# Nano Banana 2.1 API pricing: cost per image at 1K, 2K and 4K, and how to call it
By SeedRouter · Published 2026-10-07 · Updated 2026-10-07
**On Google's own API, a Nano Banana 2.1 image costs $0.0336 at 1K, $0.0504 at 2K and $0.0756 at 4K, plus the input and thinking tokens around it.** The model ID is `gemini-nano-banana-2.1`; there is no free API tier.\[1]\[2] This guide works out what one request really costs, and shows a request you can run.
Google's prices as published, checked on October 7, 2026.
Model pages: [Nano Banana 2.1](https://seedrouter.ai/models/nano-banana-2-1), [Nano Banana 2](https://seedrouter.ai/models/nano-banana-2).
## Google's Nano Banana 2.1 rates
Google bills Nano Banana 2.1 by tokens, at three rates:\[1]
| Per 1M tokens | Standard | Batch |
| -------------------------- | -------- | ------ |
| Input (text, image, video) | $1.50 | $0.75 |
| Text and thinking output | $7.50 | $3.75 |
| Image output | $30.00 | $15.00 |
Every output image uses a fixed number of image tokens per size, whatever the aspect ratio: 1,120 at 1K, 1,680 at 2K and 2,520 at 4K.\[1]\[3] That gives the per-image prices Google quotes:
| Image size | Image tokens | Standard | Batch |
| ----------------------- | ------------ | -------- | ------- |
| 1K (1024 × 1024 at 1:1) | 1,120 | $0.0336 | $0.0168 |
| 2K (2048 × 2048) | 1,680 | $0.0504 | $0.0252 |
| 4K (4096 × 4096) | 2,520 | $0.0756 | $0.0378 |
Grounding with Google Web and Image Search is extra: 5,000 search requests a month are free across all Gemini 3 models, then $14 per 1,000.\[1]
## What one request really costs
The image tokens are not the whole bill. Nano Banana 2.1 thinks before it draws, at `medium` by default, and that thinking is billed at the text output rate.\[3] One of our 1K requests (a 22-token prompt, default thinking) reported 845 thinking tokens and 332 other text tokens beside the 1,120 image tokens:
| Part of the request | Tokens | Standard rate | Cost |
| ------------------------ | ------ | ------------- | ---------------- |
| Prompt | 22 | $1.50 / 1M | $0.00003 |
| Thinking and text output | 1,177 | $7.50 / 1M | $0.0088 |
| Image output (1K) | 1,120 | $30.00 / 1M | $0.0336 |
| **Total** | | | **about $0.042** |
So on Google's Standard tier, plan for roughly a quarter more than the per-image price at 1K. With `thinkingLevel` set to `MINIMAL`, our requests reported no thinking tokens at all, which brings the cost back close to the image price. Reference images add input tokens: one 2048 × 1536 reference added about 1,100 input tokens in our edit test, about $0.0017.
## Nano Banana 2.1 on SeedRouter
SeedRouter sells Nano Banana 2.1 at one flat price per delivered image. The price is the same at 1K, 2K and 4K, and thinking, prompt length and references do not change it. Current price:
Nano Banana 2.1 (Gemini Nano Banana 2.1) is sold on 1 channel.
| Channel | Model IDs | Billed by | Current rate (USD) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Standard | `gemini-nano-banana-2.1` | Flat price per delivered image, at any size | $0.03 per delivered image |
### Cost of one image by image size
Image tokens per size are the counts Google publishes for Gemini Nano Banana 2.1. Token-billed figures add a measured sample of 1177 text and thinking output tokens and 22 prompt tokens; actual usage varies with the prompt, references and thinking, so they are estimates, not fixed prices. Flat-priced channels charge the same at every size.
| Image size | Image output tokens | Standard USD |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1K | 1120 | $0.03 |
| 2K | 1680 | $0.03 |
| 4K | 2520 | $0.03 |
One request returns one image. Final charges are available in account usage history. Failed requests are not charged.
This is read from the same table that bills your account. A request that fails is not charged. Google Search grounding works through the same request, with the `googleSearch` tool, and does not change the price.
