Nano Banana 2 is Google's Gemini 3.1 Flash Image model, and if you've landed here confused about how it relates to Nano Banana, Nano Banana Pro, and the just-released Nano Banana 2 Lite, you're not alone, that naming overlap trips up a lot of people. This guide covers what Nano Banana 2 actually is, how it differs from the rest of the Nano Banana family, its features, pricing, and how to use it via API, with real examples throughout.
What is Nano Banana 2?
Nano Banana 2 is Google's Gemini 3.1 Flash Image model, released in February 2026. It brings Nano Banana Pro's reasoning, world knowledge, and visual fidelity into a faster, cheaper package, and it replaced the original Nano Banana in Google's lineup.
Nano Banana vs Pro vs 2 vs 2 Lite: which one do you want?
This is genuinely confusing, so here's the family tree in one place.
Nano Banana (the original) is legacy at this point. Google has been steering people away from it toward the newer models below.
Nano Banana Pro is the quality tier: reasoning-driven, built on Gemini 3 Pro, with the strongest text rendering and studio-level creative controls (camera angle, depth of field, lighting shifts). It generates in around 20 seconds per image and costs 26 credits ($0.26) for a 1K or 2K image, 52 credits ($0.52) for 4K.
Nano Banana 2 (this page) is the balanced option: Pro-level quality at Flash speed. It generates in about 4 to 6 seconds and costs from 12 credits ($0.12) at 1K to 26 credits ($0.26) at 4K, about half of Pro's rate, which makes it a better fit for high-volume or iterative work where you're generating a lot of variations.
Nano Banana 2 Lite is the newest of the four, released June 30, 2026, just days before this guide was last updated. Google is positioning it as the fastest, cheapest option in the family (roughly 4 seconds per image, reportedly a fraction of Nano Banana 2's cost), aimed at high-throughput developer pipelines rather than maximum creative control. Pricing and availability details are still settling since it's brand new, worth double-checking current numbers rather than trusting a snapshot here.
If you're not sure which one you need: pick Pro for the highest-fidelity, most controllable output; pick Nano Banana 2 (this page) for a strong balance of quality and speed; pick 2 Lite if speed and cost per image matter more than anything else.
Key features of Nano Banana 2
Pro quality at Flash speed. Built on Gemini 3.1 Flash, it carries over Nano Banana Pro's reasoning and visual fidelity into a meaningfully faster model.
Faster and cheaper than Pro. It generates in roughly 4 to 6 seconds at about half the per-image cost of Pro, which suits high-volume and iterative work where you're generating many variations before settling on one.
Up to 4K output. It supports resolutions from 512px up to 4096px across 14 aspect ratios, covering everything from social posts to print.
Search grounding and world knowledge. It pulls from Gemini's knowledge base and real-time web search to render specific subjects accurately, and it's particularly strong at infographics, notes-to-diagrams conversions, and data visualizations.
Strong multi-subject consistency. It keeps multiple characters and objects consistent across a series of images, alongside accurate multilingual text rendering and translation.
Flexible reasoning and provenance. It offers minimal or high reasoning levels depending on how much you need it to think through a prompt, and every output carries an invisible SynthID watermark plus C2PA Content Credentials.
Specs at a glance
| Aspect ratios | 1:1, 3:4, 4:3, 9:16, 16:9 |
|---|---|
| Resolutions | 1K, 2K, 4K (512px to 4096px) |
| Avg. completion time | ~12 seconds |
| Image input | Supported (compose with or edit a reference image) |
| Output formats | jpg, png, webp |
Is Nano Banana 2 free?
Through Google's own consumer surfaces (the Gemini app, Google AI Studio), you can generate a limited number of images for free before hitting a cap, which is likely where most "is Nano Banana free" searches are coming from.
If you're building something rather than generating one-off images by hand, you need API access, and that's billed per image, not free. Apiframe gives new accounts free credits to test the Nano Banana 2 API before you add billing, so you can send real requests and see real output before committing to anything.
Nano Banana 2 pricing
Nano Banana 2 runs from 12 credits ($0.12) at 1K to 26 credits ($0.26) at 4K through the API, about half of Nano Banana Pro's rate, which is the whole point of the Flash tier: comparable quality, meaningfully cheaper for high-volume work. For current, confirmed pricing, check the Nano Banana 2 API page directly.
How to use Nano Banana 2 (via API)
Using Nano Banana 2 through an API comes down to three steps: get a key, submit a request, get the result.
curl -X POST https://api.apiframe.ai/v2/images/generate \
-H "X-API-Key: afk_your_api_key_here" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"prompt": "a sleek silver sports car on a coastal highway at sunset, hyper-realistic",
"model": "nano-banana-2",
"nanoBananaParams": {
"resolution": "1K",
"output_format": "jpg"
}
}'That returns a jobId right away, since generation is asynchronous, though at roughly 12 seconds average completion, Nano Banana 2 is fast enough that polling briefly works fine for most use cases; a webhook is still the better pattern for production.
To edit or compose with a reference image, add an image_input URL. To ground generation in real, current information (accurate weather maps, recent events, verified facts), set google_search to true. The full Nano Banana 2 API docs cover every parameter.
Nano Banana 2 examples and prompts
A few real prompts that show the range of what Nano Banana 2 can do:
Data visualization: "A data visualization of global coffee consumption by country, clean labels and legend."
Product photography: "A 4K product photo of a sneaker on concrete, soft daylight, sharp detail."
Notes to diagram: "Turn these handwritten meeting notes into a clean flowchart diagram."
Text rendering: "A greeting card reading 'Congratulations' in elegant script with a watercolor floral border."
Multi-subject consistency: "Show these five characters together at a dinner table, each keeping their consistent look."
Multilingual layout: "A bilingual menu board with dishes in English and Spanish, legible prices, modern layout."
You can see these generated, and copy the exact prompts, on the Nano Banana 2 model page.
Nano Banana 2 vs other image models
Against other current image models, Nano Banana 2's strongest differentiators are search-grounded accuracy (rendering real, current information correctly) and multi-subject consistency at Flash-tier speed. Compared to Flux 2 Pro, Flux tends to edge ahead on raw photorealism and fine texture detail, while Nano Banana 2 wins on text rendering, diagrams, and anything that benefits from world knowledge. Compared to GPT Image 2, the two are closer in general capability, with Nano Banana 2 generally faster and Google Search grounding being a genuine differentiator neither Flux nor GPT Image 2 offer.
FAQ
What is Nano Banana 2?
Google's Gemini 3.1 Flash Image model, released February 2026, bringing Nano Banana Pro's quality into a faster, cheaper package. It replaced the original Nano Banana.
Is Nano Banana 2 free?
Google's consumer apps offer limited free generations. API access for building isn't free, it's billed per image, though Apiframe gives new accounts free credits to test it.
How is Nano Banana 2 different from Nano Banana Pro?
Nano Banana 2 is about four times faster and roughly half the cost, with comparable quality for most use cases. Pro remains the pick for the most demanding text rendering, studio controls, and maximum fidelity.
How much does the Nano Banana 2 API cost?
From 12 credits ($0.12) at 1K to 26 credits ($0.26) at 4K. Check the Nano Banana 2 API page for current, confirmed pricing.
Does it support search grounding?
Yes. It can pull from Gemini's knowledge base and real-time web search to render specific, accurate, current information, useful for infographics, data visualizations, and fact-sensitive imagery.
Where can you access it?
Through Apiframe, as well as the Gemini app, Google AI Studio, the Gemini API, and Vertex AI.