Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite vs MiMo-V2.5-Pro vs Step 3.5 Flash
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite comes out ahead, 73 to 62 and 54 on our weighted score, though Step 3.5 Flash is 3.8× cheaper per token.
- Our pick
Google
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite
73/100- ECI—
- Price$0.25 / $1.50
- Context1.05M
Xiaomi
MiMo-V2.5-Pro
54/100- ECI—
- Price$0.435 / $0.87
- Context1.05M
StepFun
Step 3.5 Flash
62/100- ECI—
- Price$0.10 / $0.30
- Context256K
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is our pick
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Step 3.5 Flash (62) and MiMo-V2.5-Pro (54). It leads on inputs & features. Step 3.5 Flash wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceStep 3.5 FlashStep 3.5 Flash $0.15 · MiMo-V2.5-Pro $0.544 · Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite $0.563 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGemini 3.1 Flash Lite and MiMo-V2.5-ProGemini 3.1 Flash Lite 1,048,576 · MiMo-V2.5-Pro 1,048,576 · Step 3.5 Flash 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGemini 3.1 Flash LiteGemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · MiMo-V2.5-Pro: Text · Step 3.5 Flash: Text
- Self-hostingMiMo-V2.5-Pro and Step 3.5 FlashPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite | MiMo-V2.5-Pro | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 62 | 62 | 89 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 100 | 35 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 61 | 61 | 36 |
| Overall | 100% | 73/100 | 54/100 | 62/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.25 | $0.435 | $0.10 (best) |
| Output | $1.50 | $0.87 | $0.30 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.025 | $0.0036 (best) | $0.02 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.563 | $0.544 | $0.15 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Google API | Official Xiaomi API | Official StepFun (Global) API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens (best) | 1,048,576 tokens (best) | 256,000 tokens |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens | 131,072 tokens | 256,000 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No | No |
| PDFs | Yes | No | No |
| Audio | Yes | No | No |
| Video | Yes | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yesminimal · low · medium · high | Yes | Yeslow · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open | Open |
| API model ID | gemini-3.1-flash-lite | mimo-v2.5-pro | step-3.5-flash |
| API providers | 23 (best) | 20 | 8 |
| Released | May 7, 2026 | Apr 22, 2026 | Jan 29, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jan 2025 | Dec 2024 | Jan 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite$5.50
MiMo-V2.5-Pro$6.09
Step 3.5 Flash$1.60
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite, MiMo-V2.5-Pro or Step 3.5 Flash?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Step 3.5 Flash (62) and MiMo-V2.5-Pro (54). It leads on inputs & features. Step 3.5 Flash wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite, MiMo-V2.5-Pro or Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash is cheaper at $0.10 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price). MiMo-V2.5-Pro costs $0.435 input / $0.87 output per million tokens (official Xiaomi API price); Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite costs $0.25 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (official Google API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.15 per million tokens for Step 3.5 Flash versus $0.544 for MiMo-V2.5-Pro (3.6× as much) and $0.563 for Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite (3.8× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite has not been scored yet, MiMo-V2.5-Pro has not been scored yet and Step 3.5 Flash has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite, MiMo-V2.5-Pro and Step 3.5 Flash yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite and MiMo-V2.5-Pro have the largest context windows (1,048,576 and 1,048,576 tokens), against 256,000 for Step 3.5 Flash. Maximum output per response: Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite up to 65,536, MiMo-V2.5-Pro up to 131,072, Step 3.5 Flash up to 256,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; MiMo-V2.5-Pro accepts text; Step 3.5 Flash accepts text. Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
MiMo-V2.5-Pro and Step 3.5 Flash publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the newest, released May 7, 2026. MiMo-V2.5-Pro came out Apr 22, 2026; Step 3.5 Flash came out Jan 29, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Jan 2025, MiMo-V2.5-Pro Dec 2024, Step 3.5 Flash Jan 2025.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.