Gemini 3.6 Flash benchmarks, pricing and specs
Gemini 3.6 Flash is a Google model released on July 21, 2026 that takes text, image, audio and video input and produces text. It costs $1.50 per 1M input tokens and $7.50 per 1M output tokens and accepts up to 1,048,576 tokens of context. It scores 1482 Elo on Arena Text, #13 of 39 current models (Arena, measured October 8, 2026).
- Per 1M input tokens
- $1.50
- Per 1M output tokens
- $7.50
- Context window
- 1.05M
- Arena Text
- 1482 Elo · #13/39
Data verified October 12, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-12
Key facts
- Provider
- Model family
- Gemini 3.6
- Release date
- July 21, 2026
- Status
- Current
- Access
- API only
- API model id
- Not reported
- Context window
- 1,048,576 tokens
- Max output
- 65,536 tokens
- Input
- text, image, audio, video
- Output
- text
- Task families
- text, multimodal
- Declared capabilities
- reasoning
Gemini 3.6 Flash pricing
It is the #16 cheapest of 37 current text models priced per 1M input tokens.
Independent benchmark results
Scores come from independent evaluators that ran the model themselves, pinned to a dated snapshot. Rank is among current models in the same snapshot. Google's own launch figures are listed under strengths with the publisher named, because they are not measured the same way.
| Benchmark | Score | Rank | Measured | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arena Text | 1482 Elo | #13 of 39 | October 8, 2026 | Arena · 2026-10-12 |
| GPQA Diamond | 94.1% | #8 of 37 | October 12, 2026 | Epoch AI · 2026-10-12 |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) | 58.9% | #27 of 37 | October 12, 2026 | Epoch AI · 2026-10-12 |
| SimpleQA Verified | 66.2% | #11 of 34 | October 12, 2026 | Epoch AI · 2026-10-12 |
Strengths, cautions and best uses
Strengths
- Gemini 3.6 Flash supports multimodal inputs and a 1,048,576-token input limit for agentic and coding workflows
- Google says it excels at code generation, agentic execution and spatial reasoning, and lists computer use in preview alongside function calling, code execution and search grounding
- Epoch AI measured 94.1% on GPQA Diamond
Cautions
- Not in the pinned LiveBench snapshot; its independent scores here come from Epoch AI's own GPQA Diamond, FrontierMath and SimpleQA Verified runs
Best for
- Current multimodal agentic evaluations balancing speed and capability
Alternatives to Gemini 3.6 Flash
The closest current textmodels by price. The cheapest model that scores as well or better is listed first; failing that, the cheapest one within 3% of the benchmark's scale.
Cheaper, same or higher score
Gemini 3.8 Flash
- 50% cheaper per 1M input tokens, $0.75 vs $1.50
- 15 points higher on Arena Text, 1497 vs 1482
Mistral Large 4
- 9% cheaper per 1M input tokens, $1.36 vs $1.50
- 53 points lower on Arena Text, 1429 vs 1482
- From Mistral AI
Grok 4.20
- 17% cheaper per 1M input tokens, $1.25 vs $1.50
- 10 points lower on Arena Text, 1472 vs 1482
- From xAI
Grok 4.3
- 17% cheaper per 1M input tokens, $1.25 vs $1.50
- 40 points lower on Arena Text, 1442 vs 1482
- From xAI
Compare Gemini 3.6 Flash with
Articles about Gemini 3.6 Flash
- Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Claude Opus 5: Route by TierJuly 26, 2026
Gemini 3.6 Flash FAQ
How much does Gemini 3.6 Flash cost?
Gemini 3.6 Flash costs $1.50 per 1M input tokens and $7.50 per 1M output tokens at the standard tier. It is the #16 cheapest of 37 current text models priced per 1M input tokens. Source: Google, verified August 7, 2026.
What is the context window of Gemini 3.6 Flash?
Gemini 3.6 Flash accepts up to 1,048,576 tokens of context. It can return up to 65,536 tokens in one response. That ranks #10 of 44 current text models by context length.
How does Gemini 3.6 Flash score on independent benchmarks?
Gemini 3.6 Flash scores 1482 Elo on Arena Text, #13 of 39 current models (Arena, measured October 8, 2026), 94.1% on GPQA Diamond, #8 of 37 current models (Epoch AI, measured October 12, 2026) and 58.9% on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2), #27 of 37 current models (Epoch AI, measured October 12, 2026). These are independent evaluations, not Google's own launch figures.
Is Gemini 3.6 Flash open source or API only?
Gemini 3.6 Flash is available through Google's API only; its weights are not published.
What are the best alternatives to Gemini 3.6 Flash?
The closest current alternatives by price and measured performance are Gemini 3.8 Flash (50% cheaper per 1M input tokens, $0.75 vs $1.50), Mistral Large 4 (9% cheaper per 1M input tokens, $1.36 vs $1.50), Grok 4.20 (17% cheaper per 1M input tokens, $1.25 vs $1.50) and Grok 4.3 (17% cheaper per 1M input tokens, $1.25 vs $1.50).
Sources
- Gemini 3.6 Flash model · Google · official · verified August 7, 2026 · CC-BY-4.0
- Using the latest Gemini models · Google · official · verified August 7, 2026 · CC-BY-4.0
- Epoch AI Benchmarking Hub data (benchmark_data.zip) · Epoch AI · independent · verified October 12, 2026 · CC-BY-4.0
- Arena leaderboard dataset (lmarena-ai/leaderboard-dataset) · Arena · independent · verified October 12, 2026 · CC-BY-4.0
Cite this page
Van Data Team. "Gemini 3.6 Flash Benchmarks, Pricing and Specs." AI Model Benchmark Dataset 2026-10-12. https://vandatateam.com/ai-model-benchmarks/gemini-3-6-flash
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Production evaluation
Deciding whether Gemini 3.6 Flash fits your workload?
Public benchmarks narrow the shortlist. We test the finalists on your own tasks, data and cost limits, then build the routing and review controls to run the winner in production.
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- Model routing, fallbacks and cost controls