Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Claude Sonnet 4.6: utility speed vs reasoning tier costs
Speedy utility model versus premium reasoning flagship.
Comparing a high-speed utility model like Gemini 3.5 Flash with a premium flagship like Claude Sonnet 4.6 helps optimize your project's price-to-performance ratio.
Cost Comparison
Based on 100,000 input tokens (50% cached), 5,000 output tokens, and 100 requests.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Gemini 3.5 Flash | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Input Cost (per M) | $0.50 (better on this spec) | $3.00 |
| Output Cost (per M) | $3.00 (better on this spec) | $15.00 |
| Cached Input (per M) | $0.25 (better on this spec) | $0.30 |
| Batch Discount | 50% | 50% |
How they differ
Gemini 3.5 Flash costs $0.50 per million input tokens and $3.00 per million output tokens. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is priced higher at $3.00 per million input tokens and $15.00 per million output tokens. Both models support caching discounts.
Verdict
Gemini 3.5 Flash is significantly cheaper and should be used for simple classification, routing, and high-frequency tasks. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is ideal when superior reasoning is required.
Which should you pick?
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash
Simple routing, sorting, text extraction, and high-speed API endpoints.
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6
Software engineering, multi-step logic analysis, and advanced customer agents.