Google Makes Nano Banana 2.1 Generally Available in the Gemini API, With Image Output Priced at $30 per Million Tokens Versus $60 on Its Predecessor
Google lists Nano Banana 2.1 as generally available in the Gemini API from October 6, with 1:8 and 8:1 aspect ratios and image output at $30 per million tokens.
Editor's Note ·
- Clarification:
- The article states that "a 4K image consumes 3780 tokens" on Nano Banana 2.1 and that the 4K per-image price therefore falls by a smaller margin than the per-token rate. That figure is from Google's pricing page, which lists $0.113 per 4K image. The image generation guide, also cited by the article, lists 2520 tokens for a 4K image on Nano Banana 2.1 across its aspect ratios, the same count as on Nano Banana 2. The two Google pages disagree, and the article does not say so; if the guide's count applies, the 4K reduction would match the per-token cut.
Overview
Google released Gemini Nano Banana 2.1 (gemini-nano-banana-2.1) on October 6, 2026, according to the Gemini API changelog, which lists it as generally available. The changelog describes the model as “the latest high-efficiency image generation and conversational editing model” and an update to Nano Banana 2 (gemini-3.1-flash-image). The Gemini API pricing page, as read on October 10, lists lower image-output prices for the new model than for its predecessor, alongside a higher input price.
What Google Says Changed
Per the changelog, the model “maintains Flash-level speed and cost efficiency while delivering significant improvements in visual quality, prompt adherence, multi-turn character consistency, text rendering, and wide and panoramic aspect ratio generation (1:4, 4:1, 1:8, 8:1) across 1K, 2K, and 4K resolutions.” These are Google’s own characterizations; the changelog entry gives no benchmark figures.
The image generation guide adds that Nano Banana 2.1 and Gemini 3.1 Flash Image “add the integration of Google Image Search Grounding alongside Web Search.” The same guide notes that Gemini 3.1 Flash Image offers a smaller 512px (0.5K) resolution that is “not supported on Gemini Nano Banana 2.1.” Developers relying on 0.5K output therefore have no equivalent on the new model according to that page.
Pricing on Google’s Page
The pricing page lists the following for the standard paid tier, per million tokens. These are Google’s published list prices as read on October 10; the page does not say when the predecessor’s prices were set, so this article does not date the change.
| Item | Nano Banana 2.1 | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) |
|---|---|---|
| Input | $1.50 (text/image/video) | $0.50 (text/image) |
| Text and thinking output | $7.50 | $3 |
| Image output | $30.00 | $60.00 |
| 1K image | $0.0336 | $0.067 |
| 2K image | $0.0504 | $0.101 |
| 4K image | $0.113 | $0.151 |
The page states that 1K and 2K images consume 1120 and 1680 output tokens respectively on Nano Banana 2.1, and that a 4K image consumes 3780 tokens, compared with 2520 tokens for a 4K image on Nano Banana 2. The 4K per-image price therefore falls by a smaller margin than the per-token rate. Batch pricing is also listed: $0.75 input and $15.00 per million image-output tokens for Nano Banana 2.1, against $0.25 and $30.00 for Nano Banana 2.
For grounded generation, the page lists 5,000 free search requests per month, shared across all Gemini 3 and newer models, then $14 per 1,000 requests for text and image-based grounding.
Deprecation
The changelog states that gemini-3.1-flash-image is deprecated, with “no shutdown date announced,” and tells developers to migrate to gemini-nano-banana-2.1. The image generation guide likewise recommends Nano Banana 2.1 for all new projects.
What We Don’t Know
- Google’s changelog gives no independent quality measurements, so the claimed gains in visual quality, text rendering and consistency are unverified by third parties in the sources reviewed.
- The sources do not state when the shutdown of
gemini-3.1-flash-imagewill occur. - The pricing comparison relies on Google’s own page as read on October 10; no source reviewed dates the earlier prices.
- All three sources are Google documentation. No independent outlet’s coverage was available to confirm the details at the time of writing.