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Model vs model

Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) vs Gemini 3.8 Flash

Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and Gemini 3.8 Flash are both in llmwise. What each gets on every plan, what it reads, how it's served and what happens when its provider fails, from the catalog and the code that runs them.

Model prices and specs checked against OpenRouter's Gemini 3.1 Pro page, OpenRouter's Gemini 3.8 Flash page. Updated .

Short answer

Gemini 3.8 Flash gets twice as many messages: up to 250 messages a month on Pro, against up to 125 messages a month for Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview). Beyond that, they read the same files and neither is easier to try. In our test runs, Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 49 of the 50 prompts both answered and Gemini 3.8 Flash 46; 5 prompts split them, most on writing (4 to 3).

Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) vs Gemini 3.8 Flash, prompt by prompt

Every prompt Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and Gemini 3.8 Flash both answered, compared directly, their biggest differences first. One run each, through OpenRouter: a wait depends on the provider and the load that day, so a lead under 10% counts as close.

Of the 50 prompts both answered, both passed 45, only Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 4, only Gemini 3.8 Flash passed 1, and neither passed 0. Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) answered sooner on 1 of the 50 and Gemini 3.8 Flash on 49; the rest were within 10% of each other. The 50 replies cost $0.5334 on Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and $0.0644 on Gemini 3.8 Flash: 8.3× less on Gemini 3.8 Flash.

The 5 prompts only one of Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and Gemini 3.8 Flash passed

  • Rewrite corporate jargon in plain words (writing): Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed and Gemini 3.8 Flash didn't. Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview): Graded 4.0 of 5 on average (lowest 3). Gemini 3.8 Flash: Graded 3.7 of 5 on average (lowest 3).

  • A product announcement with five rules (writing): Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed and Gemini 3.8 Flash didn't. Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview): Graded 4.0 of 5 on average (lowest 3). Gemini 3.8 Flash: Graded 3.7 of 5 on average (lowest 3).

  • Argue both sides of free buses (writing): Gemini 3.8 Flash passed and Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) didn't. Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview): Graded 3.7 of 5 on average (lowest 3). Gemini 3.8 Flash: Graded 4.3 of 5 on average (lowest 4).

  • Correlation between ad spend and sign-ups (data analysis): Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed and Gemini 3.8 Flash didn't. Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview): Final answer 0.97: right. Gemini 3.8 Flash: Final answer 0.91; expected 0.97.

  • A frustrated customer (customer support): Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed and Gemini 3.8 Flash didn't. Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview): Graded 4.0 of 5 on average (lowest 3). Gemini 3.8 Flash: Graded 3.0 of 5 on average (lowest 2).

Job by job, the widest gaps first

  • Writing: Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 4 of 5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash 3 of 5. Gemini 3.8 Flash answered 2.4× sooner at the median, 9.1 s against 3.9 s. Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 6.9× less, $0.0459 against $0.0066 for the 5 replies. Their replies ran to about the same length.

  • Customer support: Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 5 of 5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash 4 of 5. Gemini 3.8 Flash answered 2.4× sooner at the median, 8.7 s against 3.7 s. Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 6.5× less, $0.0529 against $0.0082 for the 5 replies. Their replies ran to about the same length.

  • Data analysis: Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 5 of 5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash 4 of 5. Gemini 3.8 Flash answered 1.6× sooner at the median, 8.6 s against 5.4 s. Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 5.6× less, $0.0773 against $0.0138 for the 5 replies. Gemini 3.8 Flash's replies ran 31% longer, in tokens of reply, thinking not counted.

  • Translation: Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 5 of 5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash 5 of 5. Gemini 3.8 Flash answered 3.4× sooner at the median, 10.3 s against 3.0 s. Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 18.7× less, $0.0699 against $0.0037 for the 5 replies. Their replies ran to about the same length.

  • Summarization: Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 5 of 5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash 5 of 5. Gemini 3.8 Flash answered 2.2× sooner at the median, 8.0 s against 3.7 s. Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 11.7× less, $0.0441 against $0.0038 for the 5 replies. Gemini 3.8 Flash's replies ran 19% longer, in tokens of reply, thinking not counted.

  • SQL: Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 5 of 5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash 5 of 5. Gemini 3.8 Flash answered 2.0× sooner at the median, 7.4 s against 3.7 s. Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 10.4× less, $0.0386 against $0.0037 for the 5 replies. Gemini 3.8 Flash's replies ran 16% longer, in tokens of reply, thinking not counted.

  • Coding: Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 5 of 5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash 5 of 5. Gemini 3.8 Flash answered 2.4× sooner at the median, 10.3 s against 4.2 s. Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 10.0× less, $0.0973 against $0.0098 for the 5 replies. Gemini 3.8 Flash's replies ran 33% longer, in tokens of reply, thinking not counted.

