API cost decision in 10 seconds

Llama 3 8B Lunaris vs Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview)

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

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  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 Pro (Gemini 3 Pro 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 $8 for Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview), saving $7.93 (99.2% lower).

Cost-first pickLlama 3 8B Lunaris
Context-first pickNano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview)
Sample savings$7.9399.2%
10x traffic gap$79.35

Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) has more context, but Llama 3 8B Lunaris saves $7.93 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $79.35. 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 shapeToken mixBetter pickLlama 3 8B LunarisNano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview)
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputLlama 3 8B Lunaris$0.23$16
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputLlama 3 8B Lunaris$0.09$14
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputLlama 3 8B Lunaris$0.29$62
Cheaper input Llama 3 8B Lunaris $0.04 vs $2 / 1M

Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $1.96 cheaper per 1M input tokens (98% lower; 50x difference).

Cheaper output Llama 3 8B Lunaris $0.05 vs $12 / 1M

Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $11.95 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99.6% lower; 240x difference).

Larger context Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) 8.19K vs 65.54K

Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) has 57.34K more context (8x larger).

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

Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $7.93 cheaper on the standard workload (99.2% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Llama 3 8B Lunaris Calculating… Estimated API cost
Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro 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 Pro (Gemini 3 Pro 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 $8 for Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro 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 Pro (Gemini 3 Pro 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 $8 for Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview), saving $7.93 (99.2% lower).
  • Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $7.93 cheaper on the standard workload (99.2% lower).
  • Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $1.96 cheaper per 1M input tokens (98% lower; 50x difference).
  • Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $11.95 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99.6% lower; 240x difference).
  • Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) has 57.34K more context (8x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureLlama 3 8B Lunaris
(Sao10K)
Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview)
(Google)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.04$2
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$0.05$12
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$0.07$8
Context Window8.19K65.54K
Release Date
Popularity#127#128

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionLlama 3 8B LunarisOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is estimated at $0.07 vs $8 for Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview), saving $7.93 (99.2% lower).
High-volume input processingLlama 3 8B LunarisLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsLlama 3 8B LunarisLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workNano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro 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 Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Larger context near this budget
  • Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.25 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
  • GPT-5.4 offers 1.05M context with $10 sample workload cost.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

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Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

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Provider catalogs

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

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Sao10K catalog

Review all tracked Sao10K 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.

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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 Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview)

Nano Banana Pro is Google’s most advanced image-generation and editing model, built on Gemini 3 Pro. It extends the original Nano Banana with significantly improved multimodal reasoning, real-world grounding, and...