API cost decision in 10 seconds

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) vs North Mini Code (free)

Pick North Mini Code (free) when budget and context both matter.

Page updated: 2026-06-18T05:07:18Z Data confirmed: 2026-08-23T11:07:50Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick North Mini Code (free) when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, North Mini Code (free) is estimated at $0 vs $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image), saving $2 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickNorth Mini Code (free)

Context-first pickNorth Mini Code (free)

Sample savings$2100%

10x traffic gap$20

North Mini Code (free) is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $20. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

North Mini Code (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image)	North Mini Code (free)
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	North Mini Code (free)	$4	$0
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	North Mini Code (free)	$3.5	$0
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	North Mini Code (free)	$15.5	$0

Cheaper input North Mini Code (free) $0.5 vs $0 / 1M

North Mini Code (free) is free for input tokens while Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) costs $0.5 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output North Mini Code (free) $3 vs $0 / 1M

North Mini Code (free) is free for output tokens while Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) costs $3 per 1M tokens.

Larger context North Mini Code (free) 131.07K vs 256K

North Mini Code (free) has 124.93K more context (1.95x larger).

Sample workload North Mini Code (free) $2 vs $0

North Mini Code (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $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) Calculating… Estimated API cost

North Mini Code (free) 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

North Mini Code (free) has the lower input price; North Mini Code (free) has the lower output price; North Mini Code (free) offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, North Mini Code (free) 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) and $0 for North Mini Code (free).

Best Fit

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

Choose North Mini Code (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, North Mini Code (free) is estimated at $0 vs $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image), saving $2 (100% lower).
North Mini Code (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $2.
North Mini Code (free) is free for input tokens while Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) costs $0.5 per 1M tokens.
North Mini Code (free) is free for output tokens while Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) costs $3 per 1M tokens.
North Mini Code (free) has 124.93K more context (1.95x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) (Google)	North Mini Code (free) (Cohere)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.5	$0
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$3	$0
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$2	$0
Context Window	131.07K	256K
Release Date	2026-06-18	2026-06-17

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	North Mini Code (free)	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, North Mini Code (free) is estimated at $0 vs $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image), saving $2 (100% lower).
High-volume input processing	North Mini Code (free)	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	North Mini Code (free)	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	North Mini Code (free)	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) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Gemma 4 31B (free) can replace Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.

Larger context near this budget

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.11 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #1
MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #2
Hy3 · Tencent · #3
Ox Alpha · stealth · #4

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.

Open provider hubs

Google catalog

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

Open Google models

Cohere catalog

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

Open Cohere models

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image)

Gemini 3.1 Flash Image, 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 advanced...

North Mini Code (free)

North Mini Code is Cohere's first agentic coding model and the debut of its North family. A sparse mixture-of-experts model with 30B total parameters and 3B active, it is optimized...