Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Gemini 3 Pro Preview
Too close to call on our weighted score (Gemini 3.5 Flash 69, Gemini 3 Pro Preview 67). The right pick depends on what you value most.
GoogleGemini 3.5 Flash
69/100- ECI154.5
- Price$1.50 / $9.00
- Context1.05M
- Google
Gemini 3 Pro Preview
67/100- ECI153.0
- Price$2.00 / $12.00
- Context1.05M
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (Gemini 3.5 Flash 69/100, Gemini 3 Pro Preview 67/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Gemini 3.5 Flash for raw capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityGemini 3.5 FlashCapabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 3.5 Flash 154.5 · Gemini 3 Pro Preview 153.0
- Lowest priceGemini 3.5 FlashGemini 3.5 Flash $3.38 · Gemini 3 Pro Preview $4.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameGemini 3.5 Flash 1,048,576 · Gemini 3 Pro Preview 1,048,576 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsGemini 3.5 Flash: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · Gemini 3 Pro Preview: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Gemini 3.5 Flash | Gemini 3 Pro Preview |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 84 | 82 |
| Price | 25% | 25 | 19 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 100 | 100 |
| Context window | 10% | 61 | 61 |
| Overall | 100% | 69/100 | 67/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Gemini 3.5 FlashGoogle | Gemini 3 Pro PreviewGoogle |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 154.5 (best) | 153.0 |
| ECI rank | #33 of 148 (best) | #39 of 148 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 92.8% (best) | 92.6% |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics | 62.8% | — |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 95.6% (best) | 91.4% |
| SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues | 79.3% (best) | 72.9% |
| SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions | 66.2% | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.50 (best) | $2.00 |
| Output | $9.00 (best) | $12.00 |
| Cached input | $0.15 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.38 (best) | $4.50 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Google API | Median of 2 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens | 65,536 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | Yes | Yes |
| Audio | Yes | Yes |
| Video | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yesminimal · low · medium · high | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | gemini-3.5-flash | — |
| API providers | 32 (best) | 3 |
| Released | May 19, 2026 | Nov 18, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jan 2025 | 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 3.5 Flash$33.00
- Gemini 3 Pro Preview$44.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Gemini 3.5 Flash or Gemini 3 Pro Preview?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (Gemini 3.5 Flash 69/100, Gemini 3 Pro Preview 67/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Gemini 3.5 Flash for raw capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.5 Flash or Gemini 3 Pro Preview?
Gemini 3.5 Flash is cheaper at $1.50 input / $9.00 output per million tokens (official Google API price). Gemini 3 Pro Preview costs $2.00 input / $12.00 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $3.38 per million tokens for Gemini 3.5 Flash versus $4.50 for Gemini 3 Pro Preview (1.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
Gemini 3.5 Flash scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 3.5 Flash 154.5 (#33 of 148) and Gemini 3 Pro Preview 153.0 (#39 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (152.5–156.6 vs 150.6–155.2), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Gemini 3.5 Flash 92.8%, Gemini 3 Pro Preview 92.6%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Gemini 3.5 Flash 95.6%, Gemini 3 Pro Preview 91.4%; SWE-bench Verified — Gemini 3.5 Flash 79.3%, Gemini 3 Pro Preview 72.9%.
Which is better for coding?
Gemini 3.5 Flash resolves more real GitHub issues on SWE-bench Verified: Gemini 3.5 Flash 79.3% and Gemini 3 Pro Preview 72.9%. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Gemini 3.5 Flash and Gemini 3 Pro Preview share the same 1,048,576-token context window. Maximum output per response: Gemini 3.5 Flash up to 65,536, Gemini 3 Pro Preview up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Gemini 3.5 Flash accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; Gemini 3 Pro Preview 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 and Gemini 3 Pro Preview are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Gemini 3.5 Flash is the newest, released May 19, 2026. Gemini 3 Pro Preview came out Nov 18, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini 3.5 Flash Jan 2025, Gemini 3 Pro Preview 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.
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