text model comparison
Gemini 3.8 Flash vs GPT-5.5
Gemini 3.8 Flash and GPT-5.5 are both current text models, from Google and OpenAI. Gemini 3.8 Flash is 85% cheaper per 1M input tokens than GPT-5.5, $0.75 vs $5. On Arena Text, Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 1497 Elo and GPT-5.5 1482 Elo (Arena, measured October 8, 2026). Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context (1,050,000 and 1,048,576).
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 | GPT-5.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price per 1M input tokens | $0.75 (better) | $5 |
| Price per 1M output tokens | $3.75 (better) | $30 |
| Cost of 10M input and 2M output tokens | $15 (better) | $110 |
| Arena Text | 1497 Elo (#4 of 39) (better) | 1482 Elo (#13 of 39) |
| GPQA Diamond | 95.4% (#3 of 37) (better) | 90.7% (#21 of 37) |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) | 68.4% (#21 of 37) | 85.3% (#11 of 37) (better) |
| SimpleQA Verified | 69.7% (#7 of 34) (better) | 63% (#13 of 34) |
| LiveBench Overall | Not measured | 79.91 points (#1 of 5) |
| Provider | OpenAI | |
| Release date | September 2, 2026 | April 23, 2026 |
| Access | API only | API only |
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,050,000 tokens |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Input | text, image, audio, video | text, image |
| Output | text | text |
Scores:Arena · 2026-10-12Epoch AI · 2026-10-12LiveBench · 2026-06-25
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
GPT-5.5
Best for
- High-capability API evaluations with long context
Watch out for
- Prompts above the provider long-context threshold use higher token rates; validate the selected reasoning effort against production cost
Gemini 3.8 Flash vs GPT-5.5 FAQ
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.8 Flash or GPT-5.5?
Gemini 3.8 Flash is 85% cheaper per 1M input tokens than GPT-5.5, $0.75 vs $5. For 10M input and 2M output tokens, Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $15 and GPT-5.5 $110 at standard rates.
Which scores higher on independent benchmarks, Gemini 3.8 Flash or GPT-5.5?
Gemini 3.8 Flash leads on Arena Text, 1497 Elo to 1482 Elo; Gemini 3.8 Flash leads on GPQA Diamond, 95.4% to 90.7%; GPT-5.5 leads on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2), 85.3% to 68.4%. Scores are independent evaluations, not either vendor's launch figures.
Which has the larger context window, Gemini 3.8 Flash or GPT-5.5?
Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context (1,050,000 and 1,048,576).
Related comparisons
Production evaluation
Choosing between Gemini 3.8 Flash and GPT-5.5?
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