API cost decision in 10 seconds

🔥Gemini 3 Flash Preview vs R1 0528

Pick R1 0528 for lower cost; pick Gemini 3 Flash Preview only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T18:08:02Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick R1 0528 for lower cost; pick Gemini 3 Flash Preview only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, R1 0528 is estimated at $1.57 vs $2 for Gemini 3 Flash Preview, saving $0.43 (21.3% lower).

Cost-first pickR1 0528

Context-first pickGemini 3 Flash Preview

Sample savings$0.4321.3%

10x traffic gap$4.25

Gemini 3 Flash Preview has more context, but R1 0528 saves $0.43 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $4.25. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

R1 0528 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Gemini 3 Flash Preview	R1 0528
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	R1 0528	$4	$3.58
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	R1 0528	$3.5	$2.65
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	R1 0528	$15.5	$11.25

Cheaper input Tie $0.5 vs $0.5 / 1M

Both models report the same input price at $0.5 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output R1 0528 $3 vs $2.15 / 1M

R1 0528 is $0.85 cheaper per 1M output tokens (28.3% lower; 1.4x difference).

Larger context Gemini 3 Flash Preview 1.05M vs 163.84K

Gemini 3 Flash Preview has 884.74K more context (6.4x larger).

Sample workload R1 0528 $2 vs $1.57

R1 0528 is $0.43 cheaper on the standard workload (21.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Gemini 3 Flash Preview Calculating… Estimated API cost

R1 0528 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; R1 0528 has the lower output price; Gemini 3 Flash Preview offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, R1 0528 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2 for Gemini 3 Flash Preview and $1.57 for R1 0528.

Best Fit

Choose Gemini 3 Flash Preview when you care most about larger context window.

Choose R1 0528 when you care most about lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, R1 0528 is estimated at $1.57 vs $2 for Gemini 3 Flash Preview, saving $0.43 (21.3% lower).
R1 0528 is $0.43 cheaper on the standard workload (21.3% lower).
Both models report the same input price at $0.5 per 1M tokens.
R1 0528 is $0.85 cheaper per 1M output tokens (28.3% lower; 1.4x difference).
Gemini 3 Flash Preview has 884.74K more context (6.4x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	🔥Gemini 3 Flash Preview (Google)	R1 0528 (DeepSeek)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.5	$0.5
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$3	$2.15
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$2	$1.57
Context Window	1.05M	163.84K
Release Date	2025-12-17	2025-05-28
Popularity	#7	#106

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	R1 0528	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, R1 0528 is estimated at $1.57 vs $2 for Gemini 3 Flash Preview, saving $0.43 (21.3% 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	R1 0528	