Model Comparison

Claude 3 Sonnet vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is 34.3x cheaper per token.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Claude 3 Sonnet outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue May 12 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite costs less

For input processing, Claude 3 Sonnet ($3.00/1M tokens) is 30.0x more expensive than Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude 3 Sonnet ($15.00/1M tokens) is 37.5x more expensive than Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude 3 Sonnet is more expensive than Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers

Tue May 12 2026 • llm-stats.com

Claude 3 Sonnet

Input tokens$3.00

Output tokens$15.00

Best providerAnthropic

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Input tokens$0.10

Output tokens$0.40

Best providerGoogle

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Claude 3 Sonnet's 200,000 tokens. Claude 3 Sonnet can generate longer responses up to 200,000 tokens, while Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is limited to 65,536 tokens.

Claude 3 Sonnet

Input200,000 tokens

Output200,000 tokens

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Input1,048,576 tokens

Output65,536 tokens

Tue May 12 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude 3 Sonnet and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Claude 3 Sonnet

Text

Images

Audio

Video

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Text

Images

Audio

Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude 3 Sonnet is licensed under a proprietary license, while Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite uses Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Claude 3 Sonnet

Proprietary

Closed source

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude 3 Sonnet was released on 2024-02-29, while Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite was released on 2025-06-17.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is 16 months newer than Claude 3 Sonnet.

Claude 3 Sonnet

Feb 29, 2024

2.2 years ago

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Jun 17, 2025

10 months ago

1.3yr newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-01, while Claude 3 Sonnet's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite's training data extends to 2025-01-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude 3 Sonnet's cutoff date.

Claude 3 Sonnet

—

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Jan 2025

Provider Availability

Claude 3 Sonnet is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is available from Google.

Claude 3 Sonnet

Anthropic

Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

AWS Bedrock

Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

Google

Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Google

Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M

* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Claude 3 Sonnet

View details

Anthropic

No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

View details

Google

Larger context window (1,048,576 tokens)

Less expensive input tokens

Less expensive output tokens

Has open weights

Higher GPQA score (64.6% vs 40.4%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature	Claude 3 Sonnet	Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

FAQ

Common questions about Claude 3 Sonnet vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite.

Which is better, Claude 3 Sonnet or Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude 3 Sonnet is made by Anthropic and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is made by Google. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude 3 Sonnet compare to Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite in benchmarks?

Claude 3 Sonnet scores ARC-C: 93.2%, GSM8k: 92.3%, HellaSwag: 89.0%, MGSM: 83.5%, BIG-Bench Hard: 82.9%. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite scores FACTS Grounding: 84.1%, Global-MMLU-Lite: 81.1%, MMMU: 72.9%, GPQA: 64.6%, Vibe-Eval: 51.3%.

Is Claude 3 Sonnet cheaper than Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is 30.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude 3 Sonnet costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.10/M input and $0.40/M output via google.

What are the context window sizes for Claude 3 Sonnet and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?

Claude 3 Sonnet supports 200K tokens and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite supports 1.0M tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude 3 Sonnet and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?

Key differences include context window (200K vs 1.0M), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.10/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude 3 Sonnet and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?

Claude 3 Sonnet is developed by Anthropic and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is developed by Google.