Model Comparison
Gemini 3 Flash vs Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05Which is better in 2026?
Gemini 3 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 3 Flash is 3.1x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Gemini 3 Flash vs Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 — which is better?
Gemini 3 Flash (by Google) and Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 (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 3 Flash outperforms in 7 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MRCR v2 (8-needle), SimpleQA, SWE-Bench Verified, VideoMMMU), while Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 is better at 1 benchmark (FACTS Grounding). Gemini 3 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Gemini 3 Flash is roughly 3.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Gemini 3 Flash if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 7 of 8 shared benchmarks
- cost matters — it's about 3.1x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Dec 2025
Choose Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 if…
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemini 3 Flash outperforms in 7 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MRCR v2 (8-needle), SimpleQA, SWE-Bench Verified, VideoMMMU), while Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 is better at 1 benchmark (FACTS Grounding).
Gemini 3 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Gemini 3 Flash ($0.50/1M tokens) is 2.5x cheaper than Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 ($1.25/1M tokens).
For output processing, Gemini 3 Flash ($3.00/1M tokens) is 3.3x cheaper than Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 ($10.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 is more expensive than Gemini 3 Flash.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Gemini 3 Flash's 1,000,000 tokens. Gemini 3 Flash can generate longer responses up to 65,536 tokens, while Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 is limited to 65,535 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Gemini 3 Flash and Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Gemini 3 Flash
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05
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 3 Flash was released on 2025-12-17, while Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 was released on 2025-06-05.
Gemini 3 Flash is 7 months newer than Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05.
Dec 17, 2025
5 months ago
6mo newerJun 5, 2025
1.0 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Both models have the same knowledge cutoff date of 2025-01-31.
They should have similar awareness of historical events and information up to this date.
Jan 2025
Jan 2025
Provider Availability
Gemini 3 Flash is available from Google. Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 is available from Google.
Gemini 3 Flash
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Detailed Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|
FAQ
Common questions about Gemini 3 Flash vs Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05.