Nova 2 Lite vs Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)
Nova 2 Lite costs 1.2x less per output token than Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) ($2.50 vs $3.00 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; no benchmark has tested both models yet.
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $2.50
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $3.00
Nova 2 Lite or Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview): which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Nova 2 Lite for output tokens 1.2x cheaper ($2.50 vs $3.00 per million) and a larger context window (1M against 66K tokens).
No benchmark has tested both yet. Nova 2 Lite has results on AA Coding Index, ALE-Bench and LMArena Text: coding; Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) on Design Arena: images, Design Arena: graphic design and Design Arena: logos. Compare them on price and context instead.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
No call
Only Nova 2 Lite has a AA Intelligence Index result, 13.4.
Directional only
Image generation
Design Arena: images
No call
Only Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) has a Design Arena: images result, 1269.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Nova 2 Lite
Nova 2 Lite takes 1M tokens against 66K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Nova 2 Lite
Nova 2 Lite $0.0015, Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) $0.0020 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Nova 2 Lite not benchmarked, Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- None yet: no category has been tested on both models.
- Widest single gap
- None yet: no benchmark has tested both models.
- Output price
- Nova 2 Lite $2.50 against Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) $3.00 per million output tokens, 1.2x apart.
- Context window
- Nova 2 Lite takes 1M tokens, Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) 66K.
Benchmark by benchmark
Every board either model has a result on, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale. Only one model is measured on each, so no row names a leader.
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index4 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | 23.0 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| ALE-Bench | 236.3 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1385 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1394 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 35 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 13.4 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1364 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1359 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1385 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: math | 1359 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1369 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | 1382 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1386 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1359 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1369 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 14 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index17 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1362 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1335 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1292 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1385 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1337 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1364 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: German | 1343 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1273 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1281 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: French | 1381 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | 1375 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1342 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Polish | 1327 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1338 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1335 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1318 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1309 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 29 boards here | |||
Image generationDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: images | Not measured | 1269 | Only Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) measured |
| Design Arena: graphic design | Not measured | 1249 | Only Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) measured |
| Design Arena: logos | Not measured | 1248 | Only Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 2 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Nova 2 Lite costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Nova 2 Lite costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Nova 2 Lite costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | Amazon Nova 2 Lite | Google Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Amazon | |
| Weights | No public weights listed | No public weights listed |
| Released | December 2, 2025 | February 26, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M | 66K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.30 | $0.50 |
| Output $/Mtok | $2.50 | $3.00 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Nova 2 Lite better than Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Nova 2 Lite for output tokens 1.2x cheaper ($2.50 vs $3.00 per million) and a larger context window (1M against 66K tokens).
Which is cheaper, Nova 2 Lite or Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)?
Nova 2 Lite costs $0.30 per million input tokens and $2.50 per million output tokens; Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) costs $0.50 and $3.00. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Nova 2 Lite or Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)?
Nova 2 Lite, with 1M tokens against 66K.
Has any benchmark tested both Nova 2 Lite and Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview)?
No benchmark has tested both yet. Nova 2 Lite has results on AA Coding Index, ALE-Bench and LMArena Text: coding; Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview) on Design Arena: images, Design Arena: graphic design and Design Arena: logos. Compare them on price and context instead. Data as of October 21, 2026.