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Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Inkling

Gemini 3.6 Flash leads Inkling on coding, 62.5 to 31.5 on the Vibe Coding Index, at about the same output price ($3.75 vs $4.05 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 86 benchmarks have a result for both.

Replace Gemini 3.6 Flash Replace Inkling
Gemini 3.6 FlashGoogle
Coding
62.5
Overall
68.3
Output $/M
$3.75
78
T InklingThinking Machines
Coding
31.5
Overall
46.5
Output $/M
$4.05
7
vs boards won of 86 shared, 1 tied

Gemini 3.6 Flash or Inkling: which to pick

Pick Gemini 3.6 Flash for coding: it scores 62.5 on the Vibe Coding Index against 31.5 for Inkling, though on 4 benchmarks against 6.

Pick Inkling for a lower cost per solved task ($0.76 against $1.49) and work measured by CyberBench (Vals AI) or ALE-Bench, where it leads.

Model AGemini 3.6 FlashGoogle62.5/1004 independent benchmarks$1.49 per solved taskModel BInklingThinking Machines31.5/1006 independent benchmarks$0.76 per solved task
Shared results
86
Gemini 3.6 Flash only
23
Inkling only
16
Like-for-like categories
8 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.

At a glance

Coding index
Gemini 3.6 Flash 62.5 from 4 benchmarks, Inkling 31.5 from 6 benchmarks.
Widest category
Coding, 16.4 points apart on average over 18 shared benchmarks.
Widest single gap
Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI): Gemini 3.6 Flash 64.0% against Inkling 19.2%, 44.8 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
Output price
Gemini 3.6 Flash $3.75 against Inkling $4.05 per million output tokens, 1.1x apart.
Context window
Gemini 3.6 Flash takes 1.05M tokens, Inkling 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
CategoryGemini 3.6 FlashBarsInklingTies
Coding1521 tie
Intelligence20
Agentic work61
Reasoning110
Math60
Knowledge92
Web design70
General222
All shared boards7871 tie
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index152
Coding benchmarks for Gemini 3.6 Flash and Inkling
BenchmarkGemini 3.6 FlashInklingLeader
LiveBench codingNot measured64.0%Only Inkling measured
LMArena WebDev15381414Gemini 3.6 Flash
AA Coding Index69.252.1Gemini 3.6 Flash
LiveCodeBench (Vals AI)88.1%85.5%Gemini 3.6 Flash
SWE-bench Verified (Vals AI)79.6%77.6%Gemini 3.6 Flash
Terminal-Bench 4 (Vals AI)Not measured0.5%Only Inkling measured
Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI)64.0%19.2%Gemini 3.6 Flash
Code migration (Vals AI)30.9%11.8%Gemini 3.6 Flash
ProgramBench (Vals AI)0.0%0.0%Tie
IOI (Vals AI)35.1%14.9%Gemini 3.6 Flash
Terminal-Bench 2.1 (Vals AI)73.8%47.6%Gemini 3.6 Flash
Vibe Code Bench 1-100 (Vals AI)Not measured7.3%Only Inkling measured
SkillsBench (Vals AI)Not measured26.1%Only Inkling measured
CyberBench (Vals AI)45.4%66.8%Inkling
SciCode53.4%47.0%Gemini 3.6 Flash
FrontierCode34.4%14.0%Gemini 3.6 Flash
FrontierSWENot measured4.1%Only Inkling measured
WeirdML56.1%32.3%Gemini 3.6 Flash
ALE-Bench715.5946.0Inkling
LMArena Text: coding14911466Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: software and IT14921465Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena WebDev: React15281404Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena WebDev: HTML15471399Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena WebDev: from an image1545Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
SciCode10.8%Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
Neither model has a result on the other 14 boards here
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index20
Intelligence benchmarks for Gemini 3.6 Flash and Inkling
BenchmarkGemini 3.6 FlashInklingLeader
AA Intelligence Index34.025.0Gemini 3.6 Flash
Epoch Capabilities Index154.5148.4Gemini 3.6 Flash
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index61
Agentic work benchmarks for Gemini 3.6 Flash and Inkling
BenchmarkGemini 3.6 FlashInklingLeader
AA Agentic Index29.022.5Gemini 3.6 Flash
Design Arena: agents building web apps11971196Gemini 3.6 Flash
Design Arena: agents building full-stack apps1181Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
Design Arena: agents building mobile apps1198Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
Design Arena: agents building Android apps1204Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
Design Arena: agents building games1180Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
Design Arena: HTML slides1099Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
Design Arena: PowerPoint slides1121Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
Design Arena: spreadsheets1071Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
LiveBench researchNot measured59.9%Only Inkling measured
LiveBench browserNot measured16.0%Only Inkling measured
LiveBench long agenticNot measured14.1%Only Inkling measured
SREBench (Vals AI)Not measured0.0%Only Inkling measured
Finance Agent (Vals AI)56.3%46.6%Gemini 3.6 Flash
Tax Agent Bench (Vals AI)18.0%15.3%Gemini 3.6 Flash
Legal Research Bench (Vals AI)25.0%28.4%Inkling
Harvey's Legal Agent Benchmark (Vals AI)Not measured3.8%Only Inkling measured
Excel Modeling Benchmark (Vals AI)65.4%38.4%Gemini 3.6 Flash
BioMysteryBench (Vals AI)58.5%Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
Terminal-Bench-Science (Vals AI)4.3%Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
APEX-Agents46.9%33.8%Gemini 3.6 Flash
Neither model has a result on the other 20 boards here
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index110
Reasoning benchmarks for Gemini 3.6 Flash and Inkling
