Gemini 2.5 Pro vs Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite: pricing and benchmarks
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 76% cheaper on input tokens ($0.30 vs $1.25 per 1M). Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 75% cheaper on output tokens ($2.50 vs $10.00 per 1M). On our document Q&A workload (50,000 questions a month), Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs $195.00 a month versus $800.00 for Gemini 2.5 Pro, 76% less. Roughly tied. Gemini 2.5 Pro scores 145.3 and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scores 145.1 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
Prices verified September 14, 2026.
Which should you choose?
Roughly tied. Gemini 2.5 Pro scores 145.3 and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scores 145.1 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
About even on FrontierMath (Tiers 1–3): 24.6% for Gemini 2.5 Pro and 26.0% for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite.
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.85 per 1M tokens (3:1 input-to-output mix) vs $3.438 for Gemini 2.5 Pro, 75% less.
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite delivers statistically similar overall capability for 75% less.
Pricing and specs
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | ||
| API model ID | gemini-2.5-pro | gemini-3.5-flash-lite |
| Input / 1M tokens | $1.25 | $0.30 |
| Cached input / 1M tokens | $0.125 | $0.03 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $10.00 | $2.50 |
| Long-context rates | $2.50 in / $15.00 out above 200K prompt tokens | — |
| Context window | 1.05M tokens | 1.05M tokens |
| Max output | 66K tokens | 66K tokens |
| Batch discount | — | 50% off |
Benchmarks
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | |
|---|---|---|
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 145.3 | 145.1 |
| GPQA Diamond· Science reasoning | 80.4% | 77.8% |
| FrontierMath (Tiers 1–3)· Advanced math | 24.6% | 26.0% |
| SimpleQA Verified· Factual accuracy | — | — |
| ARC-AGI-2· Abstract reasoning | 4.9% | 10.3% |
| DeepSWE· Coding | — | — |
| APEX-Agents· Agentic work | 6.6% | — |
Source: Epoch AI, best recorded result per model (CC BY 4.0). A dash means no published score. See all benchmarks
Monthly cost for real workloads
| Workload | Gemini 2.5 Pro | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
Support chatbot 100,000 replies a month, ~1,500 input tokens (system prompt + history) and ~400 output tokens each. | $587.50 | $145.00 | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 75% cheaper |
Document Q&A (RAG) 50,000 questions a month with ~8,000 tokens of retrieved context and ~600 output tokens each. | $800.00 | $195.00 | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 76% cheaper |
Coding agent 10,000 agent steps a month, ~40,000 input tokens each (70% read from the prompt cache) and ~2,000 output tokens. | $385.00 | $94.40 | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 75% cheaper |
Estimates use standard list prices and ignore cache-write surcharges. Different tokenizers can count the same text differently, so test with your own prompts.
Gemini 2.5 Pro vs Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite cost calculator
- $195.00/mo$0.0039 / request
- Gemini 2.5 ProGoogle$800.00/mo$0.02 / request
Standard-tier list prices. Long-context rates apply automatically where the provider publishes a threshold. Excludes cache-write surcharges, taxes, batch and volume discounts.
Gemini 2.5 Pro pricing notes
Google’s previous-generation Pro model.
- Prompts over 200K tokens are billed at $2.50 input / $15 output per 1M tokens.
- Output price includes thinking tokens.
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite pricing notes
Google’s lowest-cost Gemini 3.5 model for high-volume work.
- The same input price applies to text, image, video and audio.
- Output price includes thinking tokens.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Gemini 2.5 Pro cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
- Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 76% cheaper on input tokens ($0.30 vs $1.25 per 1M). Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 75% cheaper on output tokens ($2.50 vs $10.00 per 1M). On our document Q&A workload (50,000 questions a month), Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs $195.00 a month versus $800.00 for Gemini 2.5 Pro, 76% less.
- Which is more capable, Gemini 2.5 Pro or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
- Roughly tied. Gemini 2.5 Pro scores 145.3 and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scores 145.1 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, and their confidence intervals overlap.
- How much does Gemini 2.5 Pro cost per 1M tokens?
- Gemini 2.5 Pro costs $1.25 per 1M input tokens and $10.00 per 1M output tokens, and $0.125 per 1M cached input tokens on Google’s standard tier.
- How much does Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite cost per 1M tokens?
- Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $2.50 per 1M output tokens, and $0.03 per 1M cached input tokens on Google’s standard tier.
- Which has the larger context window, Gemini 2.5 Pro or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
- Both offer a 1.05M-token context window.