What is Nano Banana 2 Lite?
Nano Banana 2 Lite is Google's name for Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image, the newest and lightest of its four Nano Banana image models. It reads text, images, video and PDFs and returns images, always at 1K. Google puts a text-to-image result at about 4 seconds and charges $0.0336 per image, half the price of Nano Banana 2.
It is a current model: Google recommends it as the replacement for the original Nano Banana, which Google is retiring. The trade-offs are 1K output only, no Google Search grounding, and weaker handling of many reference images or long edit chains. Its knowledge stops at January 2025, and there are no open weights.
What changed from Nano Banana?
It is cheaper, scores higher in Google's text-to-image and text tests, and accepts video, but it still makes 1K images like the original.
- Price
- $0.0336 per 1K image on the Gemini API, against $0.039 for the original Nano Banana.
- Image quality
- Google's own tests score it 1059 Elo for general text-to-image, against 929 for the original.
- Text in images
- It scores 961 to 968 on Google's text editing test, against 823 for the original.
- Inputs and thinking
- It can take video as input, which Google supports only on its 3.1 image models, and its thinking level can be set to minimal or high.
- Status
- Google names it the replacement and is retiring the original Nano Banana.
Who is Nano Banana 2 Lite best for?
Nano Banana 2 Lite is best for developers who need many 1K images fast and cheap, such as drafts, thumbnails and catalog shots, and can do without 2K or 4K output.
High-volume image pipelines
At $0.0336 per 1K image, or $0.0168 through Batch, it is the cheapest Gemini image model for catalogs, thumbnails and bulk drafts.
Live previews in apps
Google puts text-to-image at about 4 seconds, quick enough for drafting screens where a user waits on the result.
Moving off the original Nano Banana
Google names it the replacement for gemini-2.5-flash-image, with better quality at a lower price per image.
Quick images in the Gemini app
Free Gemini users reach it by picking Flash-Lite, which suits fast, simple images rather than multi-step edits.
What's included with Nano Banana 2 Lite?
Mixed text, image and video input, adjustable thinking, quick local edits, wide and tall formats, half-price batch jobs and built-in watermarks.
- Text, image and video input
- Prompts can mix text, images, video and PDFs, and it can build an image from an uploaded video or a YouTube link.
- Adjustable thinking
- Thinking runs at minimal by default for speed and can be raised to high for harder prompts.
- Quick local edits
- It handles simple follow-up edits such as color swaps, turning a picture into a sticker and background changes.
- Wide and tall formats
- Aspect ratios run from 21:9 widescreen to 9:16 portrait, all at 1K.
- Batch API
- Jobs that can wait cost half: $0.0168 per 1K image instead of $0.0336.
- Watermarked output
- Every image carries Google's invisible SynthID watermark and C2PA content credentials.
How much does Nano Banana 2 Lite cost?
Nano Banana 2 Lite costs $0.0336 per 1K image through the Gemini API, or $0.0168 with Batch, and free Gemini app users get it by switching Gemini to Flash-Lite.
- Used when Gemini is set to Flash-Lite, open without a Google AI plan
- Counts toward the Gemini app's usage limits
- Quick images and simple ideas, not multi-image edits
- $15 per million image output tokens
- $0.125 per million input tokens
- Half the Standard price
- $30 per million image output tokens, 1,120 tokens per image
- $0.25 per million input tokens for text, images or video
- 1K (1024x1024) output only, no Google Search grounding
The Gemini API has no free tier for Nano Banana 2 Lite, and text and thinking output costs $1.50 per million tokens ($0.75 with Batch). The model ID is gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image in Google AI Studio, the Gemini API and Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. For comparison, Nano Banana 2 costs $0.067 per 1K image ($0.034 with Batch), and the original Nano Banana, which Google is retiring, costs $0.039 per image. Paid API prompts are not used to improve Google's products. There are no open weights. Full pricing on ai.google.dev. We checked these prices on .
How do readers rate Nano Banana 2 Lite?
No one has rated Nano Banana 2 Lite yet. Be the first.
Sign in to rate. One rating per account.
Nano Banana 2 Lite pros and cons
It is fast, cheap and follows prompts well for bulk work, but it stops at 1K and trails Nano Banana 2 on detailed prompts.
