Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) (2025) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B (2026) are frontier reasoning models from Google DeepMind and Alibaba. Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) ships a 66k-token context window, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ships a 262k-token context window. On pricing, Qwen3.5-397B-A17B costs $0.39/1M input tokens versus $2/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is ~413% cheaper at $0.39/1M; pay for Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | General | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 66k | 262k |
| Cheapest output | $120/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 3 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Use Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) when your own prompt tests beat the comparison signals; the local data does not show a decisive standalone advantage yet.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $2.34/1M tokens.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3.5-397B-A17B for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview)
$31,600
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Google AI Studio
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
$897
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $30,703. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is $118/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B adds Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) is $118/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-09-01 | 2026-02-16 |
| Context window | 66k | 262k |
| Parameters | — | 397B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Mixture of Experts |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $2/1M tokens | $0.39/1M tokens |
| Output price | $120/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, multimodal input: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, reasoning mode: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, function calling: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, tool use: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, and structured outputs: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B. Both models share the core language-model surface, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) lists $2/1M input and $120/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B lists $0.39/1M input and $2.34/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Qwen3.5-397B-A17B lower by about $36.42 per million blended tokens. Availability is 3 providers versus 4, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) when provider fit are central to the workload. Choose Qwen3.5-397B-A17B when reasoning depth, larger context windows, and lower input-token cost are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B supports 262k tokens, while Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) supports 66k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) costs $2/1M input and $120/1M output tokens. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B costs $0.39/1M input and $2.34/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B open source?
Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) is listed under Proprietary. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is listed under Apache 2.0. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for vision, Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is better for multimodal input, Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview) is available on Google AI Studio, GCP Vertex AI, and OpenRouter. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is available on OpenRouter, Together AI, Alibaba Cloud PAI-EAS, and Novita AI. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-06-15. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.