  • RAG and answering from documents: Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 5 of 5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash 5 of 5. Gemini 3.8 Flash answered 1.8× sooner at the median, 5.6 s against 3.1 s. Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 8.8× less, $0.0290 against $0.0033 for the 5 replies. Gemini 3.8 Flash's replies ran 66% longer, in tokens of reply, thinking not counted.

  • Math: Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 5 of 5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash 5 of 5. Gemini 3.8 Flash answered 1.8× sooner at the median, 8.3 s against 4.7 s. Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 7.0× less, $0.0501 against $0.0071 for the 5 replies. Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview)'s replies ran 36% longer, in tokens of reply, thinking not counted.

  • Agents and tool use: Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 5 of 5 and Gemini 3.8 Flash 5 of 5. Gemini 3.8 Flash answered 1.2× sooner at the median, 5.3 s against 4.4 s. Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 6.6× less, $0.0284 against $0.0043 for the 5 replies. Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview)'s replies ran 60% longer, in tokens of reply, thinking not counted.

All 50 prompts: who passed, who answered sooner, who cost less
Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and Gemini 3.8 Flash on each prompt of our test runs
PromptResultSoonerCheaper
Turn a title into a URL slugBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.4×took 6.0 s and 4.2 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 6.5×cost $0.0056 and $0.0009
Parse a duration like “1h 30m”Both passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 4.5×took 10.3 s and 2.3 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 16.6×cost $0.0172 and $0.0010
Merge overlapping intervalsBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.2×took 8.6 s and 3.8 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 8.5×cost $0.0103 and $0.0012
Evaluate an arithmetic expression, no evalBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 3.1×took 20.6 s and 6.7 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 7.9×cost $0.0351 and $0.0045
Parse CSV with quoted fieldsBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 4.1×took 20.6 s and 5.0 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 13.3×cost $0.0291 and $0.0022
Announce a second bakery shop on LinkedInBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.4×took 9.5 s and 3.9 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 12.3×cost $0.0113 and $0.0009
Rewrite corporate jargon in plain wordsOnly Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview)Gemini 3.8 Flash, 2.8×took 8.8 s and 3.1 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 15.7×cost $0.0101 and $0.0006
Decline a meeting and offer two timesBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.8×took 6.2 s and 3.5 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 7.6×cost $0.0058 and $0.0008
A product announcement with five rulesOnly Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview)Gemini 3.8 Flash, 1.2×took 9.2 s and 7.6 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 3.0×cost $0.0095 and $0.0031
Argue both sides of free busesOnly Gemini 3.8 FlashGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.8×took 9.1 s and 5.2 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 8.1×cost $0.0092 and $0.0011
A discount, then sales taxBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.4×took 3.6 s and 2.5 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 6.3×cost $0.0042 and $0.0007
Pens at 3 for $4Both passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.1×took 9.6 s and 4.7 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 7.3×cost $0.0121 and $0.0017
Compound interest over three yearsBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 3.0×took 6.2 s and 2.1 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 11.3×cost $0.0099 and $0.0009
Four-digit numbers whose digits sum to 9Both passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.0×took 9.6 s and 4.7 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 6.9×cost $0.0150 and $0.0022
The highest of three dice is a 5Both passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.7×took 8.3 s and 4.9 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 5.0×cost $0.0090 and $0.0018
An article in three bulletsBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.2×took 8.0 s and 3.7 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 12.1×cost $0.0088 and $0.0007
An email thread in one sentenceBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.6×took 6.3 s and 3.8 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 11.0×cost $0.0058 and $0.0005
Decisions and action items from a meetingBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.3×took 7.6 s and 3.2 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 8.6×cost $0.0081 and $0.0009
A quarterly memo for the CEOBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.8×took 11.2 s and 4.0 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 15.3×cost $0.0139 and $0.0009
A study with a negative resultBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.3×took 8.2 s and 3.6 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 11.3×cost $0.0075 and $0.0007
The region with the most revenueBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.2×took 8.5 s and 7.4 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 3.1×cost $0.0117 and $0.0038
Average order value in AugustBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.0×took 8.6 s and 4.4 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 8.1×cost $0.0130 and $0.0016
Revenue change from July to AugustBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.4×took 9.0 s and 6.6 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 3.7×cost $0.0135 and $0.0037
A median, filtered two waysBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.0×took 7.1 s and 3.5 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 7.8×cost $0.0082 and $0.0010
Correlation between ad spend and sign-upsOnly Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview)Gemini 3.8 Flash, 3.1×took 16.5 s and 5.4 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 8.4×cost $0.0310 and $0.0037
A late orderBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.8×took 8.7 s and 3.1 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 13.5×cost $0.0125 and $0.0009
A return inside the windowBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.4×took 6.9 s and 2.9 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 8.8×cost $0.0076 and $0.0009
A frustrated customerOnly Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview)Gemini 3.8 Flash, 2.7×took 9.8 s and 3.7 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 10.1×cost $0.0110 and $0.0011
A refund request outside the windowBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.2×took 7.4 s and 5.9 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 3.6×cost $0.0103 and $0.0029
A message with a planted instructionBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.5×took 10.6 s and 7.3 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 4.7×cost $0.0116 and $0.0025
A delivery message into SpanishBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 3.2×took 11.8 s and 3.7 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 20.1×cost $0.0157 and $0.0008
A product description into FrenchBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 4.1×took 9.1 s and 2.2 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 18.8×cost $0.0141 and $0.0008
A meeting note into GermanBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 4.3×took 13.0 s and 3.0 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 25.0×cost $0.0158 and $0.0006
Idioms into natural JapaneseBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.2×took 10.3 s and 4.7 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 15.1×cost $0.0118 and $0.0008
A lease clause into Brazilian PortugueseBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 3.9×took 8.1 s and 2.0 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 15.7×cost $0.0125 and $0.0008
Customers in one countryBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.6×took 4.9 s and 3.1 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 6.1×cost $0.0029 and $0.0005
Count orders by statusBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.4×took 5.0 s and 3.7 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 8.3×cost $0.0039 and $0.0005
Revenue by categoryBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.5×took 7.4 s and 3.0 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 9.8×cost $0.0074 and $0.0008
Every customer, even those without ordersBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.1×took 7.9 s and 3.7 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 11.3×cost $0.0089 and $0.0008
Monthly revenue with a running totalBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.4×took 11.1 s and 4.7 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 12.6×cost $0.0155 and $0.0012
A fact from one sectionBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.7×took 5.3 s and 3.1 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 7.8×cost $0.0045 and $0.0006
Core hours and start timesBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.0×took 5.8 s and 2.9 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 8.0×cost $0.0052 and $0.0006
Two sections in one answerBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.8×took 5.6 s and 3.1 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 7.3×cost $0.0047 and $0.0006
A later amendment changes the answerBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.1×took 8.6 s and 4.1 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 11.3×cost $0.0099 and $0.0009
A question the handbook doesn't answerBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.9×took 5.6 s and 2.9 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 8.3×cost $0.0046 and $0.0006
Pick the tool and work out the dateBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 2.3×took 4.3 s and 1.9 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 9.5×cost $0.0048 and $0.0005
Convert a currencyBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.2×took 5.3 s and 4.4 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 5.8×cost $0.0044 and $0.0008
Book a meeting from a sentenceBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.1×took 7.1 s and 6.3 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 5.7×cost $0.0068 and $0.0012
Search, but don't bookBoth passedGemini 3.1 Pro (preview), 1.4×took 4.7 s and 6.3 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 6.8×cost $0.0061 and $0.0009
Two calls with a unit conversionBoth passedGemini 3.8 Flash, 1.8×took 6.9 s and 3.9 sGemini 3.8 Flash, 6.4×cost $0.0063 and $0.0010

Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) vs Gemini 3.8 Flash in our test runs

Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and Gemini 3.8 Flash on the same prompts, job by job: how many replies passed their check.

Based on 100 of our test runs on , through OpenRouter with the app's own prompt and settings. Updated .

Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and Gemini 3.8 Flash in our test runs, job by job
JobGemini 3.1 Pro (preview)Gemini 3.8 Flash
Coding5 of 55 of 5
Writing4 of 53 of 5
Math5 of 55 of 5
Summarization5 of 55 of 5
Data analysis5 of 54 of 5
Customer support5 of 54 of 5
Translation5 of 55 of 5
SQL5 of 55 of 5
RAG and answering from documents5 of 55 of 5
Agents and tool use5 of 55 of 5
All jobs49 of 50 · 1 message each · $0.0107 a reply46 of 50 · 1 message each · $0.0013 a reply

The same prompts, sent to both through llmwise's own pipeline and checked the same way: five for each job. A bold count is the one that passed more. Messages: what each reply counted as on Pro. Cost: what OpenRouter charged us per reply, on average. Every prompt, and how it's scored.

Where they differed most, writing: both replies to a prompt only one of them passed.

An everyday prompt: “Rewrite corporate jargon in plain words”, in full.

  • Gemini 3.1 Pro

    Passed: Graded 4.0 of 5 on average (lowest 3).

    In Q3, our teams worked together to adopt a more customer-focused approach. For our business clients, this resulted in a 12% increase in customer retention and a 0.30% (30 basis points) decrease in the rate of customers leaving. Additionally, we adjusted our various customer communication channels to make more efficient use of our time and resources.

    447 tokens in, 763 out (687 of them reasoning) · 8.8 s · $0.0101 · 1 message on Pro · answered by google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview via Google ·

  • Gemini 3.8 Flash

    Failed: Graded 3.7 of 5 on average (lowest 3).

