Nano Banana 2.1 is $0.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewNano Banana 2.1 vs Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B
Pick Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B 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 Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is estimated at $5 vs $5.25 for Nano Banana 2.1, saving $0.25 (4.8% lower).
Cost-first pickQwen3.8 2.4T A95B
Context-first pickQwen3.8 2.4T A95B
Sample savings$0.254.8%
10x traffic gap$2.5
Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $2.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Nano Banana 2.1, balanced workload favors Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B, and output-heavy chatbot favors Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Nano Banana 2.1 | Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Nano Banana 2.1 | $11.25 | $13 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B | $9 | $8 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B | $39 | $32 |
Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is $1.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B has 983.04K more context (16x larger).
Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is $0.25 cheaper on the standard workload (4.8% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
Nano Banana 2.1 has the lower input price; Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B has the lower output price; Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $5.25 for Nano Banana 2.1 and $5 for Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B.
Choose Nano Banana 2.1 when you care most about lower input-token price.
Choose Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is estimated at $5 vs $5.25 for Nano Banana 2.1, saving $0.25 (4.8% lower).
- Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is $0.25 cheaper on the standard workload (4.8% lower).
- Nano Banana 2.1 is $0.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
- Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is $1.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
- Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B has 983.04K more context (16x larger).
| Feature | NewNano Banana 2.1 (Google) | Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1.5 | $2 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $7.5 | $6 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $5.25 | $5 |
| Context Window | 65.54K | 1.05M |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is estimated at $5 vs $5.25 for Nano Banana 2.1, saving $0.25 (4.8% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Nano Banana 2.1 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Nano Banana 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Gemma 4 31B (free) can replace Nano Banana 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Nano Banana 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Nano Banana 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- 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.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.47 sample workload cost.
- MiMo-V2.6-Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Step 5 Preview · StepFun · #2
- GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #3
- MiMo-V2.6-Flash · Xiaomi · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsGoogle catalog
Review all tracked Google models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Google modelsQwen catalog
Check other Qwen models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Qwen modelsNano Banana 2.1 (Gemini Nano Banana 2.1) is Google's image generation and editing model on the Flash tier, succeeding Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro. It improves product recontextualization,...
Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is an open-weight sparse mixture-of-experts model from Qwen and the open-weight variant of [Qwen3.8 Max](/qwen/qwen3.8-max), with 95 billion active parameters out of 2.4 trillion total. It is...