Pricing comparison
Gemini 3 Flash (preview) vs Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview)
Per-token pricing, full-workload cost ladders, and monthly volume projections. Numbers sourced directly from each provider's rate card.
Gemini 3 Flash (preview)
- Input
- $0.50 / 1M
- Output
- $3.00 / 1M
- Cached input
- $0.050 / 1M
- Context
- 1M
- Max output
- -
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview)
- Input
- $0.25 / 1M
- Output
- $1.50 / 1M
- Cached input
- $0.025 / 1M
- Context
- 1M
- Max output
- -
Cost per request
Four common workload shapes, input tokens and a 1:2 output ratio (a standard chat/completion pattern). Long-context surcharges apply automatically where the provider charges them.
| Scenario | Tokens (in / out) | Gemini 3 Flash (preview) | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short prompt | 100 / 200 | $0.0007 | $0.0003 | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) |
| Typical request | 1,000 / 2,000 | $0.0065 | $0.0033 | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) |
| Long document | 10,000 / 5,000 | $0.0200 | $0.0100 | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) |
| Large prompt | 100,000 / 10,000 | $0.0800 | $0.0400 | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) |
Monthly bill at scale
Projected monthly cost at typical request volume, assuming the "typical request" shape above (1k in, 2k out).
| Traffic | Req / month | Gemini 3 Flash (preview) | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small SaaS | 1,000 | $6.50 | $3.25 | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) -$3.25 |
| Growing product | 10,000 | $65.00 | $32.50 | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) -$32.50 |
| Heavy usage | 100,000 | $650.00 | $325.00 | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) -$325.00 |
Which should you use?
For the typical chat-shape request (~1k input, 2k output), Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) comes out 100% cheaper. If you're picking one as the default, that's usually the right choice on cost alone.
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) wins on both sides of the bill - cheaper input and cheaper output. If the quality gap is in your favour, there's no cost argument for the other side.
Live cost calculator
Type in any token counts - both prices update instantly. Uses base input/output rates (no cache discount, no long-context tier).
Gemini 3 Flash (preview)
$0.0020
per request
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview)
$0.0010
per request
Try both in the estimator →
Drop your actual prompt in, tokens are counted with the provider's own tokenizer, and the dollar number matches what lands on your invoice.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Gemini 3 Flash (preview) or Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview)?
- On a typical 1,000-input / 2,000-output request, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) costs ~$0.0033 vs ~$0.0065 on Gemini 3 Flash (preview). Input or output rates can flip the answer for very lopsided workloads - see the cost ladder above.
- What's the difference in per-token pricing?
- Gemini 3 Flash (preview) charges $0.50 per 1M input tokens and $3.00 per 1M output tokens. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) charges $0.25 / $1.50 per 1M.
- Which has the bigger context window?
- Both hold 1M of input.
- Is there a cached-input discount on either?
- Gemini 3 Flash (preview) caches at $0.050 per 1M (90% off). Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) caches at $0.025 per 1M (90% off). Workloads with repeated static prefixes see the biggest savings.
- How fresh is this comparison?
- Gemini 3 Flash (preview) was re-verified on 2026-04-06 and Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) on 2026-04-06 against each provider's published rate card. Calcis re-checks every row on a rolling schedule and re-deploys when a provider changes pricing.
Gemini 3 Flash (preview) verified 2026-04-06 · Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (preview) verified 2026-04-06. Rate cards at Google.