Compare / Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Which is cheaper, which is more capable, and which does better at each kind of work, from 11 results on 2 sources that measured both models.
Of the 11 results both models have, the better value on each. Results whose reported ranges overlap are too close to call.
Results as of 10 November 2026 (catalogue release 2026-11-10-8342a7178929).
Gemini 2.5 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite? The short answer
Pick Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite: it scores higher (Intelligence Index 22.2 against 13.1) at about the same price.
- They cost about the same: $0.85 and $0.85 per million tokens (three input to one output).
- Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index: 22.2 against 13.1.
- Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is newer: released 21 Jul 2026, against 17 Apr 2025 for Gemini 2.5 Flash.
- On third-party benchmarks, on the results both models have: Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite does better for reasoning and knowledge, writing and sticking to the facts.
Head to head
Every fact side by side
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per million tokens | $0.30 in · $2.50 out | $0.30 in · $2.50 out |
| Blended (3 in : 1 out) | $0.85 | $0.85 |
| Cheapest host, blended | – | $0.85 (Google) |
| Cached input, per million | $0.030 cached input | $0.030 cached input |
| Intelligence Index | 13.1 | 22.2 |
| Spring Prompt overall | – | 25 |
| Output speed, tokens a second | – | 398 |
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Released | 17 Apr 2025 | 21 Jul 2026 (newer) |
| Weights | Closed | Closed |
| Developer based in | the US | the US |
Prices are the developer's list price where we have read it, otherwise the typical host on OpenRouter; see every model's price. Intelligence and speed from Artificial Analysis.
Which is better for what
Each model's rank among the models on sale today, for each kind of work, from our own benchmarks and licensed sources. Further right is better; the better rank is in green.
From our research
Every shared result
Each model's best result on every measure both have, grouped by benchmark, with the setting that produced it. Under each measure, every model that benchmark has measured is a grey tick, best to the right, so you can see where the two sit in the field. The headline measures of each benchmark come first; the rest are under "Show all". Green marks the better value; where a source reports ranges that overlap, neither is marked.
| Measure | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Arena (formerly LMArena) reported by Arena (formerly LMArena) · 3 results | ||
| Overall · TextArena rating, higher is better 127 · 61 of 387 measured | 1,409 | 1,455 |
| Overall · Text factualityArena rating, higher is better 86 · 63 of 163 measured | 1,437 | 1,447 |
| Business, management and finance · TextArena rating, higher is better 143 · 63 of 380 measured | 1,399 | 1,452 |
| Artificial Analysis reported by Artificial Analysis · 3 results | ||
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence Indexindex score, higher is better 146 · 97 of 249 measured | 13.1thinking reasoning | 22.2 |
| GPQA Diamond% of questions, higher is better 115 · 91 of 232 measured | 79.0%thinking reasoning | 83.8% |
| Humanity's Last Exam% of questions, higher is better 146 · 122 of 250 measured | 12.1%thinking reasoning | 18.8% |
Show all 11 results (5 more)
| Measure | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Arena (formerly LMArena) reported by Arena (formerly LMArena) · 4 results | ||
| Creative writing · TextArena rating, higher is better 102 · 52 of 385 measured | 1,394 | 1,436 |
| Expert prompts · TextArena rating, higher is better 131 · 78 of 338 measured | 1,424 | 1,470 |
| Instruction following · TextArena rating, higher is better 125 · 67 of 387 measured | 1,399 | 1,443 |
| Writing, literature and language · TextArena rating, higher is better 104 · 56 of 386 measured | 1,402 | 1,443 |
| Artificial Analysis reported by Artificial Analysis · 1 result | ||
| Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR)% of questions, higher is better 133 · 80 of 241 measured | 65.3%thinking reasoning | 76.0% |
Compare them with other models
Quick answers
Is Gemini 2.5 Flash better than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
Pick Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite: it scores higher (Intelligence Index 22.2 against 13.1) at about the same price.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 2.5 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
They cost about the same: $0.85 and $0.85 per million tokens (three input to one output).
Which is better for agents and tool use, Gemini 2.5 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite ranks 81 of 159 models on sale for multi-step tasks with tools: support desks, coding agents, function calls, against 82 for Gemini 2.5 Flash.
Which is better for reasoning and knowledge, Gemini 2.5 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite ranks 98 of 187 models on sale for hard questions across science, maths and general knowledge, against 121 for Gemini 2.5 Flash.
Which is better for writing, Gemini 2.5 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite ranks 49 of 169 models on sale for what people prefer in blind comparisons, and judged writing quality, against 96 for Gemini 2.5 Flash.
Which is better for sticking to the facts, Gemini 2.5 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite ranks 61 of 139 models on sale for summarising without inventing things, and factual answers, against 65 for Gemini 2.5 Flash.
Run Gemini 2.5 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite on your own prompt.
Benchmarks aren't your task. Test both side by side on your prompt, with every answer checked against your rules and the cost of each one.