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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Muse Spark Open

Gemini 3.6 Flash comes out ahead, 72 to 68 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini 3.6 Flash

    Released Jul 21, 2026

    72/100
    • ECI154.7
    • Price$0.75 / $3.75
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 3.6 Flash

  2. Meta

    Muse Spark Open

    Released Oct 15, 2026New

    68/100
    • ECI155.1
    • Price$1.25 / $4.25
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Muse Spark Open

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01 — Verdict

Gemini 3.6 Flash is our pick

Gemini 3.6 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 72/100 against Muse Spark Open (68). It leads on price and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityMuse Spark OpenCapabilities Index (ECI): Muse Spark Open 155.1 · Gemini 3.6 Flash 154.7
  • Lowest priceGemini 3.6 FlashGemini 3.6 Flash $1.50 · Muse Spark Open $2.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameGemini 3.6 Flash 1,048,576 · Muse Spark Open 1,048,576 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini 3.6 FlashGemini 3.6 Flash: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · Muse Spark Open: Text, Images, Audio, Video
  • Self-hostingMuse Spark OpenPublishes downloadable weights (Muse Model License)
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemini 3.6 FlashMuse Spark Open
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%8283
Price25%4034
Inputs & features15%10080
Context window10%6161
Overall100%72/10068/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Muse Spark Open specifications side by side
SpecificationGemini 3.6 FlashGoogleMuse Spark OpenMeta
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)154.7155.1 (best)
ECI rank#42 of 165#39 of 165 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions94.1% (best)88.6%
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics59.0%69.8% (best)
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics94.2%98.1% (best)
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions66.2% (best)56.6%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.75 (best)$1.25
Output$3.75 (best)$4.25
Cached input$0.075—
Blended (3:1)$1.50 (best)$2.00
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Google APIMedian of 16 providers
Limits
Context window1,048,576 tokens1,048,576 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsYesNo
AudioYesYes
VideoYesYes
ReasoningYesminimal · low · medium · highYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryOpenMuse Model License
API model IDgemini-3.6-flash—
API providers31 (best)16
ReleasedJul 21, 2026Oct 15, 2026
Knowledge cutoffMar 2026Jan 4, 2026
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 3.6 Flash$15.00
  • Muse Spark Open$21.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemini 3.6 Flash or Muse Spark Open?

Gemini 3.6 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 72/100 against Muse Spark Open (68). It leads on price and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.6 Flash or Muse Spark Open?

Gemini 3.6 Flash is cheaper at $0.75 input / $3.75 output per million tokens (official Google API price). Muse Spark Open costs $1.25 input / $4.25 output per million tokens (median across 16 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.50 per million tokens for Gemini 3.6 Flash versus $2.00 for Muse Spark Open (1.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Muse Spark Open scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Muse Spark Open 155.1 (#39 of 165) and Gemini 3.6 Flash 154.7 (#42 of 165). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (153.1–157.3 vs 153.0–156.7), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Gemini 3.6 Flash 94.1%, Muse Spark Open 88.6%; FrontierMath Tiers 1–3 — Muse Spark Open 69.8%, Gemini 3.6 Flash 59.0%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Muse Spark Open 98.1%, Gemini 3.6 Flash 94.2%; SimpleQA Verified — Gemini 3.6 Flash 66.2%, Muse Spark Open 56.6%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemini 3.6 Flash and Muse Spark Open yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Muse Spark Open leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemini 3.6 Flash and Muse Spark Open share the same 1,048,576-token context window. Maximum output per response: Gemini 3.6 Flash up to 65,536, Muse Spark Open up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemini 3.6 Flash accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; Muse Spark Open accepts text, images, audio and video. Gemini 3.6 Flash handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Muse Spark Open publishes its weights (Muse Model License) and can be self-hosted; Gemini 3.6 Flash is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Muse Spark Open is the newest, released Oct 15, 2026. Gemini 3.6 Flash came out Jul 21, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini 3.6 Flash Mar 2026, Muse Spark Open Jan 4, 2026.

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 Nov 2, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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