API cost decision in 10 seconds

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview

The standard workload cost is tied; choose by context window, provider fit, latency, or model quality.

Pricing data updated: 2026-05-26T11:08:00Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

The standard workload cost is tied; choose by context window, provider fit, latency, or model quality.

Both models are estimated at $2 for the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Cost-first pickTie

Context-first pickGemini 3 Flash Preview

Sample savings$00%

10x traffic gap$0

Context-window winner: Gemini 3 Flash Preview. Cost does not separate this pair on the standard workload, so the next decision point is context window and model behavior.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

The two models stay tied across the input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)	Gemini 3 Flash Preview
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Tie	$4	$4
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Tie	$3.5	$3.5
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Tie	$15.5	$15.5

Cheaper input Tie $0.5 vs $0.5 / 1M

Both models report the same input price at $0.5 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Tie $3 vs $3 / 1M

Both models report the same output price at $3 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Gemini 3 Flash Preview 131.07K vs 1.05M

Gemini 3 Flash Preview has 917.5K more context (8x larger).

Sample workload Tie $2 vs $2

Both models have the same estimated cost for the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload: $2.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) Calculating… Estimated API cost

Gemini 3 Flash Preview Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

both models tie on input price; both models tie on output price; Gemini 3 Flash Preview offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, the standard workload cost is tied.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) and $2 for Gemini 3 Flash Preview.

Best Fit

Choose Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Choose Gemini 3 Flash Preview when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes

Both models are estimated at $2 for the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Both models have the same estimated cost for the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload: $2.
Both models report the same input price at $0.5 per 1M tokens.
Both models report the same output price at $3 per 1M tokens.
Gemini 3 Flash Preview has 917.5K more context (8x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) (Google)	Gemini 3 Flash Preview (Google)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.5	$0.5
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$3	$3
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$2	$2
Context Window	131.07K	1.05M
Release Date	2026-02-26	2025-12-17

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Tie	Both models are estimated at $2 for the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
High-volume input processing	Tie	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Tie	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Gemini 3 Flash Preview	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Gemma 4 31B (free) can replace Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

No popular competitor is currently available.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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Google catalog

Review all tracked Google models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)

Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview, a.k.a. "Nano Banana 2," is Google’s latest state of the art image generation and editing model, delivering Pro-level visual quality at Flash speed. It combines...

Gemini 3 Flash Preview

Gemini 3 Flash Preview is a high speed, high value thinking model designed for agentic workflows, multi turn chat, and coding assistance. It delivers near Pro level reasoning and tool...