Choose Imagen 4 when…
There is no "choose Imagen 4" case anymore: the endpoints return errors, not images. The only decision left is where each Imagen workload lands next.
Image platform comparison
Imagen 4 Alternative and Migration Guide
Google shut down every Imagen 4 GA model on August 17, 2026 and recommends gemini-3.1-flash-image as the replacement — the model Imgo hosts as Nano Banana 2. The migration map and a prompt-conversion guide.
Reviewed against linked first-party pages. Plan limits and model availability can change.
Compare the working requirements
Choose Imgo when…
Google's own recommended replacement, gemini-3.1-flash-image, is the model Imgo hosts as Nano Banana 2 — so the migration is a model swap inside the Imgo generator, with editing, assets, and video handoff already around it. Ultra-quality work moves to Nano Banana Pro.
Compare the working requirements
The table describes documented capabilities and checks to make, without assigning unsupported scores or assuming a plan includes every tool.
| Decision factor | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Best suited to | Teams whose Imagen 4 pipeline stopped returning images on August 17, 2026, and everyone deciding where that workload lands. |
| Image and video | Imagen 4 was image-only; in Imgo the replacement image model sits next to the video models with image-to-video handoff. |
| References and editing | Imagen 4 guided with text prompts; Nano Banana 2 adds reference-image control, precise editing, and far more reliable text rendering inside the image. |
| Character and brand consistency | Port your top Imagen 4 prompts, run the same brief on Nano Banana 2 and GPT Image 2, and compare prompt adherence and label fidelity before rewriting the pipeline. |
| API, batch, and team | Workloads that called Imagen 4 through an API move to a hosted replacement in Imgo with batch, team, and API surfaces around it. |
| Price and free use | Imagen 4 was metered per image on Google's platforms; the replacement is quoted per generation from Imgo's live credit quote before you submit. |
Where Imagen 4 is strong
Imagen 4 was Google's photoreal generation family — strong prompt adherence and safe, brand-friendly output. All three GA ids (generate, ultra-generate, fast-generate) were shut down on August 17, 2026.
Source: Google: model deprecations
Converting your Imagen prompts
- Model ids: route generation to Nano Banana 2 in Imgo — it is the same gemini-3.1-flash-image lineage Google names as the replacement. Workloads that leaned on Imagen 4 Ultra's quality move to Nano Banana Pro.
- Prompt style carries over: Imagen's photographic phrasing — lens, light, film stock — works unchanged. Where you used to describe the subject at length, attach a reference image instead and let the words carry the scene.
- The fast/ultra distinction was a model id, not a prompt suffix: pick the model in the generator and keep the aspect ratio in the prompt exactly as before.
- Text in images is the upgrade worth rewriting for: any prompt where you fought Imagen for legible labels deserves the exact copy in quotes, because the replacement renders short text reliably.
A reproducible test for your team
Suggested test conditions; no independent benchmark result is claimed.
Prompt
Editorial product photograph of [product] on [surface], soft north-window light from the left, shallow depth of field, muted palette, 4:5 — the class of brief Imagen 4 ran; run it unchanged on Nano Banana 2.
Input and controls
Take your three highest-traffic Imagen 4 prompts, replace only the model, and generate the same count. Compare prompt adherence, label text, and how many results are accepted without a re-run.
Record these outcomes
- Prompt adherence vs Imagen 4 output
- Text and label rendering
- Accepted results per 10 generations
- Editor time to port the top prompts
Check live pricing before you decide
Plans, free usage, API access, and model limits change. Compare the current pages and run the same test batch on both services.