text model comparison
Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Grok 4.20
Gemini 3.6 Flash and Grok 4.20 are both current text models, from Google and xAI. Grok 4.20 is 17% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Gemini 3.6 Flash, $1.25 vs $1.50. On Arena Text, Gemini 3.6 Flash scores 1482 Elo and Grok 4.20 1472 Elo (Arena, measured October 8, 2026). Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context (1,048,576 and 1,000,000).
Data verified October 12, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-12
Side by side
Standard-tier prices in effect today. The better value in each row is highlighted.
| Fact | Gemini 3.6 Flash | Grok 4.20 |
|---|---|---|
| Price per 1M input tokens | $1.50 | $1.25 (better) |
| Price per 1M output tokens | $7.50 | $2.50 (better) |
| Cost of 10M input and 2M output tokens | $30 | $17.50 (better) |
| Arena Text | 1482 Elo (#13 of 39) (better) | 1472 Elo (#22 of 39) |
| GPQA Diamond | 94.1% (#8 of 37) (better) | 89.3% (#28 of 37) |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) | 58.9% (#27 of 37) (better) | 44.9% (#31 of 37) |
| SimpleQA Verified | 66.2% (#11 of 34) (better) | 30.2% (#30 of 34) |
| Provider | xAI | |
| Release date | July 21, 2026 | March 10, 2026 |
| Access | API only | API only |
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens | Not reported |
| Input | text, image, audio, video | text, image |
| Output | text | text |
When to choose each
Gemini 3.6 Flash
Best for
- Current multimodal agentic evaluations balancing speed and capability
Watch out for
- Not in the pinned LiveBench snapshot; its independent scores here come from Epoch AI's own GPQA Diamond, FrontierMath and SimpleQA Verified runs
Grok 4.20
Best for
- Comparing single-agent and multi-agent reasoning on long-context workloads
Watch out for
- The published base rates double when requests reach the provider's 200,000-token long-context threshold
Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Grok 4.20 FAQ
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.6 Flash or Grok 4.20?
Grok 4.20 is 17% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Gemini 3.6 Flash, $1.25 vs $1.50. For 10M input and 2M output tokens, Gemini 3.6 Flash costs $30 and Grok 4.20 $17.50 at standard rates.
Which scores higher on independent benchmarks, Gemini 3.6 Flash or Grok 4.20?
Gemini 3.6 Flash leads on Arena Text, 1482 Elo to 1472 Elo; Gemini 3.6 Flash leads on GPQA Diamond, 94.1% to 89.3%; Gemini 3.6 Flash leads on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2), 58.9% to 44.9%. Scores are independent evaluations, not either vendor's launch figures.
Which has the larger context window, Gemini 3.6 Flash or Grok 4.20?
Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context (1,048,576 and 1,000,000).
Related comparisons
Production evaluation
Choosing between Gemini 3.6 Flash and Grok 4.20?
Public benchmarks narrow the shortlist. We run both on your own tasks, data and cost limits, then build the routing and review controls to run the winner in production.
- A head-to-head evaluation on your real workload
- Routing between models by cost and difficulty