BenchmarkGemini 3.6 FlashInklingLeader
GPQA Diamond93.4%87.1%Gemini 3.6 Flash
LiveBench reasoningNot measured78.3%Only Inkling measured
MMMU Pro (Vals AI)88.4%78.5%Gemini 3.6 Flash
GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run)92.8%87.2%Gemini 3.6 Flash
Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run)40.8%31.9%Gemini 3.6 Flash
GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run)94.1%88.3%Gemini 3.6 Flash
ARC-AGI91.2%79.5%Gemini 3.6 Flash
ARC-AGI-260.4%36.5%Gemini 3.6 Flash
SimpleBenchNot measured50.0%Only Inkling measured
Chess puzzles42.0%21.0%Gemini 3.6 Flash
Mystery game puzzles30.0%Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
LMArena Text: hard prompts14861451Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: expert14901466Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: hard prompts in English14841448Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Vision: diagrams1314Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
LMArena Vision: homework1314Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
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 3.6 Flash and Inkling
BenchmarkGemini 3.6 FlashInklingLeader
OTIS Mock AIME94.2%88.9%Gemini 3.6 Flash
FrontierMath, tiers 1 to 358.9%33.3%Gemini 3.6 Flash
FrontierMath, tier 422.0%4.9%Gemini 3.6 Flash
ProofBench36.0%0.0%Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: math15081479Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: mathematical work14921460Gemini 3.6 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 3.6 Flash and Inkling
BenchmarkGemini 3.6 FlashInklingLeader
MMLU Pro89.3%86.3%Gemini 3.6 Flash
LegalBench (Vals AI)86.7%83.0%Gemini 3.6 Flash
CorpFin (Vals AI)63.3%68.6%Inkling
TaxEval (Vals AI)74.9%75.3%Inkling
MortgageTax (Vals AI)67.6%64.0%Gemini 3.6 Flash
MedCode (Vals AI)53.1%41.2%Gemini 3.6 Flash
SimpleQA Verified66.2%40.3%Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: science14891455Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare14691447Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: legal and government14791448Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: business and finance14641438Gemini 3.6 Flash
FACTS Benchmark Suite65.3%Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here
Web designLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index70
Web design benchmarks for Gemini 3.6 Flash and Inkling
BenchmarkGemini 3.6 FlashInklingLeader
Design Arena: websites13001224Gemini 3.6 Flash
Design Arena: UI components12941198Gemini 3.6 Flash
Design Arena: game dev12631165Gemini 3.6 Flash
Design Arena: data viz12891156Gemini 3.6 Flash
Design Arena: 3D12711160Gemini 3.6 Flash
Design Arena: all code categories12891205Gemini 3.6 Flash
Design Arena: SVGNot measured1108Only Inkling measured
Design Arena: ASCII art12811089Gemini 3.6 Flash
LiveBench designNot measured58.3%Only Inkling measured
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index222
General benchmarks for Gemini 3.6 Flash and Inkling
BenchmarkGemini 3.6 FlashInklingLeader
Vals IndexNot measured29.0%Only Inkling measured
LiveBench data analysisNot measured72.8%Only Inkling measured
Public Benefits Bench (Vals AI)56.6%58.5%Inkling
SAGE (Vals AI)48.7%36.5%Gemini 3.6 Flash
MedScribe (Vals AI)79.7%85.4%Inkling
Vals Multimodal Index65.1%49.4%Gemini 3.6 Flash
Long context reasoning (AA-LCR)80.0%77.3%Gemini 3.6 Flash
DTBench95.5%87.5%Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMCA44.9%37.6%Gemini 3.6 Flash
Furniture assembly23.3%Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
LMArena Text14801442Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: instruction following14671425Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: creative writing14661390Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Vision1299Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
LMArena Text: English14821442Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: non-English14701434Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: Chinese15311493Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: German14801445Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: Japanese14751429Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: Korean14291403Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: French15031455Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: Spanish14761449Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: Russian14881430Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: Polish14731450Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: multi-turn14811437Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: longer queries14751435Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: writing and language14701404Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Text: entertainment and media14561394Gemini 3.6 Flash
LMArena Vision: English1295Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
LMArena Vision: Chinese1357Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
LMArena Vision: reading text1312Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
LMArena Vision: humor1289Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
LMArena Vision: creative writing1278Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 Flash measured
LMArena Document1456Not measuredOnly Gemini 3.6 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 3.6 Flash and Inkling
BenchmarkGemini 3.6 FlashInklingLeader
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 3.6 Flash$0.0026Fits in one request
Inkling$0.0030Fits in one request

