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Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite vs GPT-5 Mini

Complete pricing and performance comparison between Google's Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite and OpenAI's GPT-5 Mini.

Quick Verdict

Cheaper
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
1.0x cheaper input, 1.3x cheaper output
Larger Context
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
1.0M vs 400K
Higher Quality
GPT-5 Mini
Score: 41 vs 34
Faster
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
230 vs 89 tok/s

Pricing Comparison

SpecGemini 3.1 Flash-LiteGPT-5 MiniDifference
ProviderGoogleOpenAI
Input / 1M tokens$0.25$0.25Same
Output / 1M tokens$1.5$2Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is 25% more expensive
Context Window1.0M400K3x difference
Max Output66K16K
Tokenizercl100k_baseo200k_base

Performance Benchmarks

MetricGemini 3.1 Flash-LiteGPT-5 MiniWinner
Quality Index3441GPT-5 Mini
Output Speed230 tok/s89 tok/sGemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
Time to First Token5.17s78.39sGemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
Value (Quality/$)134.0164.8Higher = better value

Benchmark data from Artificial Analysis. Quality Index is a composite score across reasoning, coding, and knowledge tasks.

Cost at Scale

Estimated cost at different usage levels (3:1 input-to-output token ratio, typical for chat).

UsageGemini 3.1 Flash-LiteGPT-5 MiniSavings
Single request
1K in / 300 out
$0.0007$0.0008Same
10 requests
10K in / 3K out
$0.0070$0.0085Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite saves $0.0015
100 requests
100K in / 30K out
$0.070$0.085Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite saves $0.015
1,000 requests
1M in / 300K out
$0.700$0.850Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite saves $0.150
10,000 requests
10M in / 3M out
$7.00$8.50Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite saves $1.50
1M requests/mo
1B in / 300M out
$700.00$850.00Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite saves $150.00

Pros & Cons

Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite Strengths

  • +Cheaper output tokens
  • +Larger context window (1.0M vs 400K)
  • +Higher max output tokens
  • +Faster output (230 vs 89 tok/s)
  • +Lower latency (faster first token)

GPT-5 Mini Strengths

  • +Higher quality score (41 vs 34)

When to Use Each Model

Choose Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite for

  • →Long documents, large codebases, or multi-turn conversations
  • →Generating long-form content or detailed code
  • →Real-time applications, chat, or autocomplete

Choose GPT-5 Mini for

  • →Tasks requiring maximum accuracy and reasoning

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite or GPT-5 Mini?
For input tokens, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is 1.0x cheaper at $0.25/1M tokens. For output tokens, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is 1.3x cheaper at $1.5/1M tokens. At typical usage (1M input + 300K output), Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite costs $0.700 vs GPT-5 Mini at $0.850.
What's the context window difference?
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite supports 1.0M context (1,048,576 tokens), while GPT-5 Mini supports 400K (400,000 tokens). Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite can handle 3x more context in a single request.
Which model has better benchmarks?
Quality Index: Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite scores 34 vs GPT-5 Mini at 41. Speed: Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite generates 230 tok/s vs GPT-5 Mini at 89 tok/s. Time to first token: Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite at 5.17s vs GPT-5 Mini at 78.39s.
When should I choose Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite over GPT-5 Mini?
Choose Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite when you need: Cheaper output tokens, Larger context window (1.0M vs 400K), Higher max output tokens, Faster output (230 vs 89 tok/s), Lower latency (faster first token). Choose GPT-5 Mini when you need: Higher quality score (41 vs 34).
How much would 10,000 API requests cost?
At 1K input + 300 output tokens per request (typical chat): Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite = $7.00, GPT-5 Mini = $8.50. At 10K input + 1K output per request (longer conversations): Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite = $40.00, GPT-5 Mini = $45.00.

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Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite DetailsGPT-5 Mini DetailsFull Pricing TableCost Calculator