ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite

Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite comes out ahead, 73 to 69 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Google

    Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite

    Released Jul 21, 2026

    69/100
    • ECI145.1
    • Price$0.30 / $2.50
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite
  2. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite

    Released May 7, 2026

    73/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.25 / $1.50
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is our pick

Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite (69). It leads 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 priceGemini 3.1 Flash LiteGemini 3.1 Flash Lite $0.563 · Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite $0.85 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameGemini 3.5 Flash Lite 1,048,576 · Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite 1,048,576 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsGemini 3.5 Flash Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemini 3.5 Flash LiteGemini 3.1 Flash Lite
Price50%5362
Inputs & features30%100100
Context window20%6161
Overall100%69/10073/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite specifications side by side
SpecificationGemini 3.5 Flash LiteGoogleGemini 3.1 Flash LiteGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)145.1—
ECI rank#79 of 148—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions83.3%—
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics26.0%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics71.1%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.30$0.25 (best)
Output$2.50$1.50 (best)
Cached input$0.03$0.025 (best)
Blended (3:1)$0.85$0.563 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Google APIOfficial Google API
Limits
Context window1,048,576 tokens1,048,576 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens65,536 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsYesYes
AudioYesYes
VideoYesYes
ReasoningYesminimal · low · medium · highYesminimal · low · medium · high
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDgemini-3.5-flash-litegemini-3.1-flash-lite
API providers26 (best)23
ReleasedJul 21, 2026May 7, 2026
Knowledge cutoffMar 2026Jan 2025
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite$8.00
  • Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite$5.50
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite?

Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite (69). It leads 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 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite?

Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is cheaper at $0.25 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (official Google API price). Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite costs $0.30 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (official Google API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.563 per million tokens for Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite versus $0.85 for Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite (1.5× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite has an ECI of 145.1 and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite share the same 1,048,576-token context window. Maximum output per response: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite up to 65,536, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

No. Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is the newest, released Jul 21, 2026. Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite came out May 7, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite Mar 2026, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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