Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite vs Nano Banana 2.1
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite costs 18.8x less per output token than Nano Banana 2.1 ($0.40 vs $7.50 per million). Updated October 23, 2026; no benchmark has tested both models yet.
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $0.40
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $7.50
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite or Nano Banana 2.1: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite for output tokens 18.8x cheaper ($0.40 vs $7.50 per million) and a larger context window (1.05M against 66K tokens).
No benchmark has tested both yet. Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has results on LiveCodeBench (Vals AI), LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) and Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run); Nano Banana 2.1 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 Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has a AA Intelligence Index result, 10.4.
Directional only
Reasoning
GPQA Diamond
No call
Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has a GPQA Diamond result, 70.2%.
Directional only
Math
AIME
No call
Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has a AIME result, 42.1%.
Directional only
Knowledge
MMLU Pro
No call
Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has a MMLU Pro result, 79.1%.
Directional only
Image generation
Design Arena: images
No call
Only Nano Banana 2.1 has a Design Arena: images result, 1290.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite takes 1.05M tokens against 66K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite $0.0003, Nano Banana 2.1 $0.0053 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite not benchmarked, Nano Banana 2.1 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
- Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite $0.40 against Nano Banana 2.1 $7.50 per million output tokens, 18.8x apart.
- Context window
- Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite takes 1.05M tokens, Nano Banana 2.1 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 Index3 boards measured
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | Nano Banana 2.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveCodeBench (Vals AI) | 71.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 59.3% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 4.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | Nano Banana 2.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 10.4 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 133.8 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | Nano Banana 2.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 19.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboard (BFCL) | 36.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards measured
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | Nano Banana 2.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond | 70.2% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| MMMU Pro (Vals AI) | 75.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 62.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 6.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Kagi LLM Benchmark | 40.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 18 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards measured
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | Nano Banana 2.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIME | 42.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| MGSM (Vals AI) | 89.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| AA Math Index | 53.3 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 53.3% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 10 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index8 boards measured
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | Nano Banana 2.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro | 79.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| LegalBench (Vals AI) | 82.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| CorpFin (Vals AI) | 57.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| TaxEval (Vals AI) | 66.2% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| MortgageTax (Vals AI) | 57.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| MedQA (Vals AI) | 88.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| MedCode (Vals AI) | 34.2% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 75.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index6 boards measured
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | Nano Banana 2.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAGE (Vals AI) | 30.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| MedScribe (Vals AI) | 75.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| IFBench | 49.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 55.7% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| DTBench | 62.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| LMCA | 18.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 42 boards here | |||
Image generationDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards measured
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | Nano Banana 2.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: images | Not measured | 1290 | Only Nano Banana 2.1 measured |
| Design Arena: graphic design | Not measured | 1333 | Only Nano Banana 2.1 measured |
| Design Arena: logos | Not measured | 1277 | Only Nano Banana 2.1 measured |
| LMArena Text to Image | Not measured | 1328 | Only Nano Banana 2.1 measured |
| LMArena Image Edit | Not measured | 1426 | Only Nano Banana 2.1 measured |
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
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Gemini 2.5 Flash 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 | Google Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | Google Nano Banana 2.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | ||
| Weights | No public weights listed | No public weights listed |
| Released | July 22, 2025 | October 6, 2026 |
| Context window | 1.05M | 66K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.10 | $1.50 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.40 | $7.50 |
| 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 Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite better than Nano Banana 2.1 for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite for output tokens 18.8x cheaper ($0.40 vs $7.50 per million) and a larger context window (1.05M against 66K tokens).
Which is cheaper, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite or Nano Banana 2.1?
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite costs $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.40 per million output tokens; Nano Banana 2.1 costs $1.50 and $7.50. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite or Nano Banana 2.1?
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite, with 1.05M tokens against 66K.
Has any benchmark tested both Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite and Nano Banana 2.1?
No benchmark has tested both yet. Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has results on LiveCodeBench (Vals AI), LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) and Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run); Nano Banana 2.1 on Design Arena: images, Design Arena: graphic design and Design Arena: logos. Compare them on price and context instead. Data as of October 23, 2026.