    By having different teams work together in the third quarter, we refocused our business on customer needs. This effort paid off: client retention rates increased by 12%, and the rate at which enterprise clients canceled dropped by 0.30% (30 basis points). At the same time, we streamlined and balanced our communication channels to make better use of our team’s time and resources.

    447 tokens in, 81 out · 3.1 s · $0.0006 · 1 message on Pro · answered by google/gemini-3.8-flash via Google ·

Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and Gemini 3.8 Flash on every plan

Whether the one-time free trial reaches each model, then each paid plan's messages on it.

Messages on Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and Gemini 3.8 Flash, plan by plan
PlanPriceGemini 3.1 Pro (preview)Gemini 3.8 Flash
Free$0Not in the trialNot in the trial
Plus$10 a monthUp to 62 a monthUp to 125 a month
Pro$20 a monthUp to 125 a monthUp to 250 a month
Max$50 a monthUp to 400 a monthUp to 800 a month
Ultra$100 a monthUp to 900 a monthUp to 1,800 a month
Studio$200 a monthUp to 2,000 a monthUp to 4,000 a month

Prices don't include tax, which is added where it applies and shown before you pay. A paid plan's month is one allowance shared by every model, so each monthly count is the most you get if all of it goes to that model. It renews each billing period; everyday models refill daily at 00:00 UTC. Long chats count more per reply. How pricing works.

Every limit is published. Paid plans also have a monthly fair-use limit on AI cost: Plus $3.75, Pro $7.50, Max $20, Ultra $42, Studio $85. Using every message on your plan at typical sizes stays under it; very large messages and heavy research use it faster. Every limit, explained.

What differs

  • Messages on Pro

    Gemini 3.8 Flash gets twice as many messages: up to 250 messages a month on Pro, against up to 125 messages a month for Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview).

  • Context window

    Both take up to 1.05M tokens of context. A chat in llmwise holds up to 200k tokens, which fits in either, so the difference shows only through each maker's own API.

  • Images and PDFs

    Both read images. Both take a PDF as the whole file, pages and all.

  • On Free

    Neither is in the free trial: both need a paid plan, from Plus.

  • Where messages go

    Both are Gemini models, served the same way. Sent to Google directly.

Fact by fact

Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and Gemini 3.8 Flash, fact by fact
FactGemini 3.1 Pro (preview)Gemini 3.8 Flash
Context window1.05M tokens1.05M tokens
Reads imagesYesYes
PDFsWhole fileWhole file
ReasoningYesYes
API price (October 2026)$2.00 in / $12.00 out per million tokens$0.75 in / $3.75 out per million tokens
A typical message at API prices (4,000 tokens in, 700 out)$0.0164$0.0056
A $10 top-up adds100 messages200 messages
Where a message goesSent to Google directly.Sent to Google directly.
If the provider failsIf Google fails before the reply starts (an overload, a server error, a dropped connection), llmwise sends the same request to Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) through OpenRouter instead.If Google fails before the reply starts (an overload, a server error, a dropped connection), llmwise sends the same request to Gemini 3.8 Flash through OpenRouter instead.
Anthropic's safety fallbackDoesn't applyDoesn't apply
API prices are what our model catalog lists (Gemini: Google's list price). In llmwise you pay per message, not per token: the counts above are what you get.

Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) or Gemini 3.8 Flash?

From the facts above and our test runs: the rest is how their answers suit your work, which one chat can show you.

  • Pick Gemini 3.8 Flash: more messages for the money, up to 250 messages a month on Pro.

Each model's page, the families, and other pairs

Questions

Is Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) or Gemini 3.8 Flash cheaper in llmwise?

Gemini 3.8 Flash gets twice as many messages: up to 250 messages a month on Pro, against up to 125 messages a month for Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview). Every paid plan's monthly allowance is shared by the models on it, so each count is the most you get if it all goes to that model.

Can I try Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and Gemini 3.8 Flash for free?

Neither is in the free trial of 5 messages: both need a paid plan, from Plus.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) or Gemini 3.8 Flash?

Neither: both take 1.05M tokens. A chat in llmwise holds up to 200k tokens, which fits in either, so the difference shows only through each maker's own API.

Can I use Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) and Gemini 3.8 Flash in the same chat?

Yes. Pick Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) for one message and Gemini 3.8 Flash for the next; the second sees the whole chat, including the first one's answer.

Which did better in your test runs, Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) or Gemini 3.8 Flash?

On the same 50 prompts, run on September 27, 2026, Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) passed 49 and Gemini 3.8 Flash passed 46. The table on this page has each job, and every reply is published.

Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Kimi, GLM, and Mistral, in one chat.

See what a message costs before you send it. Free is 5 messages to try; sign in with an email link, no password or card.