Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) vs Granite 4.2 8B
Granite 4.2 8B costs 15.0x less per output token than Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) ($0.20 vs $3.00 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; no benchmark has tested both models yet.
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $3.00
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $0.20
Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) or Granite 4.2 8B: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
No benchmark has tested both yet. Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) has results on LMArena Image Edit; Granite 4.2 8B on AA Coding Index, SciCode and LMArena Text: coding. 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 Granite 4.2 8B has a AA Intelligence Index result, 11.1.
Directional only
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Granite 4.2 8B has a AA Agentic Index result, 1.3.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
No call
Both take 131K tokens.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Granite 4.2 8B
Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) $0.0020, Granite 4.2 8B $0.0002 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) not benchmarked, Granite 4.2 8B 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
- Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) $3.00 against Granite 4.2 8B $0.20 per million output tokens, 15.0x apart.
- Context window
- Both take 131K tokens.
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 | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) | Granite 4.2 8B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 22.4 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| SciCode | Not measured | 31.5% | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | Not measured | 1378 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | Not measured | 1367 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 39 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) | Granite 4.2 8B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | Not measured | 11.1 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) | Granite 4.2 8B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | Not measured | 1.3 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 41 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) | Granite 4.2 8B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 63.1% | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 9.7% | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | Not measured | 1327 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | Not measured | 1386 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | Not measured | 1345 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 18 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) | Granite 4.2 8B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | Not measured | 1336 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | Not measured | 1336 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | Not measured | 1327 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | Not measured | 1322 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index12 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) | Granite 4.2 8B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 45.0% | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text | Not measured | 1319 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | Not measured | 1300 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | Not measured | 1236 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: English | Not measured | 1337 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | Not measured | 1301 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | Not measured | 1367 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | Not measured | 1282 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | Not measured | 1301 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | Not measured | 1325 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | Not measured | 1269 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | Not measured | 1271 | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 36 boards here | |||
Image generationDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) | Granite 4.2 8B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Image Edit | 1387 | Not measured | Only Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 4 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
Granite 4.2 8B costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Granite 4.2 8B costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Granite 4.2 8B 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 Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) | IBM Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | IBM Granite | |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | June 18, 2026 | August 31, 2026 |
| Context window | 131K | 131K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.50 | $0.08 |
| Output $/Mtok | $3.00 | $0.20 |
| 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 Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) better than Granite 4.2 8B for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
Which is cheaper, Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) or Granite 4.2 8B?
Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) costs $0.50 per million input tokens and $3.00 per million output tokens; Granite 4.2 8B costs $0.08 and $0.20. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) or Granite 4.2 8B?
Neither: both take 131K tokens.
Has any benchmark tested both Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) and Granite 4.2 8B?
No benchmark has tested both yet. Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) has results on LMArena Image Edit; Granite 4.2 8B on AA Coding Index, SciCode and LMArena Text: coding. Compare them on price and context instead. Data as of October 22, 2026.