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GoogleGemini 3.1 Flash-LiteVSGoogleGemini 3.5 Flash

Analysis by:the whichllmmodel Editorial Team|Updated: June 2026

Our Take

We recommend Gemini 3.5 Flash if you need peak intelligence for complex complex codebases, multi-file repositories, and architectural planning, or the 6.0x cheaper Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite if your workflow is limited to scripting single-file apps or clearly defined functions. While Gemini 3.5 Flash holds a major reasoning advantage, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is optimized for high-volume budget pipelines. Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash for architectural codebase planning, or Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite to maximize your budget for basic scripts.
▶WHY?
Benchmark Calculations & Evidence:
  • Coding Evaluation: Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite was evaluated on LiveCodeBench (scoring 72%), while Gemini 3.5 Flash was evaluated on SWE-bench Pro (scoring 55.1%).
  • Reasoning Accuracy: Both models were evaluated on the GPQA Diamond benchmark. Gemini 3.5 Flash scored 92.2%, 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 6.0x cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash ($1.5/M input, $9/M output).
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    Model Specs

    Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite

    Website

    Benchmarks & 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)6.0x cheaper
    $0.56Input: $0.25 | Output: $1.50
    Context Window
    1.05M tokens
    Model Specs

    Gemini 3.5 Flash

    Website

    Benchmarks & Scores

    Coding (swe-bench-pro)
    55.1%

    complex codebases, multi-file repositories, and architectural planning

    Reasoning (gpqa-diamond)Winner (+10.0%)
    92.2%

    graduate-level science QA

    Cost & Context

    Cost (per 1M tokens)
    $3.38Input: $1.50 | Output: $9.00
    Context Window
    1.05M tokens
    Read our data collection methodology

    Frequently Asked Questions about Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite vs Gemini 3.5 Flash

    Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite has a blended cost of $0.56/1M tokens, which is about 6.0x cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash at $3.38/1M tokens.

    For coding tasks, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite scores 72% on live-code-bench (scripting single-file apps or clearly defined functions), while Gemini 3.5 Flash scores 55.1% on swe-bench-pro (complex codebases, multi-file repositories, and architectural planning).

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