Pros
- Fast in practice: developers on Hacker News and Reddit report images in about 2 to 8 seconds; one tester measured about 30 seconds for Nano Banana 2.
- Testers say it follows detailed prompts well and renders text better than the original Nano Banana, close to Nano Banana 2 on simple jobs.
- At $0.0336 per 1K image it is the cheapest model in Google's Nano Banana family, about half the price of Nano Banana 2.
Cons
- Detail drops on complex or nuanced prompts, and several testers keep Nano Banana 2 for final images and use Lite only for drafts.
- Google caps it at 1K with no Search grounding and says it is not built for several reference images or long edit chains; small text can come out blurry.
- Several developers say the price is higher than they expected for a Lite model and point to cheaper rival image models.
- Some users who relied on the original Nano Banana for characters say Lite does not hold a character design as well.
What are the best Nano Banana 2 Lite alternatives?
Four tools on Recaply do Nano Banana 2 Lite's job. Bonsai Image 4B is open source, so you can run it on your own server.
Nano Banana 2FreeChoose it when you need 2K or 4K output, Google Search grounding or several reference images; it costs $0.067 per 1K image, or $0.034 through Batch.
Seedream 5.0 LitePaidChoose it when you need bigger images at about the same price; ByteDance charges $0.035 per image at 2K, 3K or 4K.
ChatGPT Images 2.5FreeChoose it when you want a cheaper API image and can pick a lower quality setting; a medium 1024x1024 image costs about $0.013.
Bonsai Image 4BOpen SourceChoose it when images must be generated on the device, with no per-image charge and no prompts sent to Google.
Questions about Nano Banana 2 Lite
What is the difference between Nano Banana 2 Lite and Nano Banana 2?
Nano Banana 2 Lite trades range for speed and price: it makes 1K images only, cannot use Google Search grounding and is not built for several reference images or long edit chains. Nano Banana 2 goes from 0.5K to 4K and costs $0.067 per 1K image, about twice the Lite price.
Who is Nano Banana 2 Lite for?
Nano Banana 2 Lite is best for developers who need many 1K images fast and cheap, such as drafts, thumbnails and catalog shots, and can do without 2K or 4K output.
Is Nano Banana 2 Lite free?
Yes, in the Gemini app: it is the image model Gemini uses when set to Flash-Lite, which is open without a Google AI plan, within the app's usage limits. The Gemini API has no free tier for it, so each 1K image there costs $0.0336.
How much does Nano Banana 2 Lite cost?
Nano Banana 2 Lite's paid plans are Gemini API Batch at $0.0168 per 1K image and Gemini API Standard at $0.0336 per 1K image.
Is there an open source alternative to Nano Banana 2 Lite?
Yes. Bonsai Image 4B is an open source tool that does the same job, so you can run your own.
What are the best Nano Banana 2 Lite alternatives?
The closest alternatives on Recaply are Nano Banana 2, Seedream 5.0 Lite, ChatGPT Images 2.5 and Bonsai Image 4B.
Where can I try Nano Banana 2 Lite?
On its official website, blog.google.
Should I switch from the original Nano Banana to Nano Banana 2 Lite?
Google says yes: it names Nano Banana 2 Lite the replacement for gemini-2.5-flash-image and is retiring the older model. Lite costs $0.0336 per 1K image against $0.039 and scores higher in Google's own text-to-image tests, but test your prompts first, since some users preferred the old model for characters.
Can Nano Banana 2 Lite make 2K or 4K images?
No. Nano Banana 2 Lite outputs 1K images only, in aspect ratios from 21:9 to 9:16. For 2K or 4K from Google, use Nano Banana 2 or Nano Banana Pro, which cost more per image.
Our verdict
Nano Banana 2 Lite is the right Google image model for high-volume 1K work where speed and cost matter more than polish.
It is the cheapest Nano Banana at $0.0336 per image, testers get results in seconds, and Google recommends it in place of the original Nano Banana, which Google is retiring.
- Skip it for
- Final artwork, print sizes, search-grounded infographics or multi-image edits, which Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro handle better.
- Check first
- Run your hardest prompts on both Lite and Nano Banana 2 first, since detail drops on complex requests.
Nano Banana 2.1
Nano Banana Pro
Recraft V4.1 Flash
Seedream 4.5
MAI-Image-2.6
Wan2.7-Image