API cost decision in 10 seconds

Llama 3 8B Lunaris vs Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)

Pick Llama 3 8B Lunaris for lower cost; pick Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T19:08:13Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Llama 3 8B Lunaris for lower cost; pick Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is estimated at $0.07 vs $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview), saving $1.94 (96.8% lower).

Cost-first pickLlama 3 8B Lunaris

Context-first pickNano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)

Sample savings$1.9496.8%

10x traffic gap$19.35

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) has more context, but Llama 3 8B Lunaris saves $1.94 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $19.35. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Llama 3 8B Lunaris stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	$0.23	$4
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	$0.09	$3.5
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	$0.29	$15.5

Cheaper input Llama 3 8B Lunaris $0.04 vs $0.5 / 1M

Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $0.46 cheaper per 1M input tokens (92% lower; 12.5x difference).

Cheaper output Llama 3 8B Lunaris $0.05 vs $3 / 1M

Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $2.95 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.3% lower; 60x difference).

Larger context Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) 8.19K vs 131.07K

Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) has 122.88K more context (16x larger).

Sample workload Llama 3 8B Lunaris $0.07 vs $2

Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $1.94 cheaper on the standard workload (96.8% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Llama 3 8B Lunaris 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

Llama 3 8B Lunaris has the lower input price; Llama 3 8B Lunaris 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, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.07 for Llama 3 8B Lunaris and $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview).

Best Fit

Choose Llama 3 8B Lunaris when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is estimated at $0.07 vs $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview), saving $1.94 (96.8% lower).
Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $1.94 cheaper on the standard workload (96.8% lower).
Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $0.46 cheaper per 1M input tokens (92% lower; 12.5x difference).
Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $2.95 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.3% lower; 60x difference).
Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) has 122.88K more context (16x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Llama 3 8B Lunaris (Sao10K)	Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) (Google)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.04	$0.5
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.05	$3
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.07	$2
Context Window	8.19K	131.07K
Release Date	2024-08-13	2026-02-26
Popularity	#115	#129

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is estimated at $0.07 vs $2 for Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview), saving $1.94 (96.8% lower).
High-volume input processing	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Nano 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 31B (free) can replace Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) 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.
Lyria 3 Pro 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 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.

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

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

Sao10K catalog

Review all tracked Sao10K models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

Open Sao10K models

Google catalog

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

Open Google models

Llama 3 8B Lunaris

Lunaris 8B is a versatile generalist and roleplaying model based on Llama 3. It's a strategic merge of multiple models, designed to balance creativity with improved logic and general knowledge....

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...