text model comparison
Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview
Gemini 3.8 Flash and Gemini 3 Flash Preview are both current text models, from Google. Gemini 3 Flash Preview is 33% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Gemini 3.8 Flash, $0.50 vs $0.75. On Arena Text, Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 1497 Elo and Gemini 3 Flash Preview 1473 Elo (Arena, measured October 8, 2026). Both accept 1,048,576 tokens of context.
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 3.8 Flash | Gemini 3 Flash Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Price per 1M input tokens | $0.75 | $0.50 (better) |
| Price per 1M output tokens | $3.75 | $3 (better) |
| Cost of 10M input and 2M output tokens | $15 | $11 (better) |
| Arena Text | 1497 Elo (#4 of 39) (better) | 1473 Elo (#21 of 39) |
| GPQA Diamond | 95.4% (#3 of 37) (better) | 89.4% (#27 of 37) |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) | 68.4% (#21 of 37) (better) | 51.2% (#30 of 37) |
| SimpleQA Verified | 69.7% (#7 of 34) (better) | 66.8% (#10 of 34) |
| Provider | ||
| Release date | September 2, 2026 | December 17, 2025 |
| Access | API only | API only |
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens | 65,536 tokens |
| Input | text, image, audio, video | text, image, audio, video |
| Output | text | text |
When to choose each
Gemini 3.8 Flash
Best for
- High-volume agentic and coding workloads where per-token cost dominates the decision
- Multimodal pipelines that need audio, video and PDF input in one model
Watch out for
- The listed price is promotional and ends 31 December 2026; on 1 January 2027 input and output both double, to $1.50 and $7.50, and cached input goes from $0.075 to $0.15
- Output pricing is billed inclusive of thinking tokens, so reasoning-heavy prompts cost more than the output length suggests
- Google’s published comparisons are against its own previous Flash release and were not independently reproduced here
Gemini 3 Flash Preview
Best for
- Fast multimodal and agentic coding evaluations
Watch out for
- This preview endpoint may change before becoming stable and the published price varies by input modality
Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview FAQ
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Gemini 3 Flash Preview?
Gemini 3 Flash Preview is 33% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Gemini 3.8 Flash, $0.50 vs $0.75. For 10M input and 2M output tokens, Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $15 and Gemini 3 Flash Preview $11 at standard rates.
Which scores higher on independent benchmarks, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Gemini 3 Flash Preview?
Gemini 3.8 Flash leads on Arena Text, 1497 Elo to 1473 Elo; Gemini 3.8 Flash leads on GPQA Diamond, 95.4% to 89.4%; Gemini 3.8 Flash leads on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2), 68.4% to 51.2%. Scores are independent evaluations, not either vendor's launch figures.
Which has the larger context window, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Gemini 3 Flash Preview?
Both accept 1,048,576 tokens of context.
Related comparisons
- Claude Opus 4.8 vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
- Claude Opus 5.5 vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
- Claude Opus 5 vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
- Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
- DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
- DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview
- Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
- Gemini 3.7 Flash vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
- Gemini 3.7 Flash vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview
Production evaluation
Choosing between Gemini 3.8 Flash and Gemini 3 Flash Preview?
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