Model Comparison

Gemini 3 Flash vs LongCat-Flash-ThinkingWhich is better in 2026?

Gemini 3 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. LongCat-Flash-Thinking is 2.1x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Gemini 3 Flash vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking — which is better?

Gemini 3 Flash (by Google) and LongCat-Flash-Thinking (by Meituan) 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 3 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, SWE-Bench Verified), while LongCat-Flash-Thinking is better at 0 benchmarks. Gemini 3 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, LongCat-Flash-Thinking is roughly 2.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Gemini 3 Flash also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 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 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Dec 2025

Choose LongCat-Flash-Thinking if…

  • cost matters — it's about 2.1x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

Gemini 3 Flash outperforms in 3 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, SWE-Bench Verified), while LongCat-Flash-Thinking is better at 0 benchmarks.

Gemini 3 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

LongCat-Flash-Thinking costs less

For input processing, Gemini 3 Flash ($0.50/1M tokens) is 1.7x more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 3 Flash ($3.00/1M tokens) is 2.5x more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($1.20/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Gemini 3 Flash is more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Thinking.*

* 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
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.20
Best providerMeituan
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Gemini 3 Flash accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to LongCat-Flash-Thinking's 128,000 tokens. LongCat-Flash-Thinking 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
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemini 3 Flash supports multimodal inputs, whereas LongCat-Flash-Thinking does not.

Gemini 3 Flash can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemini 3 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

LongCat-Flash-Thinking

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 3 Flash is licensed under a proprietary license, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking uses MIT.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Gemini 3 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

LongCat-Flash-Thinking

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 3 Flash was released on 2025-12-17, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.

Gemini 3 Flash is 3 months newer than LongCat-Flash-Thinking.

Gemini 3 Flash

Dec 17, 2025

5 months ago

2mo newer
LongCat-Flash-Thinking

Sep 22, 2025

8 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 3 Flash has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking'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 LongCat-Flash-Thinking's cutoff date.

Gemini 3 Flash

Jan 2025

LongCat-Flash-Thinking

Provider Availability

Gemini 3 Flash is available from Google. LongCat-Flash-Thinking is available from Meituan.

Gemini 3 Flash

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

LongCat-Flash-Thinking

meituan logo
Meituan
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher AIME 2025 score (99.7% vs 90.6%)
Higher GPQA score (90.4% vs 81.5%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (78.0% vs 59.4%)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 3 Flash
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 3 Flash vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking.

Which is better, Gemini 3 Flash or LongCat-Flash-Thinking?

Gemini 3 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 3 Flash is made by Google and LongCat-Flash-Thinking is made by Meituan. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemini 3 Flash compare to LongCat-Flash-Thinking 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%. LongCat-Flash-Thinking scores MATH-500: 99.2%, ZebraLogic: 95.5%, AIME 2024: 93.3%, AIME 2025: 90.6%, MMLU-Redux: 89.3%.

Is Gemini 3 Flash cheaper than LongCat-Flash-Thinking?

LongCat-Flash-Thinking is 1.7x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 3 Flash costs $0.50/M input and $3.00/M output via google. LongCat-Flash-Thinking costs $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output via meituan.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 3 Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinking?

Gemini 3 Flash supports 1.0M tokens and LongCat-Flash-Thinking supports 128K 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 LongCat-Flash-Thinking?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 128K), input pricing ($0.50 vs $0.30/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemini 3 Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinking?

Gemini 3 Flash is developed by Google and LongCat-Flash-Thinking is developed by Meituan.