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Head-to-head comparison

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Kimi K2 Thinking

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite (Google) and Kimi K2 Thinking (Moonshot AI) 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 18 August 2026

As of 18 August 2026, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#21 vs #32); and Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite offers the longer context window (1M vs 262K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #21 against #32 (65.6 vs 58.5 points).
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.30/1M against $0.60/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 262K.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1503 against 1486.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 37.4 against 33.5.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite was listed 21 July 2026, Kimi K2 Thinking 6 November 2025.

Choose Kimi K2 Thinking if…

  • ModelCap publishes no field on which Kimi K2 Thinking leads Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite for this pair.

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite vs Kimi K2 Thinking: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Kimi K2 Thinking
FieldGemini 3.5 Flash LiteGoogleKimi K2 ThinkingMoonshot AI
ModelCap Index position#21#32
Index score65.658.5
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.30$0.60
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50$2.50
Context window1M tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens66K100K
API providers listed22
Weight accessAPI onlyRestricted license
Input modalitiesText, Image, Video, File, AudioText
First listed21 July 20266 November 2025
PublisherGoogleMoonshot AI

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 Kimi K2 Thinking

Public benchmark boards where Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Kimi K2 Thinking has a published result
BoardGemini 3.5 Flash LiteKimi K2 ThinkingLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)15031493–151314861481–1492TurboGemini 3.5 Flash Lite
LMArena AgentLMArena-10.4%-11.6%–-9.2%—Only one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation10.3%High—Only one result
SWE-benchSWE-bench (Princeton / SWE-agent team)—63.4%ThinkingOnly one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis37.4intelligence-index33.5intelligence-indexGemini 3.5 Flash Lite

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 Kimi K2 Thinking: common questions

Is Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite better than Kimi K2 Thinking?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #21 against #32. 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 Kimi K2 Thinking?

Both list the same output price, $2.50/1M tokens, with input at $0.30/1M and $0.60/1M respectively.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite or Kimi K2 Thinking?

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 Kimi K2 Thinking?

Arena coding: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite 1503, Kimi K2 Thinking 1486 — Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite leads.

Are Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and Kimi K2 Thinking open-weight models?

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite: API only. Kimi K2 Thinking: Restricted license. 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 Kimi K2 Thinking?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and 2 for Kimi K2 Thinking, 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 Kimi K2 Thinking comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 18 August 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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