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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemini 3 Flash Preview vs Qwen3.6 Plus

Gemini 3 Flash Preview comes out ahead, 73 to 66 on our weighted score.

  1. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini 3 Flash Preview

    Released Dec 17, 2025

    73/100
    • ECI151.8
    • Price$0.50 / $3.00
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 3 Flash Preview

  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.6 Plus

    Released Apr 2, 2026

    66/100
    • ECI147.6
    • Price$0.50 / $3.00
    • Context1M
    Full specs Remove Qwen3.6 Plus

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemini 3 Flash Preview is our pick

Gemini 3 Flash Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Qwen3.6 Plus (66). It leads on capability and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGemini 3 Flash PreviewCapabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 3 Flash Preview 151.8 · Qwen3.6 Plus 147.6
  • Lowest priceSame priceGemini 3 Flash Preview $1.13 · Qwen3.6 Plus $1.13 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGemini 3 Flash PreviewGemini 3 Flash Preview 1,048,576 · Qwen3.6 Plus 1,000,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini 3 Flash PreviewGemini 3 Flash Preview: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · Qwen3.6 Plus: Text, Images, Video
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemini 3 Flash PreviewQwen3.6 Plus
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%8075
Price25%4747
Inputs & features15%10070
Context window10%6160
Overall100%73/10066/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

Gemini 3 Flash Preview vs Qwen3.6 Plus specifications side by side
SpecificationGemini 3 Flash PreviewGoogleQwen3.6 PlusAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)151.8 (best)147.6
ECI rank#43 of 148 (best)#59 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions89.4% (best)88.4%
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics51.2% (best)38.3%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics95.6% (best)93.3%
SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues75.4% (best)57.9%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions66.8% (best)44.1%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.50$0.50
Output$3.00$3.00
Cached input$0.05$0.05
Blended (3:1)$1.13$1.13
Long-context rateSame rateOver 256K: $2.00 / $6.00
Price sourceOfficial Google APIOfficial Alibaba API
Limits
Context window1,048,576 tokens (best)1,000,000 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens65,536 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsYesNo
AudioYesNo
VideoYesYes
ReasoningYesminimal · low · medium · highYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDgemini-3-flash-previewqwen3.6-plus
API providers20 (best)18
ReleasedDec 17, 2025Apr 2, 2026
Knowledge cutoffJan 2025Apr 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 Flash Preview$11.00
  • Qwen3.6 Plus$11.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemini 3 Flash Preview or Qwen3.6 Plus?

Gemini 3 Flash Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Qwen3.6 Plus (66). It leads on capability and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Gemini 3 Flash Preview or Qwen3.6 Plus?

Gemini 3 Flash Preview and Qwen3.6 Plus cost the same: $0.50 input / $3.00 output per million tokens.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Gemini 3 Flash Preview scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 3 Flash Preview 151.8 (#43 of 148) and Qwen3.6 Plus 147.6 (#59 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (150.4–153.7 vs 145.4–149.3), so the gap is a real one. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Gemini 3 Flash Preview 89.4%, Qwen3.6 Plus 88.4%; FrontierMath Tiers 1–3 — Gemini 3 Flash Preview 51.2%, Qwen3.6 Plus 38.3%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Gemini 3 Flash Preview 95.6%, Qwen3.6 Plus 93.3%; SWE-bench Verified — Gemini 3 Flash Preview 75.4%, Qwen3.6 Plus 57.9%; SimpleQA Verified — Gemini 3 Flash Preview 66.8%, Qwen3.6 Plus 44.1%.

Which is better for coding?

Gemini 3 Flash Preview resolves more real GitHub issues on SWE-bench Verified: Gemini 3 Flash Preview 75.4% and Qwen3.6 Plus 57.9%. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemini 3 Flash Preview has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 1,000,000 for Qwen3.6 Plus. Maximum output per response: Gemini 3 Flash Preview up to 65,536, Qwen3.6 Plus up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemini 3 Flash Preview accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; Qwen3.6 Plus accepts text, images and video. Gemini 3 Flash Preview handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Gemini 3 Flash Preview and Qwen3.6 Plus are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Qwen3.6 Plus is the newest, released Apr 2, 2026. Gemini 3 Flash Preview came out Dec 17, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini 3 Flash Preview Jan 2025, Qwen3.6 Plus Apr 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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