Astria vs Creator MAX: Photoshop Plugin Comparison
Creator MAX (formerly Banana MAX) is the most fully featured bring-your-own-key panel on Adobe Exchange. It runs Google's Nano Banana models, OpenAI's GPT Image 2 and xAI's Grok Imagine inside one Photoshop panel, returns up to four variations per prompt, tracks usage, and puts no third-party server between you and the provider. It expects you to hold your own API keys.
The verdict: the Astria Nano Banana plugin for Photoshop is the better buy for most Photoshop professionals. It bills every hosted model through one key, carries Seedream 5 and Flux 2 Pro that Creator MAX does not, picks up new models on launch day without a plugin update, and lands each result as a Smart Object at the model's full returned resolution. Choose Creator MAX if you already run funded provider accounts and want no server in the request path.
How we evaluated Astria and Creator MAX
Five criteria, all from the retoucher's chair. First, the model roster and how quickly new models reach the panel. Second, output fidelity: the resolution that comes back, whether the result is a Smart Object or a flattened raster, and how the selection is honoured. Third, the editing workflow inside the document. Fourth, the commercial model: entry price, per-image cost, subscription or pay-as-you-go, and bring-your-own-key options. Fifth, maintenance and longevity. We also asked what happens when the job outgrows one document, because that decides whether the panel is the whole answer or the first step. We read both vendors' public material on 13 September 2026 and did not run Creator MAX.
Quick verdict: Astria vs Creator MAX
| Decision factor | Creator MAX | Astria | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Models in the panel today | Nano Banana Pro, 2, 2 Lite and the original (up to 4K); GPT Image 2 at low, medium or high quality; Grok Imagine in Quality and Standard tiers | GPT Image 2 (mask-aware, 1K/2K/4K), Nano Banana 2, Nano Banana Pro, Seedream 5 Pro, Seedream 5, Flux 2 Pro | Astria, for Seedream and Flux; Grok is Creator MAX's alone |
| New-model lead time | Models ship in plugin releases "once they clear our quality bar"; GPT Image 2 arrived with the July 2026 rebuild, Grok Imagine Image 2.0 on 27 August 2026 | Model list is served by the Astria platform; a model added to Astria appears in the panel on launch day with no plugin update or re-download | Astria |
| Returned resolution and layer type | Up to 4K depending on model; results "land in the originating document as new, named layers, cropped to your selection"; layer type and retained pixel count not publicly verified | Each result is a Smart Object holding the model's full returned resolution at the 1K, 2K or 4K you chose | Astria |
| Selection-to-layer workflow | Select, prompt, pick a model; Lock Edges keeps the selection border; the result returns as a named layer | Select with marquee, lasso, brush or colour range, prompt, generate; mask-aware models read the selection directly; the result is a Smart Object you can re-transform | Astria |
| Reference-driven edits | Drag from disk, paste from the clipboard or pull from any layer; limits and billing differ per provider, each on its own key | References dropped into the panel act as visual instructions for every hosted model, all on one Astria key | Astria |
| Billing paths | Bring your own key only: Google, OpenAI or xAI, each billed by its provider | Hosted pay-as-you-go through one Astria key that authenticates every model, or a Google AI Studio key for the Gemini models | Astria |
| Commercial model | One-time plugin licence plus provider accounts you open and fund; see Creator MAX pricing | One-time plugin licence plus hosted pay-as-you-go, or a Google key for Gemini; see Astria pricing | Depends on existing provider accounts and model mix |
| Production beyond the document | Panel only; Actions recording and multi-document routing inside Photoshop | The same key and balance drive Astria workspaces, templates and the API for collection-scale work | Astria |
| Maintenance and longevity | First public version 27 February 2026, rebuilt July 2026, v2.1.2 in September 2026; one publisher, free updates for life | 16,000 sales and 187 ratings (first-party), a dated changelog, a platform company and support desk behind the panel, roster maintained server-side | Astria |
| Best fit | A retoucher who already holds funded Google, OpenAI or xAI keys, works one document at a time, and wants no third-party server in the path | A retoucher, photographer or studio that wants GPT Image, Nano Banana, Seedream and Flux behind one hosted panel, Smart Object results, and a route for the other forty SKUs | Astria for most Photoshop professionals |
| Overall | The most fully featured bring-your-own-key panel reviewed | The wider hosted roster, the lower entry price, one key, Smart Objects and a production route | Astria |
Reviewed 13 September 2026. No output-quality benchmark was run.
