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Gemini 1.5 Flash vs Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite leads the LLM Stats Score 29.8 to 6.0. Gemini 1.5 Flash is 3.2x cheaper per token.

Google · Google · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite leads the overall LLM Stats Score 29.8 to 6.0, ranking #127 overall.

On price, Gemini 1.5 Flash is roughly 3.2x 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 Gemini 1.5 Flash

  • cost matters — it's about 3.2x cheaper per token

Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

  • overall performance matters — it scores 29.8 and ranks #127 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Gemini 1.5 Flash
Google
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Google
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
6.0
#296
29.8
#127
Reasoning
5.6
#294
25.8
#152
Coding
-0.3
#246
15.7
#132
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
—
—
Input price
$0.15 / M
$0.30 / M
Output price
$0.60 / M
$2.50 / M
Context window
1,048,576
1,048,576

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

2 shared
Index
Gemini 1.5 Flash
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Vision
5.5#153
19.3#76
Multimodal
9.0#122
21.6#65
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

22 reported for Gemini 1.5 Flash · 6 for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

No common benchmarks found

Gemini 1.5 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Litedon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Gemini 1.5 Flash costs less

For input processing, Gemini 1.5 Flash ($0.15/1M tokens) is 2.0x cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 1.5 Flash ($0.60/1M tokens) is 4.2x cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite ($2.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is more expensive than Gemini 1.5 Flash.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Sep 22 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemini 1.5 Flash
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerGoogle
Google
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$2.50
Best providerGoogle
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 1,048,576 tokens. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite can generate longer responses up to 65,536 tokens, while Gemini 1.5 Flash is limited to 8,192 tokens.

Google
Gemini 1.5 Flash
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Google
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Tue Sep 22 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Both Gemini 1.5 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite support multimodal inputs.

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

Gemini 1.5 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.

Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.

Gemini 1.5 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 1.5 Flash was released on 2024-05-01, while Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite was released on 2026-07-21.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 27 months newer than Gemini 1.5 Flash.

Gemini 1.5 Flash

May 1, 2024

2.4 years ago

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Jul 21, 2026

2 months ago

2.2yr newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 1.5 Flash has a knowledge cutoff of 2023-11-01, while Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite has a cutoff of 2026-03-31.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite has more recent training data (up to 2026-03-31), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Gemini 1.5 Flash (2023-11-01).

Gemini 1.5 Flash

Nov 2023

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Mar 2026

2.3 yr newer

Provider Availability

Gemini 1.5 Flash is available from Google. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is available from Google.

Gemini 1.5 Flash

google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemini 1.5 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 1.5 Flash
✓ Preferred
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 1.5 Flash vs Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite.

Which is better, Gemini 1.5 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite leads the LLM Stats Score 29.8 to 6.0. Gemini 1.5 Flash is made by Google and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is made by Google. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does Gemini 1.5 Flash compare to Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite in benchmarks?

Gemini 1.5 Flash scores XSTest: 97.0%, FLEURS: 90.4%, HellaSwag: 86.5%, GSM8k: 86.2%, BIG-Bench Hard: 85.5%. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scores CharXiv-R: 76.5%, OSWorld-Verified: 74.0%, SWE-Bench Pro: 54.2%, Terminal-Bench 2.1: 54.0%, MLE-Bench: 39.2%.

Is Gemini 1.5 Flash cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 1.5 Flash is 2.0x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 1.5 Flash costs $0.15/M input and $0.60/M output via google. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.30/M input and $2.50/M output via google.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 1.5 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 1.5 Flash supports 1.0M tokens and Gemini 3.5 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 Gemini 1.5 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (6.0 vs 29.8), input pricing ($0.15 vs $0.30/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

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