Gemini 3 Flash vs GPT-5.5
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
Gemini 3 Flash specs · GPT-5.5 specs- PriceTie
Neither model publishes per-token API pricing.
- Context windowGemini 3 Flash
Gemini 3 Flash accepts 1.0M tokens vs 400K, 2.6× the room for long documents and codebases.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesGemini 3 Flash
Gemini 3 Flash supports 4 modalities (text, vision, audio, video) vs 3 for GPT-5.5.
- OpennessTie
Both are closed-weight, API-only.
On balance Gemini 3 Flash edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against GPT-5.5's 0. Neither model publishes per-token API pricing. Gemini 3 Flash accepts 1.0M tokens vs 400K, 2.6× the room for long documents and codebases.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, Gemini 3 Flash handles text, vision, audio, video while GPT-5.5 handles text, vision, audio, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Both are closed-weight, API-only.
GPT-5.5 is the newer of the two, released 3 months after Gemini 3 Flash, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Gemini 3 Flash is usually picked for rag and summarization workloads, while GPT-5.5 sees more deployments in agents and tool use. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Gemini 3 Flash | GPT-5.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | |
| Released | Dec 2025 | Mar 2026 |
| Modalities | text, vision, audio, video | text, vision, audio |
| Context window | 1.0M tokens | 400K tokens |
| Max output | 65.5K tokens | , |
| Input · 1M | Pricing not published | Pricing not published |
| Output · 1M | Pricing not published | Pricing not published |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-01 | , |
| Open weights | No | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
Pricing at scale
What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day, vs ,
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day, vs ,
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day, vs ,
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Gemini 3 FlashPricing unavailable
- GPT-5.5Pricing unavailable
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
Gemini 3 Flash fits when…
- 1M-token context at mid-tier price
- Very fast, good for interactive UX
- Strong vision support
- Long-context tasks, handles 1.0M tokens vs 400K for GPT-5.5.
- Multimodal needs covering video.
GPT-5.5 fits when…
- Industry-leading tool-use and function-calling reliability
- Strong end-to-end agent performance across SWE-bench and GAIA
- Wide ecosystem support, ChatGPT, Realtime API, Responses API
Consider Gemini 3 Pro
Google's late-2025 flagship, set new benchmarks on long-context, vision, and reasoning at competitive pricing.
Frequently asked
Is Gemini 3 Flash or GPT-5.5 cheaper?
Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.Which has the larger context window?
Gemini 3 Flash accepts 1.0M tokens vs 400K for GPT-5.5.Is Gemini 3 Flash or GPT-5.5 better for coding?
Both Gemini 3 Flash and GPT-5.5 are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.Are either of these models open source?
Neither model ships open weights, both are accessible only via their respective providers' APIs.When were Gemini 3 Flash and GPT-5.5 released?
Gemini 3 Flash was released by Google on 2025-12-09. GPT-5.5 was released by OpenAI on 2026-03-01.
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