Is Nano Banana free? What you get without paying

Nano Banana is free to use in the Gemini app, within usage limits, but not through an API. Google's Gemini app includes image generation with Nano Banana 2 for people without a paid plan. The Gemini API, which apps and scripts call, lists no free tier for Nano Banana 2, Nano Banana Pro or Nano Banana 2 Lite. If you need images in your own product, you pay per image.

Everything below comes from Google's own pages, checked on September 25, 2026. Google says its limits may change, so check the linked pages before you rely on a detail.

Can you use Nano Banana 2 for free?

Yes, in the Gemini app. Google's Gemini Apps limits page lists "Image generation with Nano Banana 2" as available without a Google AI plan. Free use counts against the app's usage limits, which Google describes as compute-based: they refresh every five hours up to a weekly limit, and media generation uses more of them than chat.

Paid plans raise those limits. The same page lists AI Plus at 2x, AI Pro at 4x and AI Ultra at 5x or 20x higher than AI Pro, depending on the subscription.

Is Nano Banana Pro free?

Not fully. On the same page, "Redo images with Nano Banana Pro" is marked as unavailable without a Google AI plan and available on AI Plus, AI Pro and AI Ultra. Free users generate with Nano Banana 2; redoing an image with Nano Banana Pro needs a subscription.

Is there a free Nano Banana API?

No. Google's Gemini API pricing page shows "Not available" in the free-tier column for Gemini 3.1 Flash Image (Nano Banana 2), Gemini 3 Pro Image (Nano Banana Pro) and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image (Nano Banana 2 Lite). The paid tier is billed per token, which Google converts to a per-image equivalent for each output size.

What does the Nano Banana API cost on SeedRouter?

SeedRouter gives every new account a small free balance to test with; the pricing page lists the amount. After that, you buy prepaid credits once and each delivered image is charged at the current rate. Two things keep the cost down while you test:

• Failed requests are free. A task that ends failed, including one blocked by the safety filters, costs nothing.
• Credits never expire. A small top-up lasts until you use it; there is no subscription.

Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro have a flat per-image price on their Standard IDs and token billing on their Official IDs; Nano Banana 2 Lite is billed by tokens only. The Nano Banana API pricing guide shows the live rates of all three models and the cost at every resolution.

What about "free unlimited" Nano Banana sites?

Searches for a free or unlimited Nano Banana turn up many third-party sites. Google's pages above list no unlimited free access: the app has usage limits and the API has no free tier. A site that offers unlimited free images is paying for them some other way, so read its terms before uploading your own photos.

Frequently asked questions

Is Nano Banana 2 Lite free?

It has no free tier on the Gemini API. The Gemini Apps limits page does not list it as an app feature.

Is there a daily limit on free Nano Banana 2 in the Gemini app?

Not a fixed image count. Google describes compute-based limits that refresh every five hours until you reach a weekly limit, and image generation uses more of them than a text chat.

How much does it cost to test the API?

One image at the current rate. The free balance on a new account covers a few images at the flat Standard price. Try prompts in the Nano Banana 2 playground first; a failed run is not charged.

Start with one paid image

For personal images, the Gemini app's free allowance may be all you need. For images inside your own product, create an API key, add a small balance on the billing page, and follow the Nano Banana 2 API guide to send your first request.