API cost decision in 10 seconds

Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

Pick Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) for lower cost; pick Qwen3.5 397B A17B only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T20:08:05Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) for lower cost; pick Qwen3.5 397B A17B only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) is estimated at $1.55 vs $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B, saving $0.01 (0.6% lower).

Cost-first pickNano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

Context-first pickQwen3.5 397B A17B

Sample savings$0.010.6%

10x traffic gap$0.1

Qwen3.5 397B A17B has more context, but Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) saves $0.01 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.1. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image), balanced workload favors Qwen3.5 397B A17B, and output-heavy chatbot favors Qwen3.5 397B A17B.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)	$3.12	$2.75
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	$2.73	$2.8
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	$12.09	$12.8

Cheaper input Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) $0.39 vs $0.3 / 1M

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) is $0.09 cheaper per 1M input tokens (23.1% lower; 1.3x difference).

Cheaper output Qwen3.5 397B A17B $2.34 vs $2.5 / 1M

Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $0.16 cheaper per 1M output tokens (6.4% lower; 1.07x difference).

Larger context Qwen3.5 397B A17B 262.14K vs 32.77K

Qwen3.5 397B A17B has 229.38K more context (8x larger).

Sample workload Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) $1.56 vs $1.55

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) is $0.01 cheaper on the standard workload (0.6% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Qwen3.5 397B A17B Calculating… Estimated API cost

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) 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 (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) has the lower input price; Qwen3.5 397B A17B has the lower output price; Qwen3.5 397B A17B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B and $1.55 for Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image).

Best Fit

Choose Qwen3.5 397B A17B when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Choose Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) when you care most about lower input-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) is estimated at $1.55 vs $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B, saving $0.01 (0.6% lower).
Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) is $0.01 cheaper on the standard workload (0.6% lower).
Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) is $0.09 cheaper per 1M input tokens (23.1% lower; 1.3x difference).
Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $0.16 cheaper per 1M output tokens (6.4% lower; 1.07x difference).
Qwen3.5 397B A17B has 229.38K more context (8x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Qwen3.5 397B A17B (Qwen)	Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) (Google)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.39	$0.3
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$2.34	$2.5
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$1.56	$1.55
Context Window	262.14K	32.77K
Release Date	2026-02-16	2025-10-07
Popularity	#53	#121

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) is estimated at $1.55 vs $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B, saving $0.01 (0.6% lower).
High-volume input processing	Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
Qwen3.5-9B can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.11.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 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.
DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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

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Qwen catalog

Review all tracked Qwen 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

Qwen3.5 397B A17B

The Qwen3.5 series 397B-A17B native vision-language model is built on a hybrid architecture that integrates a linear attention mechanism with a sparse mixture-of-experts model, achieving higher inference efficiency. It delivers...

Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, a.k.a. "Nano Banana," is now generally available. It is a state of the art image generation model with contextual understanding. It is capable of image generation,...