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Head-to-head comparison

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemma 3 27B

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite (Google) and Gemma 3 27B (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 22 September 2026

As of 22 September 2026, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#33 vs #128); Gemma 3 27B is 5.6× cheaper per output token ($0.45/1M vs $2.50/1M); and Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite offers the longer context window (1M vs 131K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #33 against #128 (72.2 vs 43.7 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 131K.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1504 against 1358.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite was listed 21 July 2026, Gemma 3 27B 12 March 2025.

Choose Gemma 3 27B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.45/1M output tokens against $2.50/1M, about 5.6× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.08/1M against $0.30/1M.
  • you want provider choice — 4 listed API providers against 2.

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemma 3 27B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemma 3 27B
FieldGemini 3.5 Flash LiteGoogleGemma 3 27BGoogle
ModelCap Index position#33#128
Index score72.243.7
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.30$0.08
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50$0.45
Context window1M tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens66K118K
API providers listed24
Weight accessAPI onlyGated access
Input modalitiesText, Image, Video, File, AudioText, Image
First listed21 July 202612 March 2025
PublisherGoogleGoogle

Evidence: 5 public benchmark observations across 5 boards · 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemma 3 27B

Public benchmark boards where Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemma 3 27B has a published result
BoardGemini 3.5 Flash LiteGemma 3 27BLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)15041496–151213581351–1365Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite
LMArena AgentLMArena-15.3%-16.7%–-14.0%—Only one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation10.3%High—Only one result
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)—29.5PromptOnly one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis22.2intelligence-index:v4.3:reasoning-unspecified—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis18.8%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite":reasoning=true—Only one result

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 Gemma 3 27B: common questions

Is Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite better than Gemma 3 27B?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 22 September 2026: #33 against #128. 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 do not overlap, but the aggregate Index does not predict performance on every task; compare the relevant benchmark configurations before choosing.

Is Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite cheaper than Gemma 3 27B?

Gemma 3 27B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.45/1M against $2.50/1M. Input tokens are $0.30/1M for Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and $0.08/1M for Gemma 3 27B. 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 $1.85 for Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite versus $0.39 for Gemma 3 27B. Gemma 3 27B costs 79.2% 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, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemma 3 27B?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemma 3 27B?

Arena coding: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite 1504, Gemma 3 27B 1358 — Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite leads.

Are Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemma 3 27B open-weight models?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite: API only. Gemma 3 27B: Gated access. 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 Gemma 3 27B?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and 4 for Gemma 3 27B, 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 Gemma 3 27B comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 22 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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