Model Comparison

Gemini 3 Flash vs Claude Sonnet 5Which is better in 2026?

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 3 Flash is 5.3x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Gemini 3 Flash vs Claude Sonnet 5 — which is better?

Gemini 3 Flash (by Google) and Claude Sonnet 5 (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 Sonnet 5 is better at 6 benchmarks (CharXiv-R, Humanity's Last Exam, Legal Agent Benchmark, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0, Toolathlon). Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Gemini 3 Flash is roughly 5.3x 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 5.3x cheaper per token

Choose Claude Sonnet 5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 6 of 6 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2026

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

6 benchmarks

Gemini 3 Flash outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Claude Sonnet 5 is better at 6 benchmarks (CharXiv-R, Humanity's Last Exam, Legal Agent Benchmark, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0, Toolathlon).

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Jun 30 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 6.0x cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5 ($3.00/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 3 Flash ($3.00/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5 ($15.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 5 is more expensive than Gemini 3 Flash.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Jun 30 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemini 3 Flash
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$3.00
Best providerGoogle
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
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. Gemini 3 Flash can generate longer responses up to 65,536 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Google
Gemini 3 Flash
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Tue Jun 30 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Gemini 3 Flash and Claude Sonnet 5 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 Sonnet 5

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 Sonnet 5

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 3 Flash was released on 2025-12-17, while Claude Sonnet 5 was released on 2026-06-30.

Claude Sonnet 5 is 7 months newer than Gemini 3 Flash.

Gemini 3 Flash

Dec 17, 2025

6 months ago

Claude Sonnet 5

Jun 30, 2026

0 days ago

6mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 3 Flash has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while Claude Sonnet 5'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 Sonnet 5's cutoff date.

Gemini 3 Flash

Jan 2025

Claude Sonnet 5

—

Provider Availability

Gemini 3 Flash is available from Google. Claude Sonnet 5 is available from Anthropic.

Gemini 3 Flash

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

Claude Sonnet 5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M
* 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 (88.3% vs 80.3%)
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (57.4% vs 43.5%)
Higher Legal Agent Benchmark score (5.8% vs 0.0%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (85.2% vs 78.0%)
Higher Terminal-Bench 2.0 score (80.4% vs 47.6%)
Higher Toolathlon score (54.3% vs 49.4%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemini 3 Flash and Claude Sonnet 5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 3 Flash
✓ Preferred
Claude Sonnet 5
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 3 Flash
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 3 Flash vs Claude Sonnet 5.

Which is better, Gemini 3 Flash or Claude Sonnet 5?

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 3 Flash is made by Google and Claude Sonnet 5 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 Sonnet 5 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 Sonnet 5 scores CharXiv-R: 88.3%, ChartMuseum: 86.7%, SWE-Bench Verified: 85.2%, BrowseComp: 84.7%, GDP.pdf: 81.6%.

Is Gemini 3 Flash cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5?

Gemini 3 Flash is 6.0x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 3 Flash costs $0.50/M input and $3.00/M output via google. Claude Sonnet 5 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 3 Flash and Claude Sonnet 5?

Gemini 3 Flash supports 1.0M tokens and Claude Sonnet 5 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 Sonnet 5?

Key differences include input pricing ($0.50 vs $3.00/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemini 3 Flash and Claude Sonnet 5?

Gemini 3 Flash is developed by Google and Claude Sonnet 5 is developed by Anthropic.

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