What happened
What happened (verified 2026-10-07 on ai.google.dev pricing): gemini-nano-banana-2.1 paid image output is $30/1M tokens — ≈ $0.0336 per 1K, $0.0504 per 2K, $0.113 per 4K (3,780 tokens). Batch is half. Input is $1.50/1M (text/image/video). Free tier on this image API: not available. vs Nano Banana 2 (gemini-3.1-flash-image): prior 1K was ≈ $0.067 and input $0.50/1M — so 2.1 cuts output ~half at 1K but raises input 3× (hurts reference-heavy edit loops). Tool impact: static-ad / thumbnail / infographic factories on Gemini API get a real $/accepted-image cliff; Midjourney Relax taste clubs and Firefly legal/CC pipelines stay different jobs.
Switch or not?
Try Nano Banana 2.1 API when you ship programmable volume (1,000×1K ≈ $33.60 standard / ≈ $16.80 batch) and text-in-image claims matter — A/B 50 of your real prompts vs current stack and score cost per accepted image. Avoid ripping Midjourney if taste exploration (Relax) is the job, and don’t budget 4K at a 2,520-token guess: official Gemini API prices 4K at 3,780 tokens ≈ $0.113 (batch ≈ $0.0567). Next: keep Pro (Nano Banana Pro / gemini-3-pro-image) for hero stills where quality wins; use 2.1 for variant flood. last-verified 2026-10-07.
Money / risk
No free API image tier — every gen is billed. Higher input vs NB2 means multi-turn edit chats with fat references regain less than the headline half-off. Grounding/search add-ons and Cloud/Vertex invoices can diverge from AI Studio quotes — check the line items. Third-party taste tests still say Pro often looks better; cheap rejects aren’t free once humans review.
Sources (multi-channel)
GitHub, docs, blogs, video — not a single-platform dump.
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docs
Gemini Developer API pricing — gemini-nano-banana-2.1
Official: $0.0336/1K, $0.0504/2K, $0.113/4K; batch half; input $1.50/1M; no free image tier. Page updated 2026-10-07.
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other
ToolGap — Midjourney vs Flux API economics
Sibling taste-vs-API decision card; add NB2.1 volume line.
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other
ToolGap — Firefly Boards vs ChatGPT Images ads
Sibling ad-seat card; Gemini API volume is a third lane.
Source
Google AI — Gemini Developer API pricing (Nano Banana 2.1) · verify independently