AI model comparison
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemini 2.5 Flash
Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is a high-efficiency model from Google with upgraded agentic capabilities.
- Input / 1M
- $0.30
- Output / 1M
- $2.50
- Context
- 1.05M
Gemini 2.5 Flash
Gemini 2.5 Flash is Google's state-of-the-art workhorse model, specifically designed for advanced reasoning, coding, mathematics, and scientific tasks.
Gemini 2.5 Flash is scheduled to be retired on October 20, 2026. Consider Gemini 3.8 Flash instead.
- Input / 1M
- $0.30
- Output / 1M
- $2.50
- Context
- 1.05M
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
Tie
Same price for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite
22.2 vs 15.5 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
Tie
1.05M vs 1.05M tokens
Newer release
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite
Released July 21, 2026
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite22.2Gemini 2.5 Flash15.5Coding index
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite49.3Gemini 2.5 FlashNot availableAgentic index
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite14.3Gemini 2.5 FlashNot availablePricing
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemini 2.5 Flash API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite | Gemini 2.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.30 | $0.30 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $2.50 | $2.50 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.03 | $0.03 |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | $0.08 | $0.08 |
| Web searchPer request | $0.014 | $0.014 |
What it costs in practice
Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.
Chat message
2K in, 500 out
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite$1.85Gemini 2.5 Flash$1.85Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite$19$10.90 cachedGemini 2.5 Flash$19$10.90 cachedLong document summary
150K in, 2K out
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite$50$9.50 cachedGemini 2.5 Flash$50$9.50 cachedSpecs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite | Gemini 2.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 1.05M tokens | 1.05M tokens |
| Max output | 66K tokens | 66K tokens |
| Input types | Audio, File, Image, Text, Video | Audio, File, Image, Text, Video |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | High, Medium, Low, Minimal | Not available |
| Default reasoning effort | Minimal | Not available |
| Release date | July 21, 2026 | June 17, 2025 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite | Gemini 2.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Supported |
| Reasoning | Supported | Supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Not supported |
Keep exploring
More on these models
Other head-to-heads, the full model page, and the alternatives list for each model.
Gemini 3.5 Flash LiteView full model details- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs GPT-5.4 Mini
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs GPT-5 Mini
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs GPT-5.4 Nano
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Grok 4.20
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs MiniMax M2.7
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Grok 4.3
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs GLM 4.7
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Kimi K2.5
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs GLM 5V Turbo
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs GPT-5
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Nemotron 3 Ultra
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Qwen3.5-27B
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs MiniMax M2.5
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Qwen3.5 397B A17B
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Kimi K2 Thinking
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Qwen3.6 27B
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs MiniMax M2.1
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini
Gemini 2.5 FlashView full model details- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Step 5 Preview
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Gemma 4 31B
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Gemma 4 26B A4B
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Claude Haiku 4.5
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Gemini 2.5 Pro
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Muse Glimmer 30B
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs GLM 4.6
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs R1 0528
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Qwen3.5-122B-A10B
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Kimi K2 0905
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Mistral Medium 3.5
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs o4 Mini
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Nova 2 Lite
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Command A
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs GLM 4.5
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Kimi K2 0711
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Qwen3 235B A22B Thinking 2507
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs o3 Mini
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs MiniMax M1
- Gemini 2.5 Flash vs R1
Our take
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (22.2 vs 15.5). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemini 2.5 Flash cheaper?
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemini 2.5 Flash cost the same for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite costs $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $2.50 per 1M output tokens, and Gemini 2.5 Flash costs $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $2.50 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemini 2.5 Flash?
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite supports up to 1.05M tokens of context, compared with 1.05M for Gemini 2.5 Flash.
Is Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite smarter than Gemini 2.5 Flash?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite scores 22.2 and Gemini 2.5 Flash scores 15.5, putting Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.
Can I use Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemini 2.5 Flash at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemini 2.5 Flash answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemini 2.5 Flash at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.