API cost decision in 10 seconds

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) vs GPT-5.2 Chat

Pick Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) when budget and context both matter.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) is estimated at $2 vs $8.75 for GPT-5.2 Chat, saving $6.75 (77.1% lower).

Cost-first pickNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)
Context-first pickNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)
Sample savings$6.7577.1%
10x traffic gap$67.5

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $67.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)GPT-5.2 Chat
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)$4$15.75
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)$3.5$15.75
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)$15.5$71.75
Cheaper input Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) $0.5 vs $1.75 / 1M

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) is $1.25 cheaper per 1M input tokens (71.4% lower; 3.5x difference).

Cheaper output Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) $3 vs $14 / 1M

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) is $11 cheaper per 1M output tokens (78.6% lower; 4.67x difference).

Larger context Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) 131.07K vs 128K

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) has 3.07K more context (1.02x larger).

Sample workload Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) $2 vs $8.75

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) is $6.75 cheaper on the standard workload (77.1% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) Calculating… Estimated API cost
GPT-5.2 Chat 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

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) has the lower input price; Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) has the lower output price; Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) is cheaper for the standard workload.

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 $8.75 for GPT-5.2 Chat.

Best Fit

Choose Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Choose GPT-5.2 Chat when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) is estimated at $2 vs $8.75 for GPT-5.2 Chat, saving $6.75 (77.1% lower).
  • Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) is $6.75 cheaper on the standard workload (77.1% lower).
  • Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) is $1.25 cheaper per 1M input tokens (71.4% lower; 3.5x difference).
  • Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) is $11 cheaper per 1M output tokens (78.6% lower; 4.67x difference).
  • Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) has 3.07K more context (1.02x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)
(Google)
GPT-5.2 Chat
(OpenAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.5$1.75
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$3$14
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$2$8.75
Context Window131.07K128K
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) is estimated at $2 vs $8.75 for GPT-5.2 Chat, saving $6.75 (77.1% lower).
High-volume input processingNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image 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 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
  • GPT-5.4 offers 1.05M context with $10 sample workload cost.

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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Google catalog

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OpenAI catalog

Check other OpenAI models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

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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...

GPT-5.2 Chat

GPT-5.2 Chat (AKA Instant) is the fast, lightweight member of the 5.2 family, optimized for low-latency chat while retaining strong general intelligence. It uses adaptive reasoning to selectively “think” on...