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Head-to-head comparison

Claude Opus 5.5 vs Gemini 3.8 Flash

Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) and Gemini 3.8 Flash (Google) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 7 November 2026

As of 7 November 2026, Claude Opus 5.5 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#1 vs #6); and Gemini 3.8 Flash is 4.8× cheaper per output token ($4.13/1M vs $20.00/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose Claude Opus 5.5 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #1 against #6 (87.7 vs 83.3 points).
  • you want provider choice — 5 listed API providers against 2.
  • Arena text is your yardstick — 1509 against 1496.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1551 against 1530.
  • LMArena Agent is your yardstick — 20.1% against 2.6%.
  • ARC-AGI-2 is your yardstick — 93.3% against 89.2%.
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 59.1 against 30.8.
  • Terminal-Bench 4.0 is your yardstick — 64.9% against 19.1%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Claude Opus 5.5 was listed 22 September 2026, Gemini 3.8 Flash 2 September 2026.

Choose Gemini 3.8 Flash if…

  • API cost matters — $4.13/1M output tokens against $20.00/1M, about 4.8× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.825/1M against $4.00/1M.

Claude Opus 5.5 vs Gemini 3.8 Flash: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Claude Opus 5.5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash
FieldClaude Opus 5.5AnthropicGemini 3.8 FlashGoogle
ModelCap Index position#1#6
Index score87.783.3
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$4.00$0.825
Output price / 1M tokens$20.00$4.13
Context window1M tokens1M tokens
Declared route output cap128K66K
API providers listed52
Weight accessNo linked weightsNo linked weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, FileText, Image, Video, File, Audio
First listed22 September 20262 September 2026
PublisherAnthropicGoogle

Evidence: 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards · 5 public benchmark observations across 5 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Claude Opus 5.5 vs Gemini 3.8 Flash

Public benchmark boards where Claude Opus 5.5 or Gemini 3.8 Flash has a published result
BoardClaude Opus 5.5Gemini 3.8 FlashLeads
Arena textArena (LMArena)15091502–1515High14961492–1500HighClaude Opus 5.5
Arena codingArena (LMArena)15511538–1563High15301523–1537HighClaude Opus 5.5
LMArena AgentLMArena20.1%18.1%–22.2%Max2.6%1.8%–3.4%HighClaude Opus 5.5
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation93.3%High89.2%HighClaude Opus 5.5
ARC-AGI-3ARC Prize Foundation—10.4%HighOnly one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis59.1Max30.8HighClaude Opus 5.5
Terminal-Bench 4.0Terminal-Bench (Laude Institute)64.9%61.7%–68.0%Claude Code · Max19.1%15.7%–22.5%mini-SWE-agent · HighClaude Opus 5.5

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Claude Opus 5.5 vs Gemini 3.8 Flash: common questions

Is Claude Opus 5.5 better than Gemini 3.8 Flash?

Claude Opus 5.5 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 7 November 2026: #1 against #6. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it. Their published uncertainty intervals overlap, so the rank difference alone does not establish a reliable capability advantage for your workload.

Is Claude Opus 5.5 cheaper than Gemini 3.8 Flash?

Gemini 3.8 Flash is cheaper on output tokens: $4.13/1M against $20.00/1M. Input tokens are $4.00/1M for Claude Opus 5.5 and $0.825/1M for Gemini 3.8 Flash. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $18.00 for Claude Opus 5.5 versus $3.71 for Gemini 3.8 Flash. Gemini 3.8 Flash costs 79.4% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, Claude Opus 5.5 or Gemini 3.8 Flash?

Both publish a 1M-token context window. OpenRouter catalogue or provider-endpoint declaration. Limits can vary by provider and prompt length; a model-wide maximum has not been independently verified.

Which is better for coding, Claude Opus 5.5 or Gemini 3.8 Flash?

Arena coding: Claude Opus 5.5 1551, Gemini 3.8 Flash 1530 — Claude Opus 5.5 leads. Terminal-Bench 4.0: Claude Opus 5.5 64.9%, Gemini 3.8 Flash 19.1% — Claude Opus 5.5 leads.

Are Claude Opus 5.5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash open-weight models?

Claude Opus 5.5: No linked weights. Gemini 3.8 Flash: No linked weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence. A missing weight link does not identify every API or chat product that offers a model.

Where can I run Claude Opus 5.5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash?

ModelCap currently lists 5 API providers for Claude Opus 5.5 and 2 for Gemini 3.8 Flash, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Claude Opus 5.5 vs Gemini 3.8 Flash comparison?

Every figure and ModelCap Index position comes from the same published snapshot dated 7 November 2026. Publication and page updates happen separately; use the snapshot date shown on the page.

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