API cost decision in 10 seconds

🔥Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite vs 🔥Step 3.5 Flash

Pick Step 3.5 Flash for lower cost; pick Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite 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 Step 3.5 Flash for lower cost; pick Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Step 3.5 Flash is estimated at $0.25 vs $0.3 for Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite, saving $0.05 (16.7% lower).

Cost-first pickStep 3.5 Flash

Context-first pickGemini 2.5 Flash Lite

Sample savings$0.0516.7%

10x traffic gap$0.5

Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has more context, but Step 3.5 Flash saves $0.05 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cheaper input Tie $0.1 vs $0.1 / 1M

Both models report the same input price at $0.1 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Step 3.5 Flash $0.4 vs $0.3 / 1M

Step 3.5 Flash is $0.1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).

Larger context Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite 1.05M vs 262.14K

Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has 786.43K more context (4x larger).

Sample workload Step 3.5 Flash $0.3 vs $0.25

Step 3.5 Flash is $0.05 cheaper on the standard workload (16.7% 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

Step 3.5 Flash 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

both models tie on input price; Step 3.5 Flash has the lower output price; Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Step 3.5 Flash 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 $0.25 for Step 3.5 Flash.

Best Fit

Choose Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Step 3.5 Flash when you care most about lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Step 3.5 Flash is estimated at $0.25 vs $0.3 for Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite, saving $0.05 (16.7% lower).
Step 3.5 Flash is $0.05 cheaper on the standard workload (16.7% lower).
Both models report the same input price at $0.1 per 1M tokens.
Step 3.5 Flash is $0.1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has 786.43K more context (4x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	🔥Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite (Google)	🔥Step 3.5 Flash (StepFun)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.1	$0.1
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.4	$0.3
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.3	$0.25
Context Window	1.05M	262.14K
Release Date	2025-07-22	2026-01-29
Popularity Rank current rank	#11	#15

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Step 3.5 Flash	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Step 3.5 Flash is estimated at $0.25 vs $0.3 for Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite, saving $0.05 (16.7% lower).
High-volume input processing	Tie	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Step 3.5 Flash	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite	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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StepFun catalog

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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...

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Step 3.5 Flash is StepFun's most capable open-source foundation model. Built on a sparse Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture, it selectively activates only 11B of its 196B parameters per token....