API cost decision in 10 seconds

GPT-5 Nano vs Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)

Pick GPT-5 Nano 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 GPT-5 Nano when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 Nano is estimated at $0.25 vs $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview), saving $1.75 (87.5% lower).

Cost-first pickGPT-5 Nano
Context-first pickGPT-5 Nano
Sample savings$1.7587.5%
10x traffic gap$17.5

GPT-5 Nano is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $17.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

GPT-5 Nano stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickGPT-5 NanoNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputGPT-5 Nano$0.45$4
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputGPT-5 Nano$0.45$3.5
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputGPT-5 Nano$2.05$15.5
Cheaper input GPT-5 Nano $0.05 vs $0.5 / 1M

GPT-5 Nano is $0.45 cheaper per 1M input tokens (90% lower; 10x difference).

Cheaper output GPT-5 Nano $0.4 vs $3 / 1M

GPT-5 Nano is $2.6 cheaper per 1M output tokens (86.7% lower; 7.5x difference).

Larger context GPT-5 Nano 400K vs 131.07K

GPT-5 Nano has 268.93K more context (3.05x larger).

Sample workload GPT-5 Nano $0.25 vs $2

GPT-5 Nano is $1.75 cheaper on the standard workload (87.5% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
GPT-5 Nano Calculating… Estimated API cost
Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image 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

GPT-5 Nano has the lower input price; GPT-5 Nano has the lower output price; GPT-5 Nano offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GPT-5 Nano is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.25 for GPT-5 Nano and $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview).

Best Fit

Choose GPT-5 Nano when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.

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.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 Nano is estimated at $0.25 vs $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview), saving $1.75 (87.5% lower).
  • GPT-5 Nano is $1.75 cheaper on the standard workload (87.5% lower).
  • GPT-5 Nano is $0.45 cheaper per 1M input tokens (90% lower; 10x difference).
  • GPT-5 Nano is $2.6 cheaper per 1M output tokens (86.7% lower; 7.5x difference).
  • GPT-5 Nano has 268.93K more context (3.05x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureGPT-5 Nano
(OpenAI)		Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)
(Google)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$0.05$0.5
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$0.4$3
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$0.25$2
Context Window400K131.07K
Release Date
Popularity#68#129

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionGPT-5 NanoOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 Nano is estimated at $0.25 vs $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview), saving $1.75 (87.5% lower).
High-volume input processingGPT-5 NanoLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsGPT-5 NanoLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workGPT-5 NanoA larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5 Nano when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5 Nano when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5 Nano when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
  • gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5 Nano when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.
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.
  • DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.

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

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OpenAI catalog

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

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Google catalog

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

Open Google models
GPT-5 Nano

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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...