High-volume, cost-sensitive work
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs 32% less on a typical mix of three input tokens for every output token ($0.85 against $1.25 per million tokens).
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs Grok Build 0.1: price, context and capabilities
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents), very long inputs and the latest release. Choose Grok Build 0.1 for writing and code generation.
In short
- Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 32% cheaper than Grok Build 0.1 at the headline price ($0.85 / 1M tokens vs $1.25 / 1M tokens).
- Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 256k.
- Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is the newer model (July 2026, against May 2026).
Which should you choose?
Each answer below comes straight from the published prices, specifications and independent benchmark results.
Writing and code generation
Choose Grok Build 0.1
Grok Build 0.1 charges $2.00 per million output tokens, against $2.50 for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite. Output dominates the bill when answers are long.
Reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents)
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite charges $0.03 per million cached input tokens, against $0.20 for Grok Build 0.1.
Very long inputs
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite reads up to 1.05M tokens per request, against 256k for Grok Build 0.1.
Latest release
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is the newer release (July 2026, against May 2026 for Grok Build 0.1).
Monthly cost at three volumes
| Volume | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | Grok Build 0.1 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prototype: 1M input, 250K output tokens | $0.93 | $1.50 | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, $0.58 less |
| Production: 20M input, 5M output tokens | $18.50 | $30.00 | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, $11.50 less |
| Scale: 500M input, 100M output tokens | $400.00 | $700.00 | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, $300.00 less |
Standard rates, without caching or batch discounts. Volumes are per month.
Specifications side by side
| Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | Grok Build 0.1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | xAI | |
| Category | Language models | Language models |
| Status | Generally available | Generally available |
| Headline price | $0.85 / 1M tokens | $1.25 / 1M tokens |
| Input | $0.30 / 1M tokens | $1.00 / 1M tokens |
| Output | $2.50 / 1M tokens | $2.00 / 1M tokens |
| Cached input | $0.03 / 1M tokens | $0.20 / 1M tokens |
| Context window | 1.05M | 256k |
| Max output | 66k | No data |
| Released | July 2026 | May 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | No data | No data |
| Licence | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Capabilities | Vision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching, Batch API | Vision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching, Batch API |
| API model id | gemini-3.5-flash-lite | grok-build-0.1 |
Benchmarks side by side
Leader in bold.
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | Grok Build 0.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Index | 22.2 | No data |
| SciCode | 41.3% | No data |
| GPQA Diamond | 83.8% | No data |
| Humanity's Last Exam | 18.8% | No data |
| MMMU-Pro (visual reasoning) | 79% | No data |
| Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 76% | No data |
Independent evaluations by Artificial Analysis, run the same way for every model, at the reasoning setting shown. Percentages unless marked as an index.
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Grok Build 0.1?
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents), very long inputs and the latest release. Choose Grok Build 0.1 for writing and code generation.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Grok Build 0.1?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 32% cheaper than Grok Build 0.1 at the headline price ($0.85 / 1M tokens vs $1.25 / 1M tokens).
Which has the larger context window, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Grok Build 0.1?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 256k.
What is the difference between Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Grok Build 0.1?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is made by Google and Grok Build 0.1 by xAI. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 32% cheaper than Grok Build 0.1 at the headline price ($0.85 / 1M tokens vs $1.25 / 1M tokens). Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 256k. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is the newer model (July 2026, against May 2026).
How much do Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Grok Build 0.1 cost per month?
At 20 million input and 5 million output tokens a month, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs $18.50 and Grok Build 0.1 costs $30.00, at standard rates.
Which is newer, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Grok Build 0.1?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite was released on July 2026 and Grok Build 0.1 on May 2026.