, so soft or heavily compressed inputs stay soft in the output.
• Unobstructed faces and products. Consistency depends on the model seeing the thing it has to preserve. A face half behind a coffee cup comes back as a different face.

If you are editing a photograph of a real person — putting them in a new outfit, a new setting, or a new campaign image — you must have that person’s consent before you generate or publish the result.

The exact steps

1. Open the image editing tool and choose Nano Banana Edit from the model list.
2. Upload your references, most important first. The subject you want preserved should be reference one.
3. Set the aspect ratio deliberately. The tool defaults to 9:16, which is right for stories and Reels and wrong for almost everything else. Feed posts want 4:5; article headers want 16:9 or 21:9.
4. Write the instruction as a role assignment, not a wish. Name what each reference contributes: keep the person from the first image exactly as they are, dress them in the jacket from the second image, and place them in the street scene from the third, with the light matching the third image.
5. Generate. The cost — 5 credits — is shown before the run, and it is the same whether you supply one reference or ten.
6. Check the face and any product logo first. Those are where multi-reference edits fail, and where a single-variable retry is cheapest.

A worked example

You have a headshot of a founder, a photo of a branded hoodie on a flat surface, and a shot of your office lobby. You want one image of the founder wearing the hoodie in the lobby, at 4:5 for a LinkedIn post.

Upload all three. Prompt: keep the face, hair and expression from the first image unchanged, put the person in the hoodie from the second image with the chest logo readable, and place them standing in the lobby from the third image with soft overhead light from above and slightly behind. Ratio 4:5. That is 5 credits.

The usual first-attempt failure is the logo going mushy. The fix is a second run with the logo reference moved earlier in the upload order and the phrase “keep the chest logo sharp and unaltered” added. Two runs, 10 credits, $0.50. For polished product work at higher output resolution, re-run the winning setup once on Seedream 4.5 Edit or Nano Banana Pro rather than fighting the base editor.

When to pick something else

• Refusals. This model carries a CENSORED label, meaning Google’s strict filters apply. Legitimate swimwear, dance, fitness and fashion edits that get refused here belong on a model from VdoBloom’s flexible content tier, such as Seedream 4.5 Edit. Explicit and illegal content remains blocked platform-wide.
• A required output size. Use Nano Banana Pro and its 1K/2K/4K selector.
• Generating from nothing. There is no text-only mode; the base Nano Banana generator covers that for 6 credits.
• More than ten references. Nano Banana 2 raises the ceiling to 14 for 15 credits.

Finished edits can go straight into a video workflow — the same file works as the starting frame in image to video. Paid plans download watermark-free with commercial rights.

Frequently asked questions

How many images can Nano Banana Edit take at once?

Up to 10 per edit, and the credit cost is flat at 5 regardless of how many you use. Nano Banana 2 raises the limit to 14 but costs 15 credits.

How much does one edit cost?

5 credits, or $0.25 at the Lite rate of $15 for 300 credits. Your 10 free signup credits cover two edits with no card required.

Can it generate an image from text alone?

No. It always requires at least one uploaded reference. For text-only generation use the base Nano Banana model at 6 credits.

Can I get 4K out of it?

Not from this model — there is no resolution selector. Nano Banana Pro delivers 4K at 24 credits, and Seedream 4.5 Edit also outputs up to 4K for 7 credits.

Why does the output default to a vertical crop?

The tool sets 9:16 as the default aspect ratio for this model. Change it before you generate; all ten ratios are available, including the 4:5 and 5:4 portrait formats most editors skip.

Will it keep a face consistent across several edits?

That is its strongest trait, but consistency depends on your input: use the same clear, well-lit reference photo of the face in every run and name it explicitly in the prompt as the element to preserve unchanged.