Model Comparison

Gemini 3 Flash vs Claude Opus 4.8Which is better in 2026?

Claude Opus 4.8 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 3 Flash is 8.9x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Gemini 3 Flash vs Claude Opus 4.8 — which is better?

Gemini 3 Flash (by Google) and Claude Opus 4.8 (by Anthropic) 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 3 Flash outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Claude Opus 4.8 is better at 8 benchmarks (CharXiv-R, GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MCP Atlas, ScreenSpot Pro, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0, Toolathlon). Claude Opus 4.8 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Gemini 3 Flash is roughly 8.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Choose Gemini 3 Flash if…

  • cost matters — it's about 8.9x cheaper per token

Choose Claude Opus 4.8 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 8 of 8 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped May 2026
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

8 benchmarks

Gemini 3 Flash outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Claude Opus 4.8 is better at 8 benchmarks (CharXiv-R, GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MCP Atlas, ScreenSpot Pro, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0, Toolathlon).

Claude Opus 4.8 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Gemini 3 Flash costs less

For input processing, Gemini 3 Flash ($0.50/1M tokens) is 10.0x cheaper than Claude Opus 4.8 ($5.00/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 3 Flash ($3.00/1M tokens) is 8.3x cheaper than Claude Opus 4.8 ($25.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.8 is more expensive than Gemini 3 Flash.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemini 3 Flash
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$3.00
Best providerGoogle
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.8
Input tokens$5.00
Output tokens$25.00
Best providerAnthropic
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 1,000,000 tokens. Claude Opus 4.8 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Gemini 3 Flash is limited to 65,536 tokens.

Google
Gemini 3 Flash
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.8
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Gemini 3 Flash and Claude Opus 4.8 support multimodal inputs.

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

Gemini 3 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Claude Opus 4.8

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 3 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

Claude Opus 4.8

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 3 Flash was released on 2025-12-17, while Claude Opus 4.8 was released on 2026-05-28.

Claude Opus 4.8 is 5 months newer than Gemini 3 Flash.

Gemini 3 Flash

Dec 17, 2025

5 months ago

Claude Opus 4.8

May 28, 2026

1 weeks ago

5mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 3 Flash has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while Claude Opus 4.8's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemini 3 Flash's training data extends to 2025-01-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude Opus 4.8's cutoff date.

Gemini 3 Flash

Jan 2025

Claude Opus 4.8

—

Provider Availability

Gemini 3 Flash is available from Google. Claude Opus 4.8 is available from Anthropic, Vertex AI.

Gemini 3 Flash

google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $0.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.00/1M

Claude Opus 4.8

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $5.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $25.00/1M
vertex logo
Unknown Organization
Input Price:Input: $5.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $25.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Google
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Anthropic
Higher CharXiv-R score (89.9% vs 80.3%)
Higher GPQA score (93.6% vs 90.4%)
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (57.9% vs 43.5%)
Higher MCP Atlas score (82.2% vs 57.4%)
Higher ScreenSpot Pro score (87.9% vs 69.1%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (88.6% vs 78.0%)
Higher Terminal-Bench 2.0 score (74.6% vs 47.6%)
Higher Toolathlon score (59.9% vs 49.4%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 3 Flash
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.8

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 3 Flash vs Claude Opus 4.8.

Which is better, Gemini 3 Flash or Claude Opus 4.8?

Claude Opus 4.8 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 3 Flash is made by Google and Claude Opus 4.8 is made by Anthropic. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemini 3 Flash compare to Claude Opus 4.8 in benchmarks?

Gemini 3 Flash scores Vending-Bench 2: 100.0%, AIME 2025: 99.7%, Global PIQA: 92.8%, MMMLU: 91.8%, GPQA: 90.4%. Claude Opus 4.8 scores GPQA: 93.6%, DeepSearchQA: 93.1%, CharXiv-R: 89.9%, SWE-Bench Verified: 88.6%, ScreenSpot Pro: 87.9%.

Is Gemini 3 Flash cheaper than Claude Opus 4.8?

Gemini 3 Flash is 10.0x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 3 Flash costs $0.50/M input and $3.00/M output via google. Claude Opus 4.8 costs $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output via anthropic.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 3 Flash and Claude Opus 4.8?

Gemini 3 Flash supports 1.0M tokens and Claude Opus 4.8 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 3 Flash and Claude Opus 4.8?

Key differences include input pricing ($0.50 vs $5.00/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemini 3 Flash and Claude Opus 4.8?

Gemini 3 Flash is developed by Google and Claude Opus 4.8 is developed by Anthropic.

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