Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview vs Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash leads Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 17.0 to 15.6, and Step 3.5 Flash costs 5.0x less per output token ($0.30 vs $1.50 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 29 benchmarks have a result for both.
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview or Step 3.5 Flash: which to pick
Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview has a coding score, 22.7 on the Vibe Coding Index; Step 3.5 Flash has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Step 3.5 Flash for output tokens 5.0x cheaper ($0.30 vs $1.50 per million) and work measured by LMArena Text: coding or LMArena Text: software and IT, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 29
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview only
- 50
- Step 3.5 Flash only
- 6
- Like-for-like categories
- 6 of 9
Only benchmarks that tested both models count toward a pick; a result only one model has is shown but not compared.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview has a coding score, so no call is made.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash leads, 17.0 against 15.6.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview has a AA Agentic Index result, 1.6.
Directional only
Reasoning
GPQA Diamond
No call
Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview has a GPQA Diamond result, 81.1%.
Directional only
Math
AIME
No call
Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview has a AIME result, 83.3%.
Directional only
Knowledge
MMLU Pro
No call
Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview has a MMLU Pro result, 86.2%.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview has a Design Arena: websites result, 1083.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview takes 1.05M tokens against 262K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Step 3.5 Flash
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview $0.0010, Step 3.5 Flash $0.0003 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
No call
Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview has the number, $0.18.
Directional only
At a glance
- Coding index
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview 22.7 from 3 benchmarks, Step 3.5 Flash not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Coding, 4.8 points apart on average over 2 shared benchmarks.
- Widest single gap
- LMArena Text: Japanese: Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview 1413 against Step 3.5 Flash 1353, 10.0 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview $1.50 against Step 3.5 Flash $0.30 per million output tokens, 5.0x apart.
- Context window
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview takes 1.05M tokens, Step 3.5 Flash 262K.
Benchmark by benchmark
First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.
| Category | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview | Bars | Step 3.5 Flash | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 2 | ||
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 3 | ||
| Math | 1 | 1 | ||
| Knowledge | 3 | 1 | ||
| General | 14 | 3 | ||
| All shared boards | 18 | 11 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index02
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena WebDev | 1257 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| AA Coding Index | 34.7 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Vals AI) | 80.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| SWE-bench Verified (Vals AI) | 62.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | 0.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Code migration (Vals AI) | 4.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| ProgramBench (Vals AI) | 0.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Terminal-Bench 2.1 (Vals AI) | 34.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 32.6% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| ALE-Bench | 797.7 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1400 | 1436 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1413 | 1434 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena WebDev: React | 1245 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena WebDev: HTML | 1276 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena WebDev: from an image | 1336 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| SciCode | 4.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 23 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 15.6 | 17.0 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index6 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | 1.6 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Finance Agent (Vals AI) | 30.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Tax Agent Bench (Vals AI) | 3.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Legal Research Bench (Vals AI) | 3.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Excel Modeling Benchmark (Vals AI) | 8.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 94.4% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 35 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index03
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond | 81.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| MMMU Pro (Vals AI) | 82.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 83.1% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 24.5% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1407 | 1411 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1398 | 1421 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1403 | 1421 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Vision: diagrams | 1242 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena Vision: homework | 1271 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 13 boards here | |||
MathLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index11
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIME | 83.3% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena Text: math | 1428 | 1408 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1417 | 1421 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 10 boards here | |||
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index31
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro | 86.2% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LegalBench (Vals AI) | 83.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| CaseLaw (Vals AI) | 55.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| CorpFin (Vals AI) | 59.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| TaxEval (Vals AI) | 71.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| MortgageTax (Vals AI) | 68.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| MedCode (Vals AI) | 47.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena Text: science | 1425 | 1415 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1428 | 1408 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1418 | 1408 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1389 | 1394 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| FACTS Benchmark Suite | 51.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index8 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1083 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1072 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 1029 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | 1045 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | 1048 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1072 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Design Arena: SVG | 1052 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Design Arena: ASCII art | 1167 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index143
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAGE (Vals AI) | 49.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| MedScribe (Vals AI) | 63.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Vals Multimodal Index | 41.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| IFBench | Not measured | 66.5% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 63.0% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text | 1416 | 1403 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1377 | 1385 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1401 | 1357 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Vision | 1240 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1414 | 1417 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1410 | 1385 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1460 | 1446 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: German | 1430 | 1405 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1413 | 1353 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1392 | 1351 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: French | 1424 | 1421 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | 1421 | 1419 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1420 | 1385 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: Polish | 1443 | 1389 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1417 | 1404 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1394 | 1402 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1408 | 1372 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1386 | 1360 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview |
| LMArena Vision: English | 1232 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena Vision: Chinese | 1278 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena Vision: reading text | 1246 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena Vision: humor | 1266 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena Vision: captioning | 1259 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena Vision: recognizing things | 1308 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| LMArena Vision: creative writing | 1248 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 5 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Step 3.5 Flash costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Step 3.5 Flash costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Step 3.5 Flash costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | Google Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview | StepFun Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | StepFun | |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | March 3, 2026 | January 29, 2026 |
| Context window | 1.05M | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.25 | $0.10 |
| Output $/Mtok | $1.50 | $0.30 |
| Coding index | 22.7 | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 3 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | $0.18 | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview better than Step 3.5 Flash for coding?
Only Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview has a coding score, 22.7 on the Vibe Coding Index; Step 3.5 Flash has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Step 3.5 Flash for output tokens 5.0x cheaper ($0.30 vs $1.50 per million) and work measured by LMArena Text: coding or LMArena Text: software and IT, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview or Step 3.5 Flash?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview costs $0.25 per million input tokens and $1.50 per million output tokens; Step 3.5 Flash costs $0.10 and $0.30. Cost per solved task is known for Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview only.
Which has the bigger context window, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview or Step 3.5 Flash?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview, with 1.05M tokens against 262K.
How many benchmarks is the Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview vs Step 3.5 Flash comparison based on?
29 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview's coding index rests on 3 independent benchmarks and Step 3.5 Flash's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.