Nano Banana 2.1 vs GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini
GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini costs 3.8x less per output token than Nano Banana 2.1 ($2.00 vs $7.50 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; no benchmark has tested both models yet.
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $7.50
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $2.00
Nano Banana 2.1 or GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini: 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 2.1 has results on Design Arena: images, Design Arena: graphic design and Design Arena: logos; GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini on LMArena WebDev, LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) and Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run). 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 GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini has a AA Intelligence Index result, 20.4.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini has a Design Arena: websites result, 1111.
Directional only
Image generation
Design Arena: images
No call
Only Nano Banana 2.1 has a Design Arena: images result, 1291.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini
GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini takes 400K tokens against 66K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini
Nano Banana 2.1 $0.0053, GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini $0.0013 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Nano Banana 2.1 not benchmarked, GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini 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 2.1 $7.50 against GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini $2.00 per million output tokens, 3.8x apart.
- Context window
- Nano Banana 2.1 takes 66K tokens, GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini 400K.
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 Index5 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2.1 | GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena WebDev | Not measured | 1244 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 83.6% | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 33.3% | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Terminal-Bench | Not measured | 61.6% | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| LMArena WebDev: HTML | Not measured | 1253 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 38 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2.1 | GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | Not measured | 20.4 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini 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 2.1 | GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 62.9% | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 41 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2.1 | GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 81.3% | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 18.5% | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 21 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2.1 | GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | Not measured | 91.7 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 91.7% | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2.1 | GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 82.0% | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index8 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2.1 | GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1111 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | Not measured | 1078 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | Not measured | 1092 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | Not measured | 1097 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | Not measured | 988 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | Not measured | 1093 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Design Arena: SVG | Not measured | 977 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Design Arena: ASCII art | Not measured | 1105 | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2.1 | GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | Not measured | 67.9% | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 66.7% | Only GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 46 boards here | |||
Image generationDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards measured
| Benchmark | Nano Banana 2.1 | GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: images | 1291 | Not measured | Only Nano Banana 2.1 measured |
| Design Arena: graphic design | 1333 | Not measured | Only Nano Banana 2.1 measured |
| Design Arena: logos | 1277 | Not measured | Only Nano Banana 2.1 measured |
| LMArena Text to Image | 1328 | Not measured | Only Nano Banana 2.1 measured |
| LMArena Image Edit | 1426 | Not measured | 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
GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini 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 2.1 | OpenAI GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | OpenAI | |
| Weights | No public weights listed | No public weights listed |
| Released | October 6, 2026 | November 13, 2025 |
| Context window | 66K | 400K |
| Input $/Mtok | $1.50 | $0.25 |
| Output $/Mtok | $7.50 | $2.00 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 1 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Nano Banana 2.1 better than GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini 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 2.1 or GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini?
Nano Banana 2.1 costs $1.50 per million input tokens and $7.50 per million output tokens; GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini costs $0.25 and $2.00. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Nano Banana 2.1 or GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini?
GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini, with 400K tokens against 66K.
Has any benchmark tested both Nano Banana 2.1 and GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini?
No benchmark has tested both yet. Nano Banana 2.1 has results on Design Arena: images, Design Arena: graphic design and Design Arena: logos; GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini on LMArena WebDev, LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) and Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run). Compare them on price and context instead. Data as of October 22, 2026.