What Creator MAX is
Creator MAX is a UXP panel for Photoshop 2025 (v26.0) and later on macOS and Windows, published by Bielfor LLC. It sells on Adobe Exchange and aescripts. The Exchange listing was first published on 27 February 2026 as a Gemini-only panel. The July 2026 v2.0.0 rebuild renamed it from Banana MAX, added OpenAI and xAI as providers, and brought the variations, spend dashboard and multi-document features. Version 2.1.2 followed in September 2026. Check the vendor listing for current commercial terms.
The workflow is the familiar one: make a selection, type a prompt, pick a model, and the result lands as a new layer. Around that core Bielfor has built more than any other bring-your-own-key panel we reviewed. Up to four variations per prompt come back as grouped layers. Reference images can be dragged from disk, pasted from the clipboard or pulled from any open layer, up to 14 on Google models, 15 on OpenAI and 2 on xAI. Lock Edges keeps a selection border untouched during inpainting. Prompt Enhance rewrites a rough idea for the provider in use. Nano Banana 2 exposes a thinking level and Google Search grounding. Visual Prompt History stores thumbnails, prompts and the cost of each generation with one-click re-run, and a Usage and Spend dashboard tracks cost per model over time. Generations are recorded to the Actions panel, and results route back to the document they started in.
The commercial and privacy design is the other half of the pitch. You bring your own Google, OpenAI or xAI API key; one is enough to begin, and each further provider needs its own account. Bielfor charges nothing per image and, in its own words, "no Bielfor server sits in the request path": prompts and images go straight from Photoshop to the provider, and history stays local. For a privacy-first retoucher that is the strongest reason to pick Creator MAX.
What the Astria Nano Banana plugin for Photoshop is
The Astria plugin is a CCX/UXP panel for Photoshop 2025 (v26 and later) on macOS and Windows, with no GPU required. The panel carries six models today: GPT Image 2 (OpenAI, mask-aware, 1K/2K/4K), Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1), Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro), Seedream 5 Pro, Seedream 5 and Flux 2 Pro. Flux Kontext was retired in favour of these.
Three things separate it from Creator MAX. The model list is served by the Astria platform, so a model added to Astria appears in the panel the day it launches with no plugin update. Every result is placed as a Smart Object that holds the model's full returned resolution. And billing has two paths. Pay-as-you-go against one Astria key that authenticates every model, with Astria abstracting the Google, OpenAI, fal and ByteDance APIs so quota, auth and retries are invisible. Or your own Google AI Studio key for the Gemini models, billed by Google. No subscription, no minimum; you top up only what you need. Per-image rates are on the pricing page.
The workflow is the same three steps. Select with marquee, lasso, brush or colour range; prompt in short, specific terms, with reference images dropped into the panel read as visual instructions; generate, and the result lands as a new layer. Mask-aware models read the selection directly, keys switch inside the panel, and the model is chosen per task from one dropdown. Behind the panel sits the Astria platform, where the same key and balance drive workspaces, templates and the API.
Public proof, with provenance
Astria's landing page reports substantial adoption and shows production reels covering fashion reference edits, bridal retouching, sketch and CAD to photo, product design, real estate, hair and clothing swaps, and packaging. Those are first-party claims. Users of the older JSX script received the CCX build as an upgrade, and the script still supports Replicate-backed workflows.
Creator MAX's public proof is its two listings, a dated release history on bielfor.com going back to February 2026, and a walkthrough video. Bielfor publishes no sales or user counts in the material reviewed. Neither vendor publishes an independent benchmark.
A realistic job: one campaign hero, three fixes, then forty SKUs
The brief: a campaign hero of a model on a studio cyclorama. The client wants the shoes swapped for the new-season pair from a reference photo, the background extended for a 4:5 crop, and the phone taken out of the model's hand. Then the same treatment across the other forty SKUs in the drop.
In Creator MAX
You paste a Google AI Studio key into the panel; for GPT Image 2 as well, you open an OpenAI account and paste that key too. Lasso the shoes, pull the reference pair in from disk or from a layer, write the prompt or run Prompt Enhance, choose Nano Banana Pro, and submit up to four variations. They arrive as a group of named layers cropped to the selection, with Lock Edges keeping the border untouched. Pick the best, mask the rest.
For the 4:5 crop you extend the canvas, select the empty band and prompt for a continuation of the backdrop. For the phone, select the hand and inpaint. Visual Prompt History shows what each attempt cost in dollars, and the spend dashboard totals the day.
What is not public is what those layers hold. Bielfor says output is up to 4K depending on the model and that results are cropped to the selection. Whether the layer keeps every returned pixel when the selection is smaller than the output, and whether it is a Smart Object, is not stated. The forty SKUs stay in Photoshop: Actions recording replays a generation and results route back to the right file, but each document is still opened, selected and submitted by hand, on your own provider quota.
