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Head-to-head comparison

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemini 3.8 Flash

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite (Google) 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 3 September 2026

As of 3 September 2026, Gemini 3.8 Flash holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#11 vs #23); and Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is 1.5× cheaper per output token ($2.50/1M vs $3.75/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite if…

  • API cost matters — $2.50/1M output tokens against $3.75/1M, about 1.5× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.30/1M against $0.75/1M.

Choose Gemini 3.8 Flash if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #11 against #23 (76.4 vs 66.2 points).
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 58.7 against 37.4.
  • AA Terminal-Bench 2.1 is your yardstick — 87.6% against 53.6%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 47.8% against 18.8%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Gemini 3.8 Flash was listed 2 September 2026, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite 21 July 2026.

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemini 3.8 Flash: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemini 3.8 Flash
FieldGemini 3.5 Flash LiteGoogleGemini 3.8 FlashGoogle
ModelCap Index position#23#11
Index score66.276.4
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.30$0.75
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50$3.75
Context window1M tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens66K66K
API providers listed22
Weight accessAPI onlyAPI only
Input modalitiesText, Image, Video, File, AudioText, Image, Video, File, Audio
First listed21 July 20262 September 2026
PublisherGoogleGoogle

Evidence: 5 public benchmark observations across 5 boards · 1 public benchmark observation across 1 board. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemini 3.8 Flash

Public benchmark boards where Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemini 3.8 Flash has a published result
BoardGemini 3.5 Flash LiteGemini 3.8 FlashLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)15031495–1511—Only one result
LMArena AgentLMArena-10.8%-12.2%–-9.4%—Only one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation10.3%High—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis37.4intelligence-index58.7intelligence-indexGemini 3.8 Flash
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis53.6%terminal-bench-2.187.6%terminal-bench-2.1Gemini 3.8 Flash
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis18.8%humanitys-last-exam47.8%humanitys-last-examGemini 3.8 Flash

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.

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemini 3.8 Flash: common questions

Is Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite better than Gemini 3.8 Flash?

Gemini 3.8 Flash ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 3 September 2026: #11 against #23. 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.

Is Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite cheaper than Gemini 3.8 Flash?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is cheaper on output tokens: $2.50/1M against $3.75/1M. Input tokens are $0.30/1M for Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and $0.75/1M for Gemini 3.8 Flash. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemini 3.8 Flash?

Both publish a 1M-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemini 3.8 Flash?

AA Terminal-Bench 2.1: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite 53.6%, Gemini 3.8 Flash 87.6% — Gemini 3.8 Flash leads.

Are Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemini 3.8 Flash open-weight models?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite: API only. Gemini 3.8 Flash: API only. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemini 3.8 Flash?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite 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 Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemini 3.8 Flash comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 3 September 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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