Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite vs Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview: cost per task
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is cheaper on 14 of 14 tasks and about 11.1x cheaper on average (geometric mean).
| Task | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite | Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answer a chat question | 0.25¢ | 2.1¢ | 8.7x |
| Reply to a customer email | 0.09¢ | 0.97¢ | 10.9x |
| Write a 1,500-word blog post | 0.54¢ | 5.0¢ | 9.2x |
| Write 10 product descriptions | 0.45¢ | 3.9¢ | 8.7x |
| Translate 1,000 words | 0.70¢ | 11¢ | 15.5x |
| Proofread one page (500 words) | 0.18¢ | 3.6¢ | 19.7x |
| Summarize a 20-page PDF | 0.51¢ | 4.6¢ | 9.0x |
| Extract data from an invoice | 0.23¢ | 3.2¢ | 13.7x |
| Analyze a 200-row spreadsheet | 1.4¢ | 7.5¢ | 5.5x |
| Answer from 5 retrieved documents (RAG) | 0.42¢ | 3.3¢ | 8.0x |
| Classify 100 support tickets | 1.0¢ | 9.4¢ | 9.2x |
| Review 500 lines of code | 0.44¢ | 11¢ | 25.8x |
| Write a SQL query | 0.24¢ | 3.2¢ | 13.0x |
| Run a 50-step coding agent | 17¢ | $1.95 | 11.8x |
Specs and list prices
| Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite | Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview | |
|---|---|---|
| Input per 1M | $0.25 | $2.00 |
| Output per 1M | $1.50 | $12.00 |
| Cached input per 1M | $0.025 | $0.20 |
| Context | 1M | 1M |
| Providers | 8 | 6 |
| Reasoning | default | always |
| LMArena Text | - | 1487 |
| Released | May 7, 2026 | Feb 19, 2026 |
FAQ
Is Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite or Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview cheaper?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is cheaper on 14 of 14 tasks and about 11.1x cheaper on average (geometric mean).
How much does Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite cost compared to Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview per token?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: $0.25 input and $1.50 output per 1M tokens. Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview: $2.00 input and $12.00 output. Token prices alone mislead - models use different numbers of tokens for the same task, which is what the task table shows.