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Head-to-head comparison

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemma 4 31B

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite (Google) and Gemma 4 31B (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, Gemma 4 31B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#29 vs #33); Gemma 4 31B is 7.4× cheaper per output token ($0.34/1M vs $2.50/1M); Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite offers the longer context window (1M vs 262K tokens); and Gemma 4 31B ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite if…

  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 262K.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1504 against 1499.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 18.8% against 11.8%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite was listed 21 July 2026, Gemma 4 31B 2 April 2026.

Choose Gemma 4 31B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #29 against #33 (73.8 vs 72.2 points).
  • API cost matters — $0.34/1M output tokens against $2.50/1M, about 7.4× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.09/1M against $0.30/1M.
  • you want to self-host: Gemma 4 31B ships open weights while Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is api only.
  • you want provider choice — 11 listed API providers against 2.

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Gemma 4 31B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemma 4 31B
FieldGemini 3.5 Flash LiteGoogleGemma 4 31BGoogle
ModelCap Index position#33#29
Index score72.273.8
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.30$0.09
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50$0.34
Context window1M tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens66K16K
API providers listed211
Weight accessAPI onlyOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, Video, File, AudioImage, Text, Video
First listed21 July 20262 April 2026
PublisherGoogleGoogle

Evidence: 5 public benchmark observations across 5 boards · 3 public benchmark observations across 3 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 4 31B

Public benchmark boards where Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemma 4 31B has a published result
BoardGemini 3.5 Flash LiteGemma 4 31BLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)15041496–151214991483–1514Gemini 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
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis22.2intelligence-index:v4.3:reasoning-unspecified—Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis—65.5%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Gemma 4 31B (Non-reasoning)":reasoning=falseOnly 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=true11.8%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Gemma 4 31B (Non-reasoning)":reasoning=falseGemini 3.5 Flash Lite
WildClawBench OpenClawWildClawBench—37.6Only 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 4 31B: common questions

Is Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite better than Gemma 4 31B?

Gemma 4 31B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 22 September 2026: #29 against #33. 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 Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite cheaper than Gemma 4 31B?

Gemma 4 31B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.34/1M against $2.50/1M. Input tokens are $0.30/1M for Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and $0.09/1M for Gemma 4 31B. 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 $0.35 for Gemma 4 31B. Gemma 4 31B costs 81.1% 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 4 31B?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 262K.

Which is better for coding, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Gemma 4 31B?

Arena coding: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite 1504, Gemma 4 31B 1499 — Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite leads.

Are Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Gemma 4 31B open-weight models?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite: API only. Gemma 4 31B: Open weights. 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 4 31B?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and 11 for Gemma 4 31B, 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 4 31B 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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