Claude Opus 4.8 vs Gemini 3.5 Flash
Claude Opus 4.8 leads the LLM Stats Score 50.8 to 42.6. Gemini 3.5 Flash is 3.0x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · Google · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Claude Opus 4.8 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 50.8 to 42.6, ranking #15 overall.
In the 11 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Claude Opus 4.8 wins 7; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Gemini 3.5 Flash is roughly 3.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude Opus 4.8
- overall performance matters — it scores 50.8 and ranks #15 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 7 of 11 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped May 2026
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash
- cost matters — it's about 3.0x cheaper per token
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
1 more shared indexes
Individual benchmarks
27 reported for Claude Opus 4.8 · 16 for Gemini 3.5 Flash
Claude Opus 4.8 outperforms in 7 benchmarks (CharXiv-R, DeepSWE 1.1, Humanity's Last Exam, LiveBench, OSWorld-Verified, SWE-Bench Pro, Toolathlon), while Gemini 3.5 Flash is better at 4 benchmarks (Finance Agent, Finance Agent v2, MCP Atlas, Terminal-Bench 2.0).
Claude Opus 4.8 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 4.8 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 3.3x more expensive than Gemini 3.5 Flash ($1.50/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4.8 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 2.8x more expensive than Gemini 3.5 Flash ($9.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.8 is more expensive than Gemini 3.5 Flash.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 1,000,000 tokens. Gemini 3.5 Flash can generate longer responses up to 1,000,000 tokens, while Claude Opus 4.8 is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Claude Opus 4.8 and Gemini 3.5 Flash support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Opus 4.8
Gemini 3.5 Flash
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.
Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.
Proprietary
Closed source
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Opus 4.8 was released on 2026-05-28, while Gemini 3.5 Flash was released on 2026-05-19.
Claude Opus 4.8 is 0 month newer than Gemini 3.5 Flash.
May 28, 2026
3 months ago
1w newerMay 19, 2026
4 months ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemini 3.5 Flash has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-01-31, while Claude Opus 4.8's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Gemini 3.5 Flash's training data extends to 2026-01-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude Opus 4.8's cutoff date.
—
Jan 2026
Provider Availability
Claude Opus 4.8 is available from Anthropic, DeepInfra, Vertex AI. Gemini 3.5 Flash is available from DeepInfra, Google.
Claude Opus 4.8
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 4.8 and Gemini 3.5 Flash side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4.8 vs Gemini 3.5 Flash.