Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Inkling Small

Gemini 3.5 Flash leads Inkling Small on coding, 39.8 to 27.3 on the Vibe Coding Index, and Inkling Small costs 7.5x less per output token ($1.20 vs $9.00 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 78 benchmarks have a result for both.

Replace Gemini 3.5 Flash Replace Inkling Small

Gemini 3.5 FlashGoogle

Coding: 39.8
Overall: 63.8
Output $/M: $9.00

T Inkling SmallThinking Machines

Coding: 27.3
Overall: 43.6
Output $/M: $1.20

vs boards won of 78 shared

Gemini 3.5 Flash or Inkling Small: which to pick

Pick Gemini 3.5 Flash for coding: it scores 39.8 on the Vibe Coding Index against 27.3 for Inkling Small.

Pick Inkling Small for output tokens 7.5x cheaper ($1.20 vs $9.00 per million) and a lower cost per solved task ($0.16 against $1.21).

Model AGemini 3.5 FlashGoogle39.8/1004 independent benchmarks$1.21 per solved task Model BInkling SmallThinking Machines27.3/1004 independent benchmarks$0.16 per solved task

78346

Shared results: 78
Gemini 3.5 Flash only: 34
Inkling Small only: 6
Like-for-like categories: 7 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
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Gemini 3.5 Flash scores 39.8 against 27.3.
4 benchmarks behind each score
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Gemini 3.5 Flash leads, 33.6 against 25.7.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Inkling Small has a AA Agentic Index result, 23.5.
Directional only
Reasoning
GPQA Diamond
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Gemini 3.5 Flash leads, 92.7% against 83.6%.
Same board, both measured
Knowledge
MMLU Pro
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Gemini 3.5 Flash leads, 89.5% against 85.6%.
Same board, both measured
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Gemini 3.5 Flash has a Design Arena: websites result, 1268.
Directional only
General
Vals Index
No call
Only Inkling Small has a Vals Index result, 27.6%.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Gemini 3.5 Flash takes 1.05M tokens against 524K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Inkling Small
Gemini 3.5 Flash $0.0060, Inkling Small $0.0010 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
Inkling Small
Gemini 3.5 Flash $1.21, Inkling Small $0.16.
Published attempt cost and pass rate

At a glance

Coding index: Gemini 3.5 Flash 39.8 from 4 benchmarks, Inkling Small 27.3 from 4 benchmarks.
Widest category: Agentic work, 15.0 points apart on average over 4 shared benchmarks.
Widest single gap: SimpleQA Verified: Gemini 3.5 Flash 66.2% against Inkling Small 19.1%, 47.1 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
Output price: Gemini 3.5 Flash $9.00 against Inkling Small $1.20 per million output tokens, 7.5x apart.
Context window: Gemini 3.5 Flash takes 1.05M tokens, Inkling Small 524K.

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.

Boards won, where both have a result
Category	Gemini 3.5 Flash	Inkling Small
Coding	13	2
Intelligence	2	0
Agentic work	4	0
Reasoning	12	0
Math	6	0
Knowledge	9	2
General	26	2
All shared boards	72	6

CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index132

Coding benchmarks for Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling Small
Benchmark	Gemini 3.5 Flash	Inkling Small	Leader
LMArena WebDev	1499	1409	Gemini 3.5 Flash
AA Coding Index	Not measured	52.9	Only Inkling Small measured
LiveCodeBench (Vals AI)	87.6%	85.9%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
SWE-bench Verified (Vals AI)	78.8%	82.2%	Inkling Small
Terminal-Bench 4 (Vals AI)	6.1%	0.0%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI)	48.7%	19.1%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
Code migration (Vals AI)	26.8%	13.7%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
ProgramBench (Vals AI)	0.0%	0.5%	Inkling Small
IOI (Vals AI)	Not measured	9.3%	Only Inkling Small measured
Terminal-Bench 2.1 (Vals AI)	74.2%	55.1%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
SkillsBench (Vals AI)	52.7%	33.6%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
CyberBench (Vals AI)	Not measured	64.1%	Only Inkling Small measured
SciCode	53.9%	49.7%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run)	46.2%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
WeirdML	62.6%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
ALE-Bench	911.0	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
LMArena Text: coding	1493	1450	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: software and IT	1494	1447	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena WebDev: React	1495	1399	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena WebDev: HTML	1522	1398	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena WebDev: from an image	1504	1410	Gemini 3.5 Flash
SciCode	12.3%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Neither model has a result on the other 17 boards here

IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index20

Intelligence benchmarks for Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling Small
Benchmark	Gemini 3.5 Flash	Inkling Small	Leader
AA Intelligence Index	33.6	25.7	Gemini 3.5 Flash
Epoch Capabilities Index	154.9	150.3	Gemini 3.5 Flash

Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index40

Agentic work benchmarks for Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling Small
Benchmark	Gemini 3.5 Flash	Inkling Small	Leader
AA Agentic Index	Not measured	23.5	Only Inkling Small measured
Design Arena: agents building web apps	1202	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: agents building full-stack apps	1197	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: agents building mobile apps	1174	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: agents building Android apps	1184	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: agents building Godot games	1098	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: agents building games	1180	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: HTML slides	1142	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: PowerPoint slides	1179	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Finance Agent (Vals AI)	57.9%	41.3%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
Tax Agent Bench (Vals AI)	21.6%	15.4%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
Legal Research Bench (Vals AI)	30.8%	25.5%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
Harvey's Legal Agent Benchmark (Vals AI)	Not measured	2.9%	Only Inkling Small measured
Excel Modeling Benchmark (Vals AI)	63.5%	31.8%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
Terminal-Bench-Science (Vals AI)	5.7%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
τ²-Bench Telecom	95.6%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
APEX-Agents	27.5%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Vending-Bench 2	$5,396	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Neither model has a result on the other 23 boards here

ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index120

Reasoning benchmarks for Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling Small
Benchmark	Gemini 3.5 Flash	Inkling Small	Leader
GPQA Diamond	92.7%	83.6%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
MMMU Pro (Vals AI)	88.3%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run)	92.2%	89.5%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run)	42.7%	33.3%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run)	92.8%	88.5%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
ARC-AGI	92.5%	84.0%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
ARC-AGI-2	72.1%	40.1%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
SimpleBench	76.7%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Chess puzzles	45.0%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Mystery game puzzles	32.0%	6.0%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
EBR-bench	4.8%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
LMArena Text: hard prompts	1488	1423	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: expert	1495	1441	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: hard prompts in English	1483	1429	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Vision: diagrams	1323	1251	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Vision: homework	1330	1257	Gemini 3.5 Flash
Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here

MathLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index60

Math benchmarks for Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling Small
Benchmark	Gemini 3.5 Flash	Inkling Small	Leader
OTIS Mock AIME	95.6%	90.0%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
FrontierMath, tiers 1 to 3	62.8%	46.3%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
FrontierMath, tier 4	26.8%	17.1%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
ProofBench	31.0%	6.0%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: math	1504	1459	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: mathematical work	1495	1441	Gemini 3.5 Flash
Neither model has a result on the other 7 boards here

KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index92

Knowledge benchmarks for Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling Small
Benchmark	Gemini 3.5 Flash	Inkling Small	Leader
MMLU Pro	89.5%	85.6%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LegalBench (Vals AI)	83.6%	83.0%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
CorpFin (Vals AI)	64.7%	69.6%	Inkling Small
TaxEval (Vals AI)	74.4%	75.5%	Inkling Small
MortgageTax (Vals AI)	68.1%	62.3%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
MedCode (Vals AI)	55.8%	37.9%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
SimpleQA Verified	66.2%	19.1%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: science	1495	1428	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare	1483	1413	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: legal and government	1488	1415	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: business and finance	1467	1413	Gemini 3.5 Flash
FACTS Benchmark Suite	63.1%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash 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

Web design benchmarks for Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling Small
Benchmark	Gemini 3.5 Flash	Inkling Small	Leader
Design Arena: websites	1268	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: UI components	1273	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: game dev	1263	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: data viz	1236	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: 3D	1244	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: all code categories	1266	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: SVG	1254	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Design Arena: ASCII art	1254	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here

GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index262

General benchmarks for Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling Small
Benchmark	Gemini 3.5 Flash	Inkling Small	Leader
Vals Index	Not measured	27.6%	Only Inkling Small measured
Public Benefits Bench (Vals AI)	59.5%	59.4%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
SAGE (Vals AI)	49.9%	32.7%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
MedScribe (Vals AI)	76.6%	84.1%	Inkling Small
Vals Multimodal Index	62.9%	50.0%	Gemini 3.5 Flash
IFBench	76.3%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Long context reasoning (AA-LCR)	74.3%	75.7%	Inkling Small
DTBench	94.7%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
LMCA	47.1%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Surface Evolver Bench	58.1%	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
LMArena Text	1482	1413	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: instruction following	1467	1399	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: creative writing	1470	1334	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Vision	1308	1237	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: English	1481	1421	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: non-English	1475	1401	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: Chinese	1527	1464	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: German	1494	1408	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: Japanese	1486	1401	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: Korean	1448	1367	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: French	1490	1435	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: Spanish	1480	1422	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: Russian	1493	1394	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: Polish	1516	1428	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: multi-turn	1481	1416	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: longer queries	1483	1402	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: writing and language	1478	1357	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Text: entertainment and media	1459	1352	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Vision: English	1305	1243	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Vision: Chinese	1377	1292	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Vision: reading text	1317	1243	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Vision: humor	1321	1207	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Vision: creative writing	1301	1205	Gemini 3.5 Flash
LMArena Document	1463	Not measured	Only Gemini 3.5 Flash measured
Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here

Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared

Image generation benchmarks for Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling Small
Benchmark	Gemini 3.5 Flash	Inkling Small	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

Gemini 3.5 Flash$0.0060Fits in one request

Inkling Small$0.0010Fits in one request

Inkling Small costs less

Repository review

50K input + 3K output tokens

Gemini 3.5 Flash$0.102Fits in one request

Inkling Small$0.026Fits in one request

Inkling Small costs less

Agent loop

200K input + 10K output tokens

Gemini 3.5 Flash$0.390Fits in one request

Inkling Small$0.102Fits in one request

Inkling Small 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.

Specifications of Gemini 3.5 Flash and Inkling Small
Specification	Google Gemini 3.5 Flash	Thinking Machines Inkling Small
Maker	Google	Thinking Machines
Weights	No public weights listed	Open weights
Released	May 19, 2026	July 30, 2026
Context window	1.05M	524K
Input $/Mtok	$1.50	$0.45
Output $/Mtok	$9.00	$1.20
Coding index	39.8	27.3
Independent measurements behind it	4	4
Cost per solved task	$1.21	$0.16
Source	OpenRouter listing	OpenRouter listing

Questions

Is Gemini 3.5 Flash better than Inkling Small for coding?

Pick Gemini 3.5 Flash for coding: it scores 39.8 on the Vibe Coding Index against 27.3 for Inkling Small. Pick Inkling Small for output tokens 7.5x cheaper ($1.20 vs $9.00 per million) and a lower cost per solved task ($0.16 against $1.21).

Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.5 Flash or Inkling Small?

Gemini 3.5 Flash costs $1.50 per million input tokens and $9.00 per million output tokens; Inkling Small costs $0.45 and $1.20. Per solved SWE-bench Verified task, Gemini 3.5 Flash costs $1.21 and Inkling Small $0.16.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemini 3.5 Flash or Inkling Small?

Gemini 3.5 Flash, with 1.05M tokens against 524K.

How many benchmarks is the Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Inkling Small comparison based on?

78 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Gemini 3.5 Flash's coding index rests on 4 independent benchmarks and Inkling Small's on 4. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.

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<p style="font:13px/1.4 sans-serif;margin:6px 0 0">Source: <a href="https://llmbenchmark.ai/compare/gemini-3-5-flash-vs-thinkingmachines-inkling-small">LLMBenchmark.ai, Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Inkling Small</a></p>

Gemini 3.5 Flash or Inkling Small: which to pick

Which one for your work

Coding

Intelligence

Agentic work

Reasoning

Knowledge

Web design

General

Long documents

Everyday cost

Cost per solved task

At a glance

Benchmark by benchmark

What each workload costs

Chat turn

Repository review

Agent loop

Specification differences

Questions

Compare next