Gemini 3.8 Flash vs GPT-5.6 Terra: pricing and benchmarks
Gemini 3.8 Flash is 63% cheaper on input tokens ($0.75 vs $2.00 per 1M). Gemini 3.8 Flash is 69% cheaper on output tokens ($3.75 vs $12.00 per 1M). On our document Q&A workload (50,000 questions a month), Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $412.50 a month versus $1,160 for GPT-5.6 Terra, 64% less. Roughly tied. Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 156.5 and GPT-5.6 Terra scores 159.1 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
Prices verified September 14, 2026.
Which should you choose?
Roughly tied. Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 156.5 and GPT-5.6 Terra scores 159.1 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 73.8% on DeepSWE vs 69.6% for GPT-5.6 Terra.
GPT-5.6 Terra scores 86.0% on FrontierMath (Tiers 1–3) vs 68.4% for Gemini 3.8 Flash.
Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $1.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 input-to-output mix) vs $4.50 for GPT-5.6 Terra, 67% less.
Gemini 3.8 Flash delivers statistically similar overall capability for 67% less.
Pricing and specs
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | GPT-5.6 Terra | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | |
| API model ID | gemini-3.8-flash | gpt-5.6-terra |
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.75 | $2.00 |
| Cached input / 1M tokens | $0.075 | $0.20 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $3.75 | $12.00 |
| Long-context rates | — | $4.00 in / $18.00 out on long-context requests |
| Context window | 1.05M tokens | 1.05M tokens |
| Max output | 66K tokens | 128K tokens |
| Batch discount | 50% off | 50% off |
Benchmarks
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | GPT-5.6 Terra | |
|---|---|---|
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 156.5 | 159.1 |
| GPQA Diamond· Science reasoning | 93.9% | 91.1% |
| FrontierMath (Tiers 1–3)· Advanced math | 68.4% | 86.0% |
| SimpleQA Verified· Factual accuracy | 69.7% | 43.2% |
| ARC-AGI-2· Abstract reasoning | — | 83.9% |
| DeepSWE· Coding | 73.8% | 69.6% |
| 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 3.8 Flash | GPT-5.6 Terra | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
Support chatbot 100,000 replies a month, ~1,500 input tokens (system prompt + history) and ~400 output tokens each. | $262.50 | $780.00 | Gemini 3.8 Flash 66% cheaper |
Document Q&A (RAG) 50,000 questions a month with ~8,000 tokens of retrieved context and ~600 output tokens each. | $412.50 | $1,160 | Gemini 3.8 Flash 64% 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. | $186.00 | $536.00 | Gemini 3.8 Flash 65% 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 3.8 Flash vs GPT-5.6 Terra cost calculator
- $412.50/mo$0.0083 / request
- GPT-5.6 TerraOpenAI$1,160/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 3.8 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.
GPT-5.6 Terra pricing notes
The GPT-5.6 model that balances intelligence and cost.
- Cache writes are billed at $2.50 per 1M tokens.
- Fast mode costs 2x the standard rate; Flex costs half.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Gemini 3.8 Flash cheaper than GPT-5.6 Terra?
- Gemini 3.8 Flash is 63% cheaper on input tokens ($0.75 vs $2.00 per 1M). Gemini 3.8 Flash is 69% cheaper on output tokens ($3.75 vs $12.00 per 1M). On our document Q&A workload (50,000 questions a month), Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $412.50 a month versus $1,160 for GPT-5.6 Terra, 64% less.
- Which is more capable, Gemini 3.8 Flash or GPT-5.6 Terra?
- Roughly tied. Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 156.5 and GPT-5.6 Terra scores 159.1 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
- 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.
- How much does GPT-5.6 Terra cost per 1M tokens?
- GPT-5.6 Terra costs $2.00 per 1M input tokens and $12.00 per 1M output tokens, and $0.20 per 1M cached input tokens on OpenAI’s standard tier.
- Which has the larger context window, Gemini 3.8 Flash or GPT-5.6 Terra?
- GPT-5.6 Terra has the larger context window: 1.05M tokens versus 1.05M for Gemini 3.8 Flash.