Skip to main content
BenchLM
Advertise

Model comparison

Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 19 shared benchmark results across 5 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

64.75/100
No comparison
N/A
2 category wins1 category wins

Public leaderboard positions: Gemini 3.5 Flash #33 (Estimated); Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite unranked (Not scored). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. Gemini 3.5 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite share 19 comparable benchmark results. 3 of 8 categories are comparable. 27 results are unique to Gemini 3.5 Flash; 2 to Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite.

Updated July 21, 2026
Shared results
19
Gemini 3.5 Flash only
27
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite only
2
Comparable categories
3 / 8

Treat this as a split decision. Gemini 3.5 Flash makes more sense if agentic is the priority; Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is the better fit if coding is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 19 shared benchmark results across 5 evidence categories; 3 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.

Why this result

Gemini 3.5 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.

Gemini 3.5 Flash is also the more expensive model on tokens at $1.50 input / $9.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.30 input / $2.50 output per 1M tokens for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite. That is roughly 3.6x on output cost alone.

Category breakdown

Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.

Category scores and score margins for Gemini 3.5 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
CategoryGemini 3.5 FlashΔGemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
AgenticGemini 3.5 Flash77.2Margin← 13.8Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite63.4
ReasoningGemini 3.5 Flash74.7Margin← 2.5Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite72.2
CodingGemini 3.5 Flash53.9Margin→ 0.3Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite54.2
KnowledgeGemini 3.5 Flash47.2MarginNo overlapGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteNot measured
MathGemini 3.5 Flash32.9MarginNo overlapGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteNot measured
MultimodalGemini 3.5 Flash83.8MarginNo overlapGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteNot measured
Inst. FollowingGemini 3.5 Flash76.3MarginNo overlapGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteNot measured

Decisive benchmark drivers

The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.

More
A · Gemini 3.5 FlashB · Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

  1. Terminal-Bench 2.0

    Agentic
    Source ↗
    A 76.2%B 54%
    Winner: Gemini 3.5 FlashΔ 22.2
    Terminal-Bench 2.0: Gemini 3.5 Flash scored 76.2%; Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scored 54%. Gemini 3.5 Flash wins this benchmark.

  2. MRCRv2

    Reasoning
    Source ↗
    A 77.3%B 72.2%
    Winner: Gemini 3.5 FlashΔ 5.1
    MRCRv2: Gemini 3.5 Flash scored 77.3%; Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scored 72.2%. Gemini 3.5 Flash wins this benchmark.

  3. OSWorld-Verified

    Agentic
    Source ↗
    A 78.4%B 74%
    Winner: Gemini 3.5 FlashΔ 4.4
    OSWorld-Verified: Gemini 3.5 Flash scored 78.4%; Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scored 74%. Gemini 3.5 Flash wins this benchmark.

  4. SWE-bench Pro

    Coding
    Source ↗
    A 55.1%B 54.2%
    Winner: Gemini 3.5 FlashΔ 0.9
    SWE-bench Pro: Gemini 3.5 Flash scored 55.1%; Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scored 54.2%. Gemini 3.5 Flash wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.

MetricGemini 3.5 FlashGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteComparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensGemini 3.5 Flash$1.5 input / $9 outputGemini 3.5 Flash-Lite$0.3 input / $2.5 outputGemini 3.5 Flash-Lite has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondGemini 3.5 Flash284.2 tok/sGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteNot availableA complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenGemini 3.5 Flash18.55 sGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteNot availableA complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensGemini 3.5 Flash1MGemini 3.5 Flash-Lite1MListed context windows are equal.

Benchmark Deep Dive

AgenticGemini 3.5 Flash wins
BenchmarkGemini 3.5 FlashGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteResult
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 76.2%54%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
MCP AtlasSource 83.6%—Not comparable
ToolathlonSource 56.5%—Not comparable
OSWorld-VerifiedSource 78.4%74%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
Finance Agent v2Source 57.9%—Not comparable
GDPval-AASource 13491140Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
τ²-bench resultsSource 95.3%—Not comparable
GDPval-AASource 42.4%32.0%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
AA Agentic IndexSource 37.5%26.8%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
APEX-Agents-AASource 47.1%—Not comparable
Gert LabsSource 61.85%—Not comparable
ResearchClawBenchSource 18.0%—Not comparable
AA AutomationBenchSource 42.6%—Not comparable
AA EnterpriseOps-GymSource 50.1%—Not comparable
terminalBenchHardSource 40.9%—Not comparable
AA BriefcaseSource —634Not comparable
AA Tau3 BankingSource —16.5%Not comparable
CodingGemini 3.5 Flash-Lite wins
BenchmarkGemini 3.5 FlashGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteResult
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 76.2%54.0%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
SWE-bench ProSource 55.1%54.2%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
SciCodeSource 53.1%—Not comparable
Vibe Code BenchSource 48.68%—Not comparable
cursorBench31Source 49.8%—Not comparable
cursorBench32Source 48.8%—Not comparable
AA Coding IndexSource 70.1%49.3%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
AA-SciCodeSource 53.1%40.9%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
ReasoningGemini 3.5 Flash wins
BenchmarkGemini 3.5 FlashGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteResult
MRCRv2Source 77.3%72.2%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
MRCR 1MSource 26.6%—Not comparable
ARC-AGI-2Source 72.1%—Not comparable
AA-LCRSource 69.3%62.0%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
CritPtSource 13.1%0.0%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
Knowledge
BenchmarkGemini 3.5 FlashGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteResult
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource 50.2%36.5%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
GPQASource 92.2%—Not comparable
GPQA-DSource 92.7%—Not comparable
HLESource 40.2%—Not comparable
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource 51.9%30.3%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource 60.7%33.5%Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite leads
AA-GPQA DiamondSource 92.2%83.8%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
AA-HLESource 41.0%17.5%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
AA-Omniscience IndexSource 22.7%6.9%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
Math
BenchmarkGemini 3.5 FlashGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteResult
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)Source 38.966%—Not comparable
FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)Source 14.583%—Not comparable
Multimodal
BenchmarkGemini 3.5 FlashGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteResult
CharXivSource 84.2%—Not comparable
MMMU-ProSource 83.6%—Not comparable
Blueprint-Bench 2Source 33.6%—Not comparable
AA-MMMU-ProSource 84.3%79.0%Gemini 3.5 Flash leads
Design Arena WebsiteSource 1285—Not comparable
Inst. Following
BenchmarkGemini 3.5 FlashGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteResult
IFBenchSource 76.3%—Not comparable
AA-IFBenchSource 76.3%—Not comparable
Frequently Asked Questions (4)

Which is better, Gemini 3.5 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 3.5 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite are tied on the BenchAlign overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.

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

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 54.2 versus 53.9. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for reasoning, Gemini 3.5 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 3.5 Flash has the edge for reasoning in this comparison, averaging 74.7 versus 72.2. Inside this category, CritPt is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for agentic tasks, Gemini 3.5 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 3.5 Flash has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 77.2 versus 63.4. Inside this category, GDPval-AA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Related Comparisons

Explore More

Google Compare Pricing Methodology Find Your Best LLM Overall Rankings
Last updated: July 21, 2026

Choose a model with this week’s evidence

Join 2,000+ readers for ranking moves, pricing changes, and the claims that still need proof.

One email each week. Unsubscribe anytime.