## How to call the Nano Banana 2.1 API
SeedRouter takes Google's `generateContent` request body with one addition, `model`, and returns a task ID instead of holding the connection open. Reference images go in as `fileData` URLs.
```bash
curl https://api.seedrouter.ai/v1/images/generations \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SEEDROUTER_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"model": "gemini-nano-banana-2.1",
"contents": [{"parts": [{"text": "A white lighthouse on a rocky coast at sunset, waves breaking on the rocks, golden sky, photorealistic. No text, no letters, no labels, no logos, no brand names anywhere in the image."}]}],
"generationConfig": {
"responseModalities": ["IMAGE"],
"imageConfig": {"aspectRatio": "1:1", "imageSize": "2K"},
"thinkingConfig": {"thinkingLevel": "MEDIUM"}
}
}'
```
The response is a task reference such as `{"id": "task_...", "status": "processing"}`. Poll it until it completes:
```bash
curl https://api.seedrouter.ai/v1/tasks/YOUR_TASK_ID \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SEEDROUTER_API_KEY"
```
When `status` is `completed`, `output.data[0].url` is the image. Keep the task ID if a poll times out and check again; do not submit the request twice. The [Nano Banana 2.1 API reference](https://seedrouter.ai/docs/gemini-nano-banana-2-1) lists every field, including the 14 aspect ratios and the three thinking levels.
Three things differ from Nano Banana 2: there is no `512` size, `thinkingLevel` takes `MINIMAL`, `MEDIUM` or `HIGH`, and Google shuts Nano Banana 2 down in its API on October 29, 2026.\[3]\[4] The [Nano Banana 2.1 vs Nano Banana 2 comparison](https://seedrouter.ai/blog/nano-banana-2-1-vs-nano-banana-2) covers the rest.
## Example outputs
These came from the request above and two variations, each charged as one image on SeedRouter.
*4K at 3:2, returned at 5056 × 3392, about 84 seconds from submission to the finished image.*
*2K at 1:1, returned at 2048 × 2048, about 60 seconds.*
*2K at 1:1, returned at 2048 × 2048, about 72 seconds.*
Times include queueing, generation and upload to storage, and change with load; a reference-image edit at 1K took about two minutes. Plan for a minute or two per image rather than seconds.
## Pricing questions
### How much does the Nano Banana 2.1 API cost per image?
On Google's Standard tier the image itself is $0.0336 at 1K, $0.0504 at 2K and $0.0756 at 4K, and in our tests default thinking added between $0.004 and $0.009 more.\[1]
On SeedRouter it is one flat price per image at every size, shown live above.
### Is there a free tier for the Nano Banana 2.1 API?
No. Google's price table lists the free tier as "Not available" for Nano Banana 2.1.\[1] Google's consumer apps are a separate product from the API.
### Is the Nano Banana 2.1 API cheaper than Nano Banana 2?
Per image, yes: Google's image output rate is $30 per million tokens on Nano Banana 2.1 against $60 on Nano Banana 2. Its input and thinking rates are higher, but in our tests they added less than the image saved.\[1]
### How do I get a Nano Banana 2.1 API key?
On Google, create a key in AI Studio with billing enabled. On SeedRouter, sign in, add credit, and create a key in the dashboard; the same key works for every model, and credit does not expire.
### Can I use Batch pricing?
Google's Batch API runs Nano Banana 2.1 at half the Standard rates, $0.0168 for a 1K image, in exchange for asynchronous turnaround.\[1]\[2]
SeedRouter does not offer a separate batch rate; send one request per image.
## References
1. Google AI for Developers. *Gemini Developer API pricing*, section "Gemini Nano Banana 2.1". Checked October 7, 2026 at [ai.google.dev](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing).
2. Google AI for Developers. *Gemini Nano Banana 2.1* (model page). Retrieved October 7, 2026 from [ai.google.dev](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/models/gemini-nano-banana-2.1).
3. Google AI for Developers. *Nano Banana image generation*. Retrieved October 7, 2026 from [ai.google.dev](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/image-generation).
4. Google AI for Developers. *Gemini API release notes*, October 6, 2026. Retrieved October 7, 2026 from [ai.google.dev](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/changelog).