Gemini 1.5 Flash vs o3-mini
o3-mini leads the LLM Stats Score 21.5 to 6.1. Gemini 1.5 Flash is 7.3x cheaper per token.
Google · OpenAI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
o3-mini leads the overall LLM Stats Score 21.5 to 6.1, ranking #178 overall.
In the 4 individual benchmarks reported for both models, o3-mini wins 4; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Gemini 1.5 Flash is roughly 7.3x 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
- cost matters — it's about 7.3x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
Choose o3-mini
- overall performance matters — it scores 21.5 and ranks #178 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 4 of 4 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2025
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 · 25 for o3-mini
Gemini 1.5 Flash outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while o3-mini is better at 4 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH, MGSM, MMLU).
o3-mini significantly outperforms across most 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 7.3x cheaper than o3-mini ($1.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, Gemini 1.5 Flash ($0.60/1M tokens) is 7.3x cheaper than o3-mini ($4.40/1M tokens).
In conclusion, o3-mini is more expensive than Gemini 1.5 Flash.*
* 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 o3-mini's 200,000 tokens. o3-mini can generate longer responses up to 100,000 tokens, while Gemini 1.5 Flash is limited to 8,192 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Gemini 1.5 Flash supports multimodal inputs, whereas o3-mini does not.
Gemini 1.5 Flash can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Gemini 1.5 Flash
o3-mini
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 o3-mini was released on 2025-01-30.
o3-mini is 9 months newer than Gemini 1.5 Flash.
May 1, 2024
2.3 years ago
Jan 30, 2025
1.6 years ago
9mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemini 1.5 Flash has a knowledge cutoff of 2023-11-01, while o3-mini has a cutoff of 2023-09-30.
Gemini 1.5 Flash has more recent training data (up to 2023-11-01), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to o3-mini (2023-09-30).
Nov 2023
2 mo newerSep 2023
Provider Availability
Gemini 1.5 Flash is available from Google. o3-mini is available from Azure, OpenAI.
Gemini 1.5 Flash
o3-mini
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemini 1.5 Flash and o3-mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemini 1.5 Flash vs o3-mini.