Model Comparison

Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-LiteWhich is better in 2026?

Gemini 2.5 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is 4.9x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite — which is better?

Gemini 2.5 Flash (by Google) and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite (by Google) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

Gemini 2.5 Flash outperforms in 10 benchmarks (Aider-Polyglot, AIME 2025, FACTS Grounding, Global-MMLU-Lite, GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MMMU, SimpleQA, SWE-Bench Verified, Vibe-Eval), while Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is better at 0 benchmarks. Gemini 2.5 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is roughly 4.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Choose Gemini 2.5 Flash if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 10 of 10 shared benchmarks

Choose Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite if…

  • cost matters — it's about 4.9x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

10 benchmarks

Gemini 2.5 Flash outperforms in 10 benchmarks (Aider-Polyglot, AIME 2025, FACTS Grounding, Global-MMLU-Lite, GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MMMU, SimpleQA, SWE-Bench Verified, Vibe-Eval), while Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is better at 0 benchmarks.

Gemini 2.5 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jul 18 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, Gemini 2.5 Flash ($0.30/1M tokens) is 3.0x more expensive than Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 2.5 Flash ($2.50/1M tokens) is 6.3x more expensive than Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Gemini 2.5 Flash 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
Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemini 2.5 Flash
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$2.50
Best providerGoogle
Google
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

Both models have the same input context window of 1,048,576 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 65,536 tokens.

Google
Gemini 2.5 Flash
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Google
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Gemini 2.5 Flash and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite support multimodal inputs.

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

Gemini 2.5 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 2.5 Flash 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.

Gemini 2.5 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 2.5 Flash was released on 2025-05-20, while Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite was released on 2025-06-17.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is 1 month newer than Gemini 2.5 Flash.

Gemini 2.5 Flash

May 20, 2025

1.2 years ago

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Jun 17, 2025

1.1 years ago

4w newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 2.5 Flash has a knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite has a cutoff of 2025-01-01.

Gemini 2.5 Flash has more recent training data (up to 2025-01-31), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite (2025-01-01).

Gemini 2.5 Flash

Jan 2025

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Jan 2025

Provider Availability

Gemini 2.5 Flash is available from Google. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is available from Google.

Gemini 2.5 Flash

google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.50/1M

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

google logo
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

Google
Higher Aider-Polyglot score (61.9% vs 26.7%)
Higher AIME 2025 score (72.0% vs 49.8%)
Higher FACTS Grounding score (85.3% vs 84.1%)
Higher Global-MMLU-Lite score (88.4% vs 81.1%)
Higher GPQA score (82.8% vs 64.6%)
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (11.0% vs 5.1%)
Higher MMMU score (79.7% vs 72.9%)
Higher SimpleQA score (26.9% vs 10.7%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (60.4% vs 31.6%)
Higher Vibe-Eval score (65.4% vs 51.3%)
Google
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
GoogleGemini 2.5 Flash
GoogleGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemini 2.5 Flash and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 2.5 Flash
✓ Preferred
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 2.5 Flash
Google
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite.

Which is better, Gemini 2.5 Flash or Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 2.5 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 2.5 Flash is made by Google 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 Gemini 2.5 Flash compare to Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite in benchmarks?

Gemini 2.5 Flash scores Global-MMLU-Lite: 88.4%, AIME 2024: 88.0%, FACTS Grounding: 85.3%, GPQA: 82.8%, MMMU: 79.7%. 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 Gemini 2.5 Flash cheaper than Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is 3.0x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 2.5 Flash costs $0.30/M input and $2.50/M output via google. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.10/M input and $0.40/M output via google.

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

Gemini 2.5 Flash supports 1.0M 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 Gemini 2.5 Flash and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?

Key differences include input pricing ($0.30 vs $0.10/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

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