Gemini 3.6 Flash costs less

Repository review

50K input + 3K output tokens

Gemini 3.6 Flash$0.049Fits in one request
Inkling$0.061Fits in one request

Gemini 3.6 Flash costs less

Agent loop

200K input + 10K output tokens

Gemini 3.6 Flash$0.188Fits in one request
Inkling$0.235Fits in one request

Gemini 3.6 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.

Specifications of Gemini 3.6 Flash and Inkling
SpecificationGoogle Gemini 3.6 FlashThinking Machines Inkling
MakerGoogleThinking Machines
WeightsNo public weights listedOpen weights
ReleasedJuly 21, 2026July 17, 2026
Context window1.05M524K
Input $/Mtok$0.75$0.975
Output $/Mtok$3.75$4.05
Coding index62.531.5
Independent measurements behind it46
Cost per solved task$1.49$0.76
SourceOpenRouter listingOpenRouter listing

Questions

Is Gemini 3.6 Flash better than Inkling for coding?

Pick Gemini 3.6 Flash for coding: it scores 62.5 on the Vibe Coding Index against 31.5 for Inkling, though on 4 benchmarks against 6. Pick Inkling for a lower cost per solved task ($0.76 against $1.49) and work measured by CyberBench (Vals AI) or ALE-Bench, where it leads.

Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.6 Flash or Inkling?

Gemini 3.6 Flash costs $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens; Inkling costs $0.975 and $4.05. Per solved SWE-bench Verified task, Gemini 3.6 Flash costs $1.49 and Inkling $0.76.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemini 3.6 Flash or Inkling?

Gemini 3.6 Flash, with 1.05M tokens against 524K.

How many benchmarks is the Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Inkling comparison based on?

86 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Gemini 3.6 Flash's coding index rests on 4 independent benchmarks and Inkling's on 6. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.

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<iframe src="https://llmbenchmark.ai/embed/compare/gemini-3-6-flash-vs-thinkingmachines-inkling" title="Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Inkling, LLMBenchmark.ai" width="100%" height="360" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="font:13px/1.4 sans-serif;margin:6px 0 0">Source: <a href="https://llmbenchmark.ai/compare/gemini-3-6-flash-vs-thinkingmachines-inkling">LLMBenchmark.ai, Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Inkling</a></p>