In the Astria plugin
You sign up, generate an Astria key in one click and paste it in; no Google, OpenAI or ByteDance account is involved. Lasso the shoes, drop the reference pair into the panel, and prompt: "swap the shoes for the reference pair, keep the stance and the floor shadow". GPT Image 2 reads the lasso directly, so the edit stays inside it; Nano Banana Pro is the alternative when identity and material matter more than the mask. The result lands as a Smart Object at the resolution you chose.
Extend the canvas for 4:5, marquee the empty band, and ask Seedream 5 or Nano Banana 2 to continue the cyclorama with the same light direction. Brush the hand and ask GPT Image 2 to remove the phone. Generate the hero at 4K, scale it down for the comp, and scale it back for print; the Smart Object still holds every returned pixel. Every generation bills against one balance, whatever the model.
Then the forty SKUs leave Photoshop. The same Astria key and balance drive Astria workspaces and templates, where the approved treatment runs across the rest of the drop, and the API if you want it automated. Photoshop keeps the hero and the fixes; the workspace does the volume. That route is described in the AI fashion photoshoot guide.
The differences that matter most
Which models you can reach — winner: Astria
Creator MAX covers Google, OpenAI and xAI. The Astria plugin covers OpenAI, Google, ByteDance and Black Forest Labs. Seedream 5 Pro, Seedream 5 and Flux 2 Pro are in the Astria panel and not in Creator MAX; Grok Imagine is in Creator MAX and not in the Astria panel. For retouching, Seedream's handling of long, structured prompts and GPT Image 2's mask-aware replacement matter more often than a second general-purpose generator.
How fast a new model arrives — winner: Astria
Creator MAX adds models in plugin releases, "once they clear our quality bar". Its release notes date GPT Image 2 to the July 2026 rebuild and Grok Imagine Image 2.0 to 27 August 2026; each arrived as a download. Astria's landing-page changelog dates GPT Image 2 in its panel to April 2026. Its model list is served by the platform, so a model added to Astria shows up in the dropdown with no plugin update. On 13 September 2026 the Astria platform banner listed GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst and Flare and Muse Image; none appears in Creator MAX's listing. Retirements cut the same way: Creator MAX still lists the original Nano Banana, which Google shuts down on 2 October 2026.
Smart Objects at returned resolution — winner: Astria
The Astria plugin places every generation as a Smart Object holding the model's full returned pixels, so a 4K result dropped into a small selection can be re-transformed, masked and re-edited later without resampling. Creator MAX describes results as named layers cropped to the selection; its layer type and retained resolution are not publicly verified, so we do not assume either way. For a retoucher who delivers layered files, this is the row to test first.
One key versus one account per provider — winner: Astria
Creator MAX's model is honest and simple: your keys, your bills, no middleman. The cost is set-up. To reach its full roster you open and fund a Google AI Studio account, an OpenAI account and an xAI account, and you handle quota, errors and retries with each. The Astria plugin offers the same Google key path for the Gemini models, and adds a hosted path where one Astria key authenticates every model and the platform handles the provider APIs. A studio can hand a junior one key and one balance. We do not claim Astria's hosted rate beats Google's direct rate; compare per-image rates on the pricing page.
Cost to start — winner: Astria
Both use a one-time plugin licence with generation usage billed separately. Creator MAX depends on the provider accounts you fund; Astria offers hosted top-ups or a Google key for Gemini. Compare current terms on the Creator MAX listing and Astria pricing page using the same representative workload.
Depth inside the panel — winner: Creator MAX
This is Creator MAX's genuine edge, and it is wide. Four variations as grouped layers, reference images from any layer, Lock Edges, Prompt Enhance, thinking level, Search grounding, usage history, a spend dashboard, Actions recording and multi-document routing are all shipping today. The Astria plugin does not advertise variations per generate, a cost preview, a spend dashboard or Actions recording. Add the no-server design, and a retoucher whose client contracts forbid a third-party relay has a clear reason to choose Creator MAX.
Beyond the document — winner: Astria
Creator MAX ends at the Photoshop window. The Astria plugin is one surface of a platform: the same key and balance run workspaces, templates and the API, so the forty SKUs behind the hero do not have to be forty Photoshop sessions. See the ecommerce production page.
Choose Creator MAX if...
- You already hold funded Google, OpenAI or xAI API keys and want your generation spend on those invoices.
- A client or compliance rule requires that no third-party server sits between Photoshop and the model provider.
- You lean on variations, layer-sourced references, a spend dashboard or Actions recording every day.
