ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

GPT-5.6 Luna vs Gemini 3.6 Flash

GPT-5.6 Luna comes out ahead, 78 to 73 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    OpenAI

    GPT-5.6 Luna

    Released Jul 9, 2026

    78/100
    • ECI156.5
    • Price$0.20 / $1.20
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove GPT-5.6 Luna

  2. Google

    Gemini 3.6 Flash

    Released Jul 21, 2026

    73/100
    • ECI154.3
    • Price$0.75 / $3.75
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 3.6 Flash

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

GPT-5.6 Luna is our pick

GPT-5.6 Luna is the better all-round choice, scoring 78/100 against Gemini 3.6 Flash (73). It leads on capability and price. Gemini 3.6 Flash wins on inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGPT-5.6 LunaCapabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.6 Luna 156.5 · Gemini 3.6 Flash 154.3
  • Lowest priceGPT-5.6 LunaGPT-5.6 Luna $0.45 · Gemini 3.6 Flash $1.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameGPT-5.6 Luna 1,050,000 · Gemini 3.6 Flash 1,048,576 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini 3.6 FlashGPT-5.6 Luna: Text, Images, PDFs · Gemini 3.6 Flash: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGPT-5.6 LunaGemini 3.6 Flash
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%8684
Price25%6642
Inputs & features15%80100
Context window10%6161
Overall100%78/10073/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

GPT-5.6 Luna vs Gemini 3.6 Flash specifications side by side
SpecificationGPT-5.6 LunaOpenAIGemini 3.6 FlashGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)156.5 (best)154.3
ECI rank#21 of 148 (best)#34 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions91.6%94.1% (best)
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics82.1% (best)59.0%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics98.3% (best)94.2%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions41.0%66.2% (best)
Price per million tokens
Input$0.20 (best)$0.75
Output$1.20 (best)$3.75
Cached input$0.02 (best)$0.075
Blended (3:1)$0.45 (best)$1.50
Long-context rateOver 272K: $0.40 / $1.80Same rate
Price sourceOfficial OpenAI APIOfficial Google API
Limits
Context window1,050,000 tokens (best)1,048,576 tokens
Max output128,000 tokens (best)65,536 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsYesYes
AudioNoYes
VideoNoYes
ReasoningYeslow · medium · high · xhigh · maxYesminimal · low · medium · high
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDgpt-5.6-lunagemini-3.6-flash
API providers38 (best)25
ReleasedJul 9, 2026Jul 21, 2026
Knowledge cutoffFeb 16, 2026Mar 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.

  • GPT-5.6 Luna$4.40
  • Gemini 3.6 Flash$15.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GPT-5.6 Luna or Gemini 3.6 Flash?

GPT-5.6 Luna is the better all-round choice, scoring 78/100 against Gemini 3.6 Flash (73). It leads on capability and price. Gemini 3.6 Flash wins on inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, GPT-5.6 Luna or Gemini 3.6 Flash?

GPT-5.6 Luna is cheaper at $0.20 input / $1.20 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). Gemini 3.6 Flash costs $0.75 input / $3.75 output per million tokens (official Google API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.45 per million tokens for GPT-5.6 Luna versus $1.50 for Gemini 3.6 Flash (3.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

GPT-5.6 Luna scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.6 Luna 156.5 (#21 of 148) and Gemini 3.6 Flash 154.3 (#34 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (154.1–158.6 vs 152.6–156.3), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Gemini 3.6 Flash 94.1%, GPT-5.6 Luna 91.6%; FrontierMath Tiers 1–3 — GPT-5.6 Luna 82.1%, Gemini 3.6 Flash 59.0%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — GPT-5.6 Luna 98.3%, Gemini 3.6 Flash 94.2%; SimpleQA Verified — Gemini 3.6 Flash 66.2%, GPT-5.6 Luna 41.0%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-5.6 Luna and Gemini 3.6 Flash yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GPT-5.6 Luna 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?

Their context windows are effectively the same size: GPT-5.6 Luna 1,050,000 and Gemini 3.6 Flash 1,048,576 tokens. Maximum output per response: GPT-5.6 Luna up to 128,000, Gemini 3.6 Flash up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GPT-5.6 Luna accepts text, images and PDFs; Gemini 3.6 Flash accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video. Gemini 3.6 Flash handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. GPT-5.6 Luna and Gemini 3.6 Flash are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Gemini 3.6 Flash is the newest, released Jul 21, 2026. GPT-5.6 Luna came out Jul 9, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-5.6 Luna Feb 16, 2026, Gemini 3.6 Flash Mar 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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