API cost decision in 10 seconds

🔥Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite vs 🔥GPT-5.5

Pick Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 only if the larger context window matters more.

Pricing data updated: 2026-05-13T16:32:23Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is estimated at $0.3 vs $20 for GPT-5.5, saving $19.7 (98.5% lower).

Cost-first pickGemini 2.5 Flash Lite

Context-first pickGPT-5.5

Sample savings$19.798.5%

10x traffic gap$197

GPT-5.5 has more context, but Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite saves $19.7 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $197. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cheaper input Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite $0.1 vs $5 / 1M

Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is $4.9 cheaper per 1M input tokens (98% lower; 50x difference).

Cheaper output Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite $0.4 vs $30 / 1M

Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is $29.6 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.7% lower; 75x difference).

Larger context GPT-5.5 1.05M vs 1.05M

GPT-5.5 has 1.42K more context (1x larger).

Sample workload Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite $0.3 vs $20

Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is $19.7 cheaper on the standard workload (98.5% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite Calculating… Estimated API cost

GPT-5.5 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has the lower input price; Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has the lower output price; GPT-5.5 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.3 for Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite and $20 for GPT-5.5.

Best Fit

Choose Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose GPT-5.5 when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is estimated at $0.3 vs $20 for GPT-5.5, saving $19.7 (98.5% lower).
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is $19.7 cheaper on the standard workload (98.5% lower).
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is $4.9 cheaper per 1M input tokens (98% lower; 50x difference).
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is $29.6 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.7% lower; 75x difference).
GPT-5.5 has 1.42K more context (1x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	🔥Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite (Google)	🔥GPT-5.5 (OpenAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.1	$5
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.4	$30
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.3	$20
Context Window	1.05M	1.05M
Release Date	2025-07-22	2026-04-24
Popularity Rank current rank	#11	#19

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is estimated at $0.3 vs $20 for GPT-5.5, saving $19.7 (98.5% lower).
High-volume input processing	Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	GPT-5.5	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

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Google catalog

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OpenAI catalog

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Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is a lightweight reasoning model in the Gemini 2.5 family, optimized for ultra-low latency and cost efficiency. It offers improved throughput, faster token generation, and better performance...

GPT-5.5

GPT-5.5 is OpenAI’s frontier model designed for complex professional workloads, building on GPT-5.4 with stronger reasoning, higher reliability, and improved token efficiency on hard tasks. It features a 1M+ token...