# Nano Banana API: Pricing for Pro, 2 and 2 Lite (2026 Guide)

> Every Nano Banana model compared — Pro, 2, 2 Lite and base — with real per-image prices from $0.03, and why Pro's new flat rate changes which tier to use.

- **Published**: 2026-07-27
- **Tag**: Pricing
- **Read time**: 6 min

---

Nano Banana is Google's image generation and editing family. There are four variants you can call programmatically through one endpoint, and the pricing changed enough recently that the old "cheap tier / expensive tier" advice no longer holds.

All prices USD, checked 15 August 2026; 1 credit = $0.01. "Direct" is Google's own published rate. The $1,250 top-up pack (+10% bonus) adds a few more points to every saving below.

| Model | Model id | Price per image | Direct | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nano Banana 2 Lite | `nano-banana-2-lite` | **$0.03** | $0.0336 | −11% |
| Nano Banana (base) | `google-nano-banana` | **$0.0302** | $0.039 | −23% |
| Nano Banana 2 | `nano-banana-2` | **$0.039** (1K) – **$0.089** (4K) | $0.08 – $0.18 | −51% |
| Nano Banana Pro | `nano-banana-pro` | **$0.059** at every resolution | $0.15 – $0.20 | −61% to −71% |

Full resolution breakdown:

| Model | 1K | 2K | 4K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nano Banana 2 | $0.039 | $0.059 | $0.089 |
| **Nano Banana Pro** | **$0.059** | **$0.059** | **$0.059** |

# The one thing to take away: Pro is flat-rate now

**Nano Banana Pro costs $0.059 whether you render at 1K, 2K or 4K.** Nano Banana 2 costs $0.039 at 1K but $0.059 at 2K and $0.089 at 4K.

Which means:

- At **2K** the two models cost exactly the same — always pick Pro.
- At **4K** Pro is **34% cheaper** than Nano Banana 2 while being the more capable model.
- Only at **1K** is Nano Banana 2 cheaper, and only by 2 cents per image.

If you have a config that routes 2K and 4K work to Nano Banana 2 to save money, that config is now costing you money and quality at the same time.

# Which tier should you actually use

**Nano Banana 2 Lite — $0.03/image.** Thumbnails, drafts, previews, anything a user will regenerate three times before keeping. Note the discount here is only 11%, so it's cheap in absolute terms rather than a bargain versus going direct.

**Nano Banana 2 (1K) — $0.039.** The cheapest sensible production option at 1K.

**Nano Banana Pro — $0.059 flat.** Google's most capable variant: sharper detail and noticeably better text rendering inside images. At 2K and 4K it is the obvious default. This is also the best-value model in the family at 71% below direct.

The practical pattern most teams land on now: **Lite or Z-Image for iteration, Pro for anything the user keeps.**

For draft work, [Z-Image](/models/z-image) at $0.0046 is still around 6× cheaper than Lite, and [GPT Image 2](/models/gpt-image-2-text-to-image) is now $0.025 at 1K — 89% below its direct rate, which puts it below every Nano Banana tier. Worth benchmarking against your own prompts.

# How to call it

```http
POST https://you.bot/api/v1/generate
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "modelId": "nano-banana-pro",
  "input": { "prompt": "A product photo of a ceramic coffee cup on a walnut table, soft window light" }
}
```

```json
{ "taskId": "9f2c…a71", "creditsCharged": 5.9 }
```

Then poll until the image is ready:

```http
GET https://you.bot/api/v1/task/{taskId}?model=nano-banana-pro
```

```json
{ "state": "success", "resultUrls": ["https://…"] }
```

Or pass a `callbackUrl` and get a signed webhook instead of polling.

## Tier switching in code

```python
TIERS = {
    "draft":    "nano-banana-2-lite",   # $0.03
    "standard": "nano-banana-2",        # $0.039 at 1K
    "final":    "nano-banana-pro",      # $0.059 at any resolution
}

def render(prompt, tier="final"):
    return generate(TIERS[tier], {"prompt": prompt})
```

That's the point of a single endpoint: your quality/cost dial is a dictionary lookup, not three integrations. Model pages with live pricing and an in-browser playground: [Nano Banana Pro](/models/nano-banana-pro) · [Nano Banana 2](/models/nano-banana-2) · [Nano Banana 2 Lite](/models/nano-banana-2-lite) · [Nano Banana](/models/google-nano-banana).

# Editing, not just generating

The whole family does image **editing** as well as text-to-image, which is what most product features actually need: remove an object, change a background, restyle a photo, fix the text on a label. Same endpoint, same model ids — you pass an input image alongside the prompt. If you're building an editor, also look at [Flux Kontext](/models/flux-kontext) at $0.0534 and the [Seedream edit models](/market?m=image).

# What actually drives your image bill

**Resolution — but check the model first.** Going 1K → 4K roughly doubles the cost on Nano Banana 2 and costs nothing extra on Pro. Don't assume; look at the table.

**Retries.** If a generation fails or comes back empty, the credits are **refunded automatically** — you're not paying for the platform's bad minute. ([Why we billed it that way.](/blog/never-pay-for-failed-jobs))

**Iteration count.** Users regenerate. Budget 3–5 generations per kept image and default those attempts to a cheaper tier.

# Cost example

An app where each user creates 10 finished images a month at 2K, with 4 drafts per final, 5,000 active users:

| Step | Model | Volume | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drafts | Nano Banana 2 Lite @ $0.03 | 200,000 | $6,000 |
| Finals (2K) | Nano Banana Pro @ $0.059 | 50,000 | $2,950 |
| **Total** | | | **$8,950/mo** |

Swap the draft tier to [Z-Image](/models/z-image) at $0.0046 and the draft line drops from $6,000 to $920 — a bigger saving than any change to the final tier.

If cost is the thing you're optimising, [the cheapest AI APIs in 2026](/blog/cheapest-ai-api) compares the whole field.

# FAQ

**How much does the Nano Banana API cost?**
$0.03 per image on Nano Banana 2 Lite, $0.0302 on base Nano Banana, $0.039–$0.089 on Nano Banana 2 depending on resolution, and a flat $0.059 on Nano Banana Pro at any resolution. Checked 15 August 2026.

**What's the difference between Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro?**
Pro is the more capable variant — sharper fine detail and notably better text rendering inside images. Since Pro is now a flat $0.059 at every resolution, it costs the same as Nano Banana 2 at 2K and is cheaper at 4K, so Pro is the default above 1K.

**Is there a cheaper Nano Banana model?**
Nano Banana 2 Lite at $0.03 per image is the cheapest in the family, though the discount versus going direct is only 11%. Nano Banana Pro is the best value at 71% below direct.

**Can Nano Banana edit an existing image?**
Yes. The family handles instruction-based editing as well as text-to-image, through the same endpoint and model ids.

**Do I pay for images that fail to generate?**
No — failed, errored or empty generations are refunded automatically.