Gemini’s 2.5 Flash image model, AKA Nano Banana, is getting lot of attention on Internet these days. Popular social media sites such as Instagram, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn are becoming crowded with 3D model images that people generated with the help of the Nano Banana and shared. Though Gemini’s 2.5 Flash image model has become viral on the Internet due to its ability to make high quality 3D images quickly, it’s competitor image generation models aren’t far behind. 

It is worth noting that there are several other AI image generation models besides Nano Banana that can make complex and high quality 3D models. These options also cater to free users. In this article, we will list the top three alternative options (Qwen Image Edit, GPT-5, and Grok AI) for Nano Banana that users can use for free. Additionally, we will discuss all of them in detail, focusing on their particular strengths and weaknesses. 

Prompt: “Create a 1/7 scale commercialized figurine of the characters in the picture, in a realistic style, in a real environment. The figurine is placed on a computer desk. The figurine has a round transparent acrylic base, with no text on the base. The content on the computer screen is a 3D modeling process of this figurine. Next to the computer screen is a toy packaging box, designed in a style reminiscent of high-quality collectible figures, printed with original artwork. The packaging features two-dimensional flat illustrations.”

Nano Banana vs GPT-5, Qwen, and Grok: Which Free AI Tool Creates the Best 3D Models and Images?

Qwen

First time hearing about Qwen? Picture this: a chatbot, free, straight out of Alibaba. Last month they dropped a new toy called Qwen-Image-Edit. People on social media went wild. Everyone said the thing could carve into pictures like a surgeon. Add skin. Add light. Add texture. Like painting, but with code.

The creepy part? Qwen doesn’t just see the pixels. It sees the idea behind the pixels. It knows what the picture means. Then it stitches in the extra details so the whole thing still looks real, like it was always there. When I tried it, the world around the faces looked sharp. Cleaner than Gemini. Sharper, brighter. But the faces, those broke the spell. 

ChatGPT

GPT-5. OpenAI’s newest beast. Smarter, sharper, and now it can do things to pictures. Draw them. Break them. Rebuild them. The older, GPT-4o, already possessed its fan club. It was the update that allowed you to turn your selfies into Ghibli cartoons or action figures that you could just open and take out of a toy box – that was what made people lose it. And yeah, there’s competition. Gemini. Qwen. The wannabes. But ChatGPT has not lost its position. 

My take? GPT-5 listens better. It will give you what you are requesting quicker than the rest. But then comes the drag. Slow image spins. Faces that don’t land right. And the worst part? Two images a day. That’s it. Just two. In the meantime, Nano Banana, Qwen, Grok – they are out there distributing far more pictures.

Grok

Grok used to be king. Before Nano Banana came along. Before Qwen. Before ChatGPT. When free image generators were magic and Grok was the magician. Now? Good enough to take random pictures. Random junk. However, when you need cuts so sharp as to slice glass, or 3D models that seem to be breathing, then forget it. Grok’s not that guy anymore. 

But here’s the hook. Grok makes movies. Free ones. It is the only Big Tech toy that is spitting out videos. So you made a 3D model with Gemini. Or ChatGPT. Or Qwen. Grok will dance your Frankenstein. Add sound. Add motion. Make still life a short film.

Final Words

What is the lesson of this AI beauty pageant? GPT-5 could be your tortoise in this race, in case you are pursuing perfection and do not mind waiting. Qwen is a surgeon who is precise except in the areas where it counts the most human faces. And Grok? It has swiveled, all right, out of motionless masterpieces to becoming the Steven Spielberg of AI, making your work a mini blockbuster. 

It is not any one tool that is the true winner here; it is us users, who are drowning in an embarrassment of riches. You can be a digital god whether creating your next viral social media content or creating the next collectible figurine. Only perhaps have a couple of aspirin on hand in the decision paralysis.