THE TICKER · HEAD-TO-HEAD · CHECKED DAILY · LAST CHANGE 2026-07-11
GEMINI 3 FLASH VS GEMINI 3.5 FLASH LITE
Google vs Google, in USD per million tokens, verified daily against public list prices. Same jobs, both meters running.
Gemini 3 Flash costs 1.2x more than Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite for the same job — a 1,000-token prompt with a 3,000-token reply runs $0.0095 vs $0.0078. At 1,000 runs a day, that gap is $51.00 a month for identical traffic.
SIDE BY SIDE
| Gemini 3 Flash → | Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite → | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | ||
| Input / MTok | $0.500 | $0.300 |
| Output / MTok | $3.00 | $2.50 |
| Output multiple | 6.0x | 8.3x |
| 1K prompt + 3K reply | $0.0095 | $0.0078 |
SAME JOB, BOTH BILLS
| Scenario | Gemini 3 Flash | Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| A typical prompt | $0.0029 | $0.0023 | 1.2x |
| A 20-turn conversation | $0.01 | $0.01 | 1.3x |
| Summarizing a 10-page document | $0.01 | $0.01 | 1.3x |
| One agent run | $0.04 | $0.03 | 1.2x |
| A code review request | $0.01 | $0.0098 | 1.2x |
Output sizes use the same editorial ratios as the Burn Calculator. Estimates, not invoices — and price is not a benchmark: the cheaper model is only a bargain if it does the job.
SETTLE IT WITH YOUR OWN PROMPT
Paste a real prompt into the Burn Calculator and see what it costs on Gemini 3 Flash, Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite and the other 13 models on the board — plus how much of it is waste either way.