Gemini 3 Flash vs Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite Comparison
Comparing Gemini 3 Flash and Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemini 3 Flash outperforms in 8 benchmarks (CharXiv-R, FACTS Grounding, GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MMMLU, MMMU-Pro, SimpleQA, VideoMMMU), while Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is better at 1 benchmark (MRCR v2 (8-needle)).
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 2.0x more expensive than Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite ($0.25/1M tokens).
For output processing, Gemini 3 Flash ($3.00/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite ($1.50/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Gemini 3 Flash is more expensive than Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 1,000,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 65,536 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Gemini 3 Flash and Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Gemini 3 Flash
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
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 3.1 Flash-Lite was released on 2026-03-03.
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is 3 months newer than Gemini 3 Flash.
Dec 17, 2025
2 months ago
Mar 3, 2026
1 weeks ago
2mo newerKnowledge 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 3.1 Flash-Lite is available from Google. The availability of providers can affect quality of the model and reliability.
Gemini 3 Flash
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Detailed Comparison
| Feature |
|---|