Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Gemini 3.8 Flash: pricing and benchmarks
Gemini 3.8 Flash is 50% cheaper on input tokens ($0.75 vs $1.50 per 1M). Gemini 3.8 Flash is 58% cheaper on output tokens ($3.75 vs $9.00 per 1M). On our document Q&A workload (50,000 questions a month), Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $412.50 a month versus $870.00 for Gemini 3.5 Flash, 53% less. Roughly tied. Gemini 3.5 Flash scores 154.7 and Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 156.5 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
Prices verified September 14, 2026.
Which should you choose?
Roughly tied. Gemini 3.5 Flash scores 154.7 and Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 156.5 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 73.8% on DeepSWE vs 37.4% for Gemini 3.5 Flash.
Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 68.4% on FrontierMath (Tiers 1–3) vs 62.8% for Gemini 3.5 Flash.
Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $1.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 input-to-output mix) vs $3.375 for Gemini 3.5 Flash, 56% less.
Gemini 3.8 Flash delivers equal or higher overall capability for 56% less.
Pricing and specs
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | Gemini 3.8 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | ||
| API model ID | gemini-3.5-flash | gemini-3.8-flash |
| Input / 1M tokens | $1.50 | $0.75 |
| Cached input / 1M tokens | $0.15 | $0.075 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $9.00 | $3.75 |
| Long-context rates | — | — |
| Context window | 1.05M tokens | 1.05M tokens |
| Max output | 66K tokens | 66K tokens |
| Batch discount | 50% off | 50% off |
Benchmarks
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | Gemini 3.8 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 154.7 | 156.5 |
| GPQA Diamond· Science reasoning | 90.4% | 93.9% |
| FrontierMath (Tiers 1–3)· Advanced math | 62.8% | 68.4% |
| SimpleQA Verified· Factual accuracy | 66.2% | 69.7% |
| ARC-AGI-2· Abstract reasoning | 72.1% | — |
| DeepSWE· Coding | 37.4% | 73.8% |
| APEX-Agents· Agentic work | — | — |
Source: Epoch AI, best recorded result per model (CC BY 4.0). A dash means no published score. See all benchmarks
Monthly cost for real workloads
| Workload | Gemini 3.5 Flash | Gemini 3.8 Flash | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
Support chatbot 100,000 replies a month, ~1,500 input tokens (system prompt + history) and ~400 output tokens each. | $585.00 | $262.50 | Gemini 3.8 Flash 55% cheaper |
Document Q&A (RAG) 50,000 questions a month with ~8,000 tokens of retrieved context and ~600 output tokens each. | $870.00 | $412.50 | Gemini 3.8 Flash 53% cheaper |
Coding agent 10,000 agent steps a month, ~40,000 input tokens each (70% read from the prompt cache) and ~2,000 output tokens. | $402.00 | $186.00 | Gemini 3.8 Flash 54% cheaper |
Estimates use standard list prices and ignore cache-write surcharges. Different tokenizers can count the same text differently, so test with your own prompts.
Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Gemini 3.8 Flash cost calculator
- $412.50/mo$0.0083 / request
- Gemini 3.5 FlashGoogle$870.00/mo$0.02 / request
Standard-tier list prices. Long-context rates apply automatically where the provider publishes a threshold. Excludes cache-write surcharges, taxes, batch and volume discounts.
Gemini 3.5 Flash pricing notes
Google’s Gemini 3.5 Flash model, with thinking, tool use and a 1M-token context window.
- Output price includes thinking tokens.
- Context cache storage costs $1.00 per 1M tokens per hour.
- Priority inference costs 1.8x the standard rate.
Gemini 3.8 Flash pricing notes
Google’s newest Flash model, with thinking, tool use and a 1M-token context window.
- Introductory price through December 31, 2026. From January 1, 2027: $1.50 input, $0.15 cached, $7.50 output per 1M tokens.
- Output price includes thinking tokens.
- Priority inference costs 1.8x the standard rate.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Gemini 3.5 Flash cheaper than Gemini 3.8 Flash?
- Gemini 3.8 Flash is 50% cheaper on input tokens ($0.75 vs $1.50 per 1M). Gemini 3.8 Flash is 58% cheaper on output tokens ($3.75 vs $9.00 per 1M). On our document Q&A workload (50,000 questions a month), Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $412.50 a month versus $870.00 for Gemini 3.5 Flash, 53% less.
- Which is more capable, Gemini 3.5 Flash or Gemini 3.8 Flash?
- Roughly tied. Gemini 3.5 Flash scores 154.7 and Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 156.5 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
- How much does Gemini 3.5 Flash cost per 1M tokens?
- Gemini 3.5 Flash costs $1.50 per 1M input tokens and $9.00 per 1M output tokens, and $0.15 per 1M cached input tokens on Google’s standard tier.
- How much does Gemini 3.8 Flash cost per 1M tokens?
- Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $0.75 per 1M input tokens and $3.75 per 1M output tokens, and $0.075 per 1M cached input tokens on Google’s standard tier.
- Which has the larger context window, Gemini 3.5 Flash or Gemini 3.8 Flash?
- Both offer a 1.05M-token context window.