Google's Nano Banana 2.1 offers better images at half the price

Google has unveiled Nano Banana 2.1, a new image generation and editing model that replaces Nano Banana 2, released in February 2026. The company claims this version offers improvements across the board, though Nano Banana Pro remains its highest-quality model. Nano Banana 2.1 is built on Gemini 3.6 Flash, while Pro uses Gemini 3.1.

Pricing has been cut roughly in half compared to Nano Banana 2. A 1K image now costs 3.36 cents, down from 6.70 cents, while a 4K image drops from 15.10 to 7.56 cents. Nano Banana Pro, however, remains significantly more expensive at 13.40 cents per 1K image.

Google highlights improvements in visual quality, text rendering, character consistency, panoramas, and infographics. The model can process up to 14 reference images at once, maintaining consistency for up to four characters and ten objects. It also integrates with Google Search and offers adjustable thinking levels that impact image quality. Despite strong benchmark performance, Nano Banana Pro often still produces superior images.

The model is rolling out across Google's products, including the Gemini app, Google Search AI Mode, and Google AI Studio. Google plans to shut down the previous model, Gemini 3.1 Flash Image, on October 29, 2026.