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Gemma 2 2B vs GPT-5 nano

A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.

Updated

Gemma 2 2B specs · GPT-5 nano specs
Verdict by category
  • PriceGPT-5 nano

    GPT-5 nano publishes pricing ($0.40 / 1M output tokens) while Gemma 2 2B does not.

  • Context windowGPT-5 nano

    GPT-5 nano accepts 400K tokens vs 8.2K, 48.8× the room for long documents and codebases.

  • BenchmarksTie

    No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.

  • ModalitiesGPT-5 nano

    GPT-5 nano supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Gemma 2 2B.

  • OpennessGemma 2 2B

    Gemma 2 2B ships open weights (Gemma License); GPT-5 nano is API-only.

On balance GPT-5 nano edges ahead, winning 3 of 5 categories against Gemma 2 2B's 1. GPT-5 nano publishes pricing ($0.40 / 1M output tokens) while Gemma 2 2B does not. GPT-5 nano accepts 400K tokens vs 8.2K, 48.8× the room for long documents and codebases.

No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, Gemma 2 2B handles text while GPT-5 nano handles text, vision, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Gemma 2 2B ships open weights (Gemma License); GPT-5 nano is API-only.

GPT-5 nano is the newer of the two, released 12 months after Gemma 2 2B, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Gemma 2 2B is usually picked for on device and edge deployment workloads, while GPT-5 nano sees more deployments in cheapest llm and fastest llm. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.

Side-by-side specs

SpecGemma 2 2BGPT-5 nano
ProviderGoogleOpenAI
ReleasedJul 2024Aug 2025
Modalitiestexttext, vision
Context window8.2K tokens400K tokens
Max output,128K tokens
Input · 1MPricing not published$0.050 / 1M tokens
Output · 1MPricing not published$0.40 / 1M tokens
Knowledge cutoff,2024-09
Open weightsYes (Gemma License)No
API availableYesYes

Pricing at scale

What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day, vs $0.750
  • Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day, vs $7.50
  • RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day, vs $9.90

Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).

Price calculator

Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • Gemma 2 2BPricing unavailable
  • GPT-5 nano$0.025

Benchmarks compared

Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.

Benchmark scores not yet available. We only publish numbers we can source from official model cards or independent leaderboards, see methodology.
Pick Gemma 2 2B if

Gemma 2 2B fits when…

  • Tiny, runs on phones
  • Wide tooling
  • Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (Gemma License).
Pick GPT-5 nano if

GPT-5 nano fits when…

  • Lowest-cost OpenAI model with vision support
  • Fast P99 latency
  • Good enough for routing and classification
  • Long-context tasks, handles 400K tokens vs 8.2K for Gemma 2 2B.
  • Multimodal needs covering vision.
Don't want either?

Consider Gemini 3 Pro

Google's late-2025 flagship, set new benchmarks on long-context, vision, and reasoning at competitive pricing.

See Gemini 3 Pro specsGemma 2 2B vs Gemini 3 ProGPT-5 nano vs Gemini 3 Pro

Frequently asked

  • Is Gemma 2 2B or GPT-5 nano cheaper?
    Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.
  • Which has the larger context window?
    GPT-5 nano accepts 400K tokens vs 8.2K for Gemma 2 2B.
  • Is Gemma 2 2B or GPT-5 nano better for coding?
    Both Gemma 2 2B and GPT-5 nano are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.
  • Are either of these models open source?
    Gemma 2 2B ships open weights (Gemma License). GPT-5 nano is API-only.
  • When were Gemma 2 2B and GPT-5 nano released?
    Gemma 2 2B was released by Google on 2024-07-31. GPT-5 nano was released by OpenAI on 2025-08-07.
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