Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Inkling-Small
Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling-Small are closely matched at 43.6 and 39.3 on the LLM Stats Score. Inkling-Small is 6.4x cheaper per token.
Google · Thinking Machines Lab · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling-Small are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 43.6 and 39.3.
In the 7 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Gemini 3.5 Flash wins 6; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Inkling-Small is roughly 6.4x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Gemini 3.5 Flash also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 6 of 7 exact shared results
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
Choose Inkling-Small
- cost matters — it's about 6.4x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
16 reported for Gemini 3.5 Flash · 24 for Inkling-Small
Gemini 3.5 Flash outperforms in 6 benchmarks (ARC-AGI v2, CharXiv-R, Humanity's Last Exam, MCP Atlas, MMMU-Pro, Toolathlon), while Inkling-Small is better at 1 benchmark (SWE-Bench Pro).
Gemini 3.5 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Gemini 3.5 Flash ($1.50/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Inkling-Small ($0.30/1M tokens).
For output processing, Gemini 3.5 Flash ($9.00/1M tokens) is 7.5x more expensive than Inkling-Small ($1.20/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Gemini 3.5 Flash is more expensive than Inkling-Small.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Gemini 3.5 Flash accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Inkling-Small's 256,000 tokens. Inkling-Small can generate longer responses up to 256,000 tokens, while Gemini 3.5 Flash is limited to 65,536 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling-Small support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Inkling-Small
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemini 3.5 Flash is licensed under a proprietary license, while Inkling-Small uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemini 3.5 Flash was released on 2026-05-19, while Inkling-Small was released on 2026-07-30.
Inkling-Small is 2 months newer than Gemini 3.5 Flash.
May 19, 2026
3 months ago
Jul 30, 2026
4 weeks ago
2mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemini 3.5 Flash has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-01-31, while Inkling-Small's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Gemini 3.5 Flash's training data extends to 2026-01-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Inkling-Small's cutoff date.
Jan 2026
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Provider Availability
Gemini 3.5 Flash is available from Google. Inkling-Small is available from Thinking Machines Lab.
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Inkling-Small
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling-Small side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Inkling-Small.