- Grok Imagine is part of your toolkit.
- You want a trial before paying and are buying through aescripts.
Choose Astria if...
- You want GPT Image 2, Nano Banana, Seedream 5 and Flux 2 Pro in one hosted panel.
- You would rather paste one key and top up a balance than open and fund up to three provider accounts.
- Layered deliverables matter, and you want each result as a Smart Object at the model's full returned resolution.
- You want the next model in the dropdown on launch day, not after the next download.
- The hero is in Photoshop but the rest of the collection needs a workspace or an API.
The bottom line
Creator MAX is the best-built bring-your-own-key panel we reviewed and the right buy for a retoucher who already runs provider accounts and wants the request path to themselves. For everyone else, the Astria plugin is the better decision. It brings a wider hosted roster, one key for every model, Smart Objects that keep the returned pixels, and launch-day models with no re-download. When the job leaves the document, the platform behind it runs the volume.
What to test before choosing
Take one PSD, one lasso selection about a quarter of the canvas, one reference image and one prompt, and run it in both panels at 4K on Nano Banana Pro and on GPT Image 2. Record the returned pixel dimensions and the layer type. Scale the result down by half, then back up, and check whether detail survives. Count the accounts you had to open and fund to run both models, and time each generation. Then price a realistic week of edits on both, using each provider's published rates for Creator MAX and the Astria pricing page for the hosted path. If layered delivery is your business, the Smart Object test decides it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Creator MAX Photoshop plugin?
Creator MAX is a bring-your-own-key UXP panel for Photoshop 2025 and later from Bielfor LLC, sold on Adobe Exchange and aescripts. It runs Google's Nano Banana models, OpenAI's GPT Image 2 and xAI's Grok Imagine on your own provider API keys, with selection-based inpainting, variations, reference images, prompt history and a spend dashboard. It was called Banana MAX until its July 2026 rebuild.
Is Astria better than Creator MAX for Photoshop?
For most Photoshop professionals, yes. The Astria Nano Banana plugin bills every hosted model through one Astria key. It adds Seedream 5 and Flux 2 Pro that Creator MAX does not carry, picks up new models on launch day with no plugin update, and places each result as a Smart Object at the model's full returned resolution. Creator MAX fits a retoucher who already holds funded Google, OpenAI or xAI API keys and wants no third-party server in the request path.
Can I use a Gemini subscription with Creator MAX or the Astria plugin?
No. Google only authorises external apps through API keys, so a consumer Gemini subscription cannot power any Photoshop plugin. Creator MAX requires a Google AI Studio key billed by Google. The Astria plugin accepts the same Google key for the Gemini models, or an Astria key that covers every model on pay-as-you-go billing with no Google account needed.
Which plugin puts Seedream and Flux inside Photoshop?
The Astria plugin. Its panel carries Seedream 5 Pro, Seedream 5 and Flux 2 Pro alongside GPT Image 2, Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro. Creator MAX's roster as of September 2026 is Google's Nano Banana line, OpenAI's GPT Image 2 and xAI's Grok Imagine; it lists no Seedream or Flux model.
What happened to the Banana MAX Photoshop plugin?
Banana MAX was renamed Creator MAX in the version 2.0.0 rebuild in July 2026, when Bielfor added OpenAI and xAI as providers alongside Google and moved the plugin to a new plugin ID. The Adobe Exchange listing now carries the new name and current commercial terms.
For the neighbouring decisions, see Astria vs Eti Image, the other multi-provider bring-your-own-key panel, and Astria plugin vs Photoshop Generative Fill for the no-install option. The full shortlist is in best Nano Banana Photoshop plugins, and the plugin itself is walked through in the Nano Banana Photoshop guide.
Sources and methodology
This article compares public product information read on 13 September 2026. Creator MAX sources: the Adobe Exchange listing (published 27 February 2026, version 2.1.2, updated 7 September 2026) for the model list, features, key requirements, request path and price; the aescripts listing for the trial, the per-provider reference limits, the "named layers, cropped to your selection" wording and the September 2026 version history; and Bielfor's own product page, release history and refund policy for the Banana MAX rename, dated model arrivals, licensing and refunds. Google's Gemini API pricing page is the source for the 2 October 2026 shutdown of the original Nano Banana.
Astria sources: the plugin landing page for models, workflow, billing paths, changelog, requirements and first-party traction figures; the pricing page for per-image rates; and the ecommerce production page for the workspace and API route.
No competitor product was purchased or run for this article; returned-resolution and layer-type behaviour of Creator MAX is reported from its public material only. Prices, model rosters and version numbers change often; confirm them on the vendor pages before buying.