Nano Banana 2.1 pricing: what one image really costs
By GetStepSnap · Prices checked October 7, 2026
Through Google's own API, the image itself costs $0.0336 at 1K on the Standard tier, or half that ($0.0168) on the slower Batch tier. Your prompt, any attached photos and the model's thinking are billed on top, usually a fraction of a cent.
Watch what each price includes. Google lists the image output on its own. fal.ai bills every token a request uses, so its numbers are estimates for a short prompt. Our site charges a fixed number of credits per image, everything in. Here's every option side by side, and what we actually paid in our own tests.
Price per image
| Where | 1K | 2K | 4K | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Gemini API, Standard | $0.0336 | $0.0504 | $0.113 | The image output only. Input ($1.50 per million tokens: your prompt and any attached photos) and thinking ($7.50 per million) are extra. Needs a billing account, an API key and code. No free tier for 2.1. |
| Google Gemini API, Batch | $0.0168 | $0.0252 | $0.0567 | The same model at half price, for jobs that can wait: results come back later, not right away. Input and thinking are extra, also at half price. |
| fal.ai | ~$0.040 | ~$0.059 | ~$0.134 | Billed on the tokens each request uses, at rates about 18% above Google's Standard tier. These are fal's estimates for a short prompt (about 100 tokens) with thinking; a longer prompt, attached photos or more thinking cost a little more. Prepaid credits, one key for many models. |
| GetStepSnap | ~$0.10 | ~$0.10 | ~$0.30 | Per image, everything included, no code. 1 credit for 1K or 2K, 3 for 4K; $9.90 for 100 credits plus local tax; first 1K image free. |
Sources: Gemini API pricing and fal.ai's Nano Banana 2.1 page, checked October 7, 2026. Google also offers 2.1 in its own apps; their free limits change from time to time, so check there for today's numbers.
Our real bill
We made 13 test images for our tool page through fal.ai. Eight pictures from text at 1K cost $0.32 together, $0.040 each. Five edits with one attached photo cost $0.21, $0.042 each. fal's estimate held up for our prompts of a few sentences, and the attached photo added about two tenths of a cent.
So why pay about ten cents on GetStepSnap?
If you write code, don't. Use the API and keep the difference. If you don't, the API means a cloud account, a billing card, an API key and a script before you see a single image. We charge about ten cents to skip all of that: an editor in your browser, your photos in and full-size files out, no subscription, and failed images refunded automatically.
4K costs about 3.4 times a 1K image everywhere, which is why it takes 3 credits on our site. Our full price list is on the pricing page.
How it compares to the other Nano Bananas
On Google's Standard tier the image itself costs $0.0336 at 1K with 2.1, $0.067 with Nano Banana 2 and $0.134 with Nano Banana Pro, and 2.1 is also the cheapest of the three at 2K and 4K. In other words, the newest one costs the least. We tested whether you give anything up for that in 2.1 vs Pro and 2.1 vs 2.
Questions
Is Nano Banana 2.1 free?
Not in Google's Gemini API: its price page lists no free tier for 2.1. Google's own apps have their own limits, which it changes from time to time. On GetStepSnap your first 1K image is free when you sign in with Google.
How much does a 4K Nano Banana 2.1 image cost?
On Google's API the image itself is $0.113 on the Standard tier or $0.0567 on Batch, plus input and thinking. fal.ai bills the same tokens at its own rates, about $0.134 with a short prompt. On GetStepSnap it's 3 credits (about $0.30), everything included.
Do edits cost more than new images?
Slightly, through the APIs: each photo you attach adds about 1,120 input tokens, roughly $0.002 on fal.ai. On GetStepSnap an edit takes the same credits as a new image.
Is there a subscription on GetStepSnap?
No. You buy 100 credits once for $9.90 plus local tax where it applies. Nothing renews and credits don't expire.
Why is Nano Banana 2.1 cheaper than Nano Banana 2 and Pro?
Google prices its image output lower. On the Standard tier the image itself costs $0.0336 at 1K, against $0.067 for Nano Banana 2 and $0.134 for Nano Banana Pro.