Gemini Flash
Google’s Gemini 3.8 Flash workhorse — fast, token-efficient multimodal model for agentic workflows, coding, and high-throughput apps where latency and cost matter. Succeeds 3.7 Flash (GA Aug 2026); 3.7 remains supported for efficiency-first workloads.
Vision · Audio input · Tool calling · Thinking · Coding
Last reviewed: 14 October 2026
Overview
Capabilities
- Vision: Yes
- Audio input: Yes
- Tool calling: Yes
- Thinking: Yes
- MCP: No
- Coding: Yes
- Structured output: Yes
Technical specifications
- Provider
- License
- Proprietary
- Context window
- 1.0M
- Release
- 2026-09
- Modalities
- Text, Image, Audio, Video
- Vision
- Yes
- Audio input
- Yes
- Tool calling
- Yes
- Thinking
- Yes
- MCP
- No
- Open weights
- No
- API
- Yes
- Pricing (input)
- ~$0.75 per 1M tokens (3.8 Flash intro through 2026-12-31)
- Pricing (output)
- ~$3.75 per 1M tokens (intro); ~$1.50 / $7.50 from 2027-01-01
Supported modalities
Text · Image · Audio · Video
Context window
1.0M (1,048,576 tokens)
Pricing
Same introductory rates as 3.7 Flash; expire Dec 31, 2026. Verify Google AI / Vertex pricing; Flash-Lite is cheaper for volume. 3.8 Flash Cyber is Fairwind-only — not a public API SKU.
Availability
Pin gemini-3.8-flash. Gemini API / AI Studio, Antigravity, Android Studio, Gemini Enterprise, and Google AI Pro/Ultra (Gemini app, Search AI Mode, Sheets). 3.7 Flash remains supported. 3.8 Flash Cyber is restricted to the Fairwind Program. Gemini 4 Argon (gemini-4-argon, 2026-10-13) is the newer public flagship and does not replace gemini-3.8-flash. Gemini 3.8 Live (gemini-3.8-live / gemini-3.8-live-extended-thinking, 2026-09-15) is a separate Live API voice SKU (~$0.005/min audio in / ~$0.018/min out); not a Flash chat default. Live Avatar (2026-09-24) adds lip-synced video to 3.8 Live in Gemini Enterprise; custom avatars are allowlisted. Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and Flash-Lite TTS (2026-09-23) are separate speech-generation models on the Gemini API and AI Studio; Flash-Lite enterprise API is described as coming soon. Confirm TTS model IDs in Google docs before pinning.
Use cases
- High-volume customer support
- Agentic tool loops and coding assistants
- Cost-sensitive RAG generation
- Mobile / edge-adjacent latency budgets
Strengths
- Same Flash speed/cost as 3.7 with stronger coding, agent, and multi-step reasoning per Google’s published evals
- Introductory $0.75/$3.75 per 1M tokens through 2026-12-31
- Large context relative to price (~1.05M)
Limitations
- Weaker than Pro-class on hardest reasoning (3.5 Pro still partner-testing as of 2026-09)
- Closed weights
- Intro token rates rise on 2027-01-01; may use more tokens at higher effort
Related guides
Related benchmarks
Related research
- Introducing Gemini 3.8 Flash and 3.8 Flash Cyber
Original Paper
- Introducing Gemini 3.8 Live and 3.8 Live Extended Thinking
Original Paper
- Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and Flash-Lite TTS
Original Paper
- Introducing Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar
Original Paper
- Introducing Gemini 4 Argon
Original Paper
- Gemini technical reports
Original Paper
Related GitHub
Related tools
Related rankings
Related comparisons
Companies
Explore more models
- Gemini 3.1 ProGoogleGoogle’s Pro-class Gemini for hard reasoning and native multimodal work. Prefer API id gemini-3.1-pro-preview; Gemini 3.5 Pro remains partner-testing. This slug is not Gemini 4 Argon (gemini-4-argon, public 2026-10-13). On the Gemini API, gemini-2.5-pro has no announced shutdown date and is not deprecated; access is limited to projects that have already used it.
- Gemini 4 ArgonGoogleStable Gemini API id gemini-4-argon, released 13 October 2026. Google’s model page describes it as the flagship for complex software engineering, deep mathematical and scientific problems, autonomous multi-step agents, and long decode. Thinking can be set to low, medium, or high. The long-decode guide names medium as the default for most coding and agentic work. It documents function calling, structured outputs, code execution, search grounding, URL context, and file search. Computer use is in preview. The model page does not document native MCP support. Image generation, audio generation, and the Live API are not supported.
- Claude FableAnthropicAnthropic’s Claude Fable 5.1 — the most capable widely released Claude for long-horizon agents, deep reasoning, and demanding coding workflows. Mythos 5.1 is the same underlying model with relaxed cyber/life-sciences safeguards for trusted-access programs.
- Claude HaikuAnthropicAnthropic’s fast, cost-efficient Claude tier for high-volume chat, classification, extraction, and sub-agent steps where latency and price matter more than peak reasoning. Claude Haiku 5.5 (API id claude-haiku-5-5, released 2026-10-07) is the current Haiku: Anthropic’s fastest model at standard speed, the first Haiku with an adjustable effort setting, and around 75% cheaper to run than Haiku 4.5 on average. Sonnet 5.5 and Opus 5.5 remain better for complex agentic coding.
- Claude OpusAnthropicAnthropic’s Claude Opus 5.5 (API id claude-opus-5-5, released 2026-09-22) for complex agentic coding, enterprise work, long-context analysis, and careful instruction following. Anthropic says it matches Fable 5.1 on most work at a lower price. Fable 5.1 remains a separate higher list-price SKU. Sonnet 5.5 (claude-sonnet-5-5, 2026-09-28) is the current Sonnet at the same $2/$10 list price as Sonnet 5. Haiku 5.5 (claude-haiku-5-5, 2026-10-07) is the current Haiku.
- Claude SonnetAnthropicAnthropic’s Claude Sonnet 5.5 (API id claude-sonnet-5-5, released 2026-09-28) for well-scoped everyday coding, agents, and documents. List price matches Sonnet 5 at $2/$10 per 1M tokens. Opus 5.5 remains the high-stakes tier; Haiku 5.5 (2026-10-07) is the low-cost subagent and high-volume tier.