Model Comparison

Gemini 3.6 Flash vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601Which is better in 2026?

Comparing Gemini 3.6 Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Gemini 3.6 Flash vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 — which is better?

Gemini 3.6 Flash (by Google) and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 (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.

On price, LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is roughly 5.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Gemini 3.6 Flash also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Gemini 3.6 Flash if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 5.7x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Gemini 3.6 Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601don't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 costs less

For input processing, Gemini 3.6 Flash ($1.50/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 3.6 Flash ($7.50/1M tokens) is 6.3x more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 ($1.20/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Gemini 3.6 Flash is more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemini 3.6 Flash
Input tokens$1.50
Output tokens$7.50
Best providerGoogle
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
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 3.6 Flash accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601's 128,000 tokens. LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Gemini 3.6 Flash is limited to 65,536 tokens.

Google
Gemini 3.6 Flash
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemini 3.6 Flash supports multimodal inputs, whereas LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 does not.

Gemini 3.6 Flash can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 3.6 Flash is licensed under a proprietary license, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 uses MIT.

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

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 3.6 Flash was released on 2026-07-21, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 was released on 2026-01-14.

Gemini 3.6 Flash is 6 months newer than LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601.

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Jul 21, 2026

6 days ago

6mo newer
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

Jan 14, 2026

6 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 3.6 Flash has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-03-31, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemini 3.6 Flash's training data extends to 2026-03-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601's cutoff date.

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Mar 2026

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

—

Provider Availability

Gemini 3.6 Flash is available from Google. LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is available from Meituan.

Gemini 3.6 Flash

google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $1.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $7.50/1M

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

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

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Google
Larger context window (1,048,576 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Meituan
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemini 3.6 Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 3.6 Flash
✓ Preferred
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 3.6 Flash
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 3.6 Flash vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601.

Which is better, Gemini 3.6 Flash or LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

Gemini 3.6 Flash (Google) and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 (Meituan) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does Gemini 3.6 Flash compare to LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 in benchmarks?

Gemini 3.6 Flash scores CharXiv-R: 89.4%, OSWorld-Verified: 83.0%, Terminal-Bench 2.1: 78.0%, MLE-Bench: 63.9%, SWE-Bench Pro: 58.7%. LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 scores AIME 2025: 99.6%, Tau2 Telecom: 99.3%, Tau2 Retail: 88.6%, LiveCodeBench: 82.8%, GPQA: 80.5%.

Is Gemini 3.6 Flash cheaper than LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is 5.0x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 3.6 Flash costs $1.50/M input and $7.50/M output via google. LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 costs $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output via meituan.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 3.6 Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

Gemini 3.6 Flash supports 1.0M tokens and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 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 3.6 Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 128K), input pricing ($1.50 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 3.6 Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601?

Gemini 3.6 Flash is developed by Google and LongCat-Flash-Thinking-2601 is developed by Meituan.

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