GoogleGemini 3 FlashVSGoogleGemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
Our Take
We recommend Gemini 3 Flash for complex multi-file code and clearly defined tasks, or the 2.0x cheaper Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite if your budget requires optimizing costs for very high-volume pipelines. While Gemini 3 Flash offers a clear reasoning advantage, it carries a moderate price premium. Choose Gemini 3 Flash for multi-file code and clearly defined tasks, or Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite to save on API costs for simple scripts.
▶WHY?
Benchmark Calculations & Evidence:
Coding Evaluation: Gemini 3 Flash was evaluated on SWE-bench Verified (scoring 78%), while Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite was evaluated on LiveCodeBench (scoring 72%).
Reasoning Accuracy: Both models were evaluated on the GPQA Diamond benchmark. Gemini 3 Flash scored 90.4%, while Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite scored 82.2%.
Cost Efficiency: Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite pricing ($0.25/M input, $1.5/M output) is 2.0x cheaper than Gemini 3 Flash ($0.5/M input, $3/M output).
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Benchmarks & Scores
Coding (swe-bench-verified)
78%multi-file code and clearly defined tasks
Reasoning (gpqa-diamond)Winner (+8.2%)
90.4%graduate-level science QA
Cost & Context
Cost (per 1M tokens)
$1.13Input: $0.50 | Output: $3.00Context Window
1.05M tokensBenchmarks & Scores
Coding (live-code-bench)
72%scripting single-file apps or clearly defined functions
Reasoning (gpqa-diamond)
82.2%graduate-level science QA
Cost & Context
Cost (per 1M tokens)2.0x cheaper
$0.56Input: $0.25 | Output: $1.50Context Window
1.05M tokensFrequently Asked Questions about Gemini 3 Flash vs Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is cheaper than Gemini 3 Flash. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite has a blended cost of $0.56/1M tokens, which is about 2.0x cheaper than Gemini 3 Flash at $1.13/1M tokens.
For coding tasks, Gemini 3 Flash scores 78% on swe-bench-verified (multi-file code and clearly defined tasks), while Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite scores 72% on live-code-bench (scripting single-file apps or clearly defined functions).
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