Nano Banana in n8n: How to Generate and Edit Images With Nano Banana 2.1 and Pro in an n8n Workflow (2026)

You can make and edit Nano Banana images in n8n with no Google billing account and no code: install the verified GenMagic node, pick a Nano Banana model in Image > Generate, and each image comes back as a file with its cost. A Nano Banana 2.1 image is listed at $0.058 today, paid from a balance you top up, with no subscription; the same key runs every other image and video model.

If your Nano Banana workflow stopped working: Google shut down the preview model ids many n8n templates use. gemini-2.5-flash-image-preview stopped on January 15, 2026, and gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview and gemini-3-pro-image-preview on June 25, 2026, by Google's deprecations page; Google recommends Nano Banana 2.1 in their place. Every model id and what Google charges are in our Nano Banana API guide.

This guide covers setting up the node, the Nano Banana models and fields, editing a photo, batches and budgets, what an image costs, and workflows to start from.

A note on who wrote this: GenMagic makes the node and is the route this guide describes. Prices come from GenMagic's live catalog.

Table of contents

1. The short answer
2. Set up the node
3. Generate a Nano Banana image
4. Edit a photo with Nano Banana
5. Batches and budgets
6. What it costs
7. Workflows to start from
8. Questions

The short answer

• Install the GenMagic node: it is a verified community node, so on n8n Cloud and self-hosted n8n you find it by searching "GenMagic" in the nodes panel.
• Connect it with a GenMagic API key, made at genmagic.co/get-api-key. Verifying your email adds $0.50 of free credit.
• Add a GenMagic node, choose Image > Generate, pick Nano Banana 2.1 (or Pro, or 2 Lite) and write the prompt.
• To edit, pass the photo as a Reference Image (a binary field or a URL) and say what to change.
• Run. The image comes back as binary data and a hosted URL, with cost_usd and your remaining balance.

Set up the node

1. In n8n, open the nodes panel and search for GenMagic. Install it (on self-hosted n8n, community nodes must be enabled; the package is n8n-nodes-genmagic).
2. Create an API key at genmagic.co/get-api-key. The link keeps your place through sign-up and email verification.
3. In the node, create a GenMagic API credential and paste the key.
4. Run Account > Get Balance once to check the connection: it returns your balance and spend.

Generate a Nano Banana image

Choose Resource: Image, Operation: Generate, and a model. The model list shows each model's price. The Nano Banana models:

Nano Banana models bill by the tokens an image uses, so a long prompt or a large reference picture costs a little more than the listed price. Then, under Options:

• Size: Square (1024x1024), Landscape (1792x1024) or Portrait (1024x1792).
• Number of Images: each image comes back as its own item.
• Image Type: Image, or Logo to steer toward a clean, simple mark.
• Reference Image (Binary Field) or Reference Image URL: a picture to edit or restyle.

Write exact words in quotes when the image needs text: in our ad test, Nano Banana 2.1 set every word of two ads right and kept the product's label as photographed. How to write prompts that work, from Google's own guide: Nano Banana prompt guide.

Edit a photo with Nano Banana

Nano Banana edits a picture you send and keeps what you do not mention:

1. Bring the photo into the workflow (a Google Drive, HTTP Request or Form node) as a binary field, or use its https URL.
2. In the GenMagic node, set Reference Image (Binary Field) to that field (for example data), or Reference Image URL.
3. Say what to change and what to keep: Keep the bottle and its label exactly; place it on a marble bathroom shelf in soft morning light.

In our tests, Nano Banana 2.1 changed the empty parts of a room least of every model when staging furniture ( virtual staging test), and kept both faces in a headshot test.

Batches and budgets

• Batches: put one prompt or one product photo per row in Google Sheets, and let the GenMagic node run once per item; each image comes back with its own cost.
• The same style across a set: keep a fixed style sentence in every prompt and change only the subject, on one model throughout.
• Budget: every result carries cost_usd and the balance left, so an IF node can stop a run at a budget.
• A refused image costs nothing. Google's safety filters turn some prompts down; the node returns the reason.

What it costs

Listed prices, today; top-ups start at $5 and never expire, and monthly plans add more credit than they cost for steady volume. The same node runs GPT Image, FLUX, Seedream and every other image model, and the video models, on the same key: every image model's price.

Workflows to start from

These GenMagic templates are in n8n's own library and import in one click:

• Turn articles into Instagram and LinkedIn carousels: slides with images from one article.
• Consistent character episodes from a form: a character sheet image, then each scene as a clip with that character.
• Faceless YouTube Shorts in any language: script, scene images and voiceover.

More, with what each costs per run: GenMagic in n8n. Video in n8n: Veo 3.1 in n8n and Seedance in n8n.

Questions

Can I use Nano Banana in n8n without a Google billing account? Yes. The GenMagic node runs Nano Banana 2.1, 2 Lite and Pro with a GenMagic API key, billed per image from your balance. Google's own Gemini API has no free tier for images and needs a billing account.

Why did my n8n Nano Banana workflow stop working? Most likely it calls a preview id that Google shut down: gemini-2.5-flash-image-preview (January 15, 2026), or gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview and gemini-3-pro-image-preview (June 25, 2026). Switch to Nano Banana 2.1.

Is there a Nano Banana n8n node? The GenMagic node runs every Nano Banana model in Image > Generate, and it is a verified community node on n8n Cloud.

Can Nano Banana edit my images in n8n? Yes. Pass the image as a Reference Image (a binary field or a URL) and describe the change; say what must stay as it is.

Can I try it for free? Verifying your email adds $0.50 of starter credit, about 8 Nano Banana 2.1 images at the listed price.