Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 1, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Gemini 3 Pro delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,552 vs 1,295), while Gemini 3 Pro leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (72.4%), while Gemini 2.5 Flash is more budget-friendly at $0.4/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
9 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Previous Google speed workhorse.
Google frontier multimodal model with a multi-million-token context window.
Currently comparing Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Gemini 3 Pro. Alternative family tiers available.
Simulate accuracy gains vs added response time & token cost
Reasoning models “think before answering” by generating internal reasoning tokens. Higher effort improves math, coding, and logic accuracy, but increases response delay and token costs.
Δ 257 Arena Elo pts
185 tok/s
$0.4 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Gemini 3 Pro | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +257 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +19.2% | ||
| SWE-bench | +24.4% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +15.4% | ||
| Time to first token | +110 ms | ||
| Output speed | 185 tok/s | 92 tok/s | +93 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.1/1M | $1.25/1M | +$1.15/1M |
| Output price | $0.4/1M | +$4.6/1M | |
| Context window | +1M |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Gemini 2.5 Flash is estimated to save $109.25/month ($1,311/year).
Higher SWE-bench (72.4%).
Lower output list price ($0.4/1M).
Lower TTFT (110 ms).
Larger window (2M).
Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Gemini 3 Pro).
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Gemini 3 Pro | Higher SWE-bench (72.4%). |
| High-volume chat | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Lower output list price ($0.4/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Lower TTFT (110 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Gemini 3 Pro | Larger window (2M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Gemini 3 Pro | Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Gemini 3 Pro). |
March 2026 Google frontier multimodal with a 2M window. 3.6 Pro is newer; 3 Pro stays as the original 3.x Pro row.
Useful as a cheap historical compare. 3.7 Flash is the 2026 volume SKU.
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