Gemini 1.5 Flash vs Nova Lite
Gemini 1.5 Flash and Nova Lite are closely matched at 6.0 and 7.6 on the LLM Stats Score. Nova Lite is 2.5x cheaper per token.
Google · Amazon · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemini 1.5 Flash and Nova Lite are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 6.0 and 7.6.
The models split the 6 individual benchmarks reported for both models evenly.
On price, Nova Lite is roughly 2.5x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Gemini 1.5 Flash also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Gemini 1.5 Flash
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
Choose Nova Lite
- cost matters — it's about 2.5x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2024
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
22 reported for Gemini 1.5 Flash · 27 for Nova Lite
Gemini 1.5 Flash outperforms in 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH, MMMU), while Nova Lite is better at 3 benchmarks (GSM8k, HumanEval, MMLU).
Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Gemini 1.5 Flash ($0.15/1M tokens) is 2.5x more expensive than Nova Lite ($0.06/1M tokens).
For output processing, Gemini 1.5 Flash ($0.60/1M tokens) is 2.5x more expensive than Nova Lite ($0.24/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Gemini 1.5 Flash is more expensive than Nova Lite.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Gemini 1.5 Flash accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Nova Lite's 300,000 tokens. Gemini 1.5 Flash can generate longer responses up to 8,192 tokens, while Nova Lite is limited to 2,048 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Gemini 1.5 Flash and Nova Lite support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Gemini 1.5 Flash
Nova Lite
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
Gemini 1.5 Flash was released on 2024-05-01, while Nova Lite was released on 2024-11-20.
Nova Lite is 7 months newer than Gemini 1.5 Flash.
May 1, 2024
2.4 years ago
Nov 20, 2024
1.9 years ago
6mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemini 1.5 Flash has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-11-01, while Nova Lite's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Gemini 1.5 Flash's training data extends to 2023-11-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Nova Lite's cutoff date.
Nov 2023
—
Provider Availability
Gemini 1.5 Flash is available from Google. Nova Lite is available from Bedrock.
Gemini 1.5 Flash
Nova Lite
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemini 1.5 Flash and Nova Lite side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemini 1.5 Flash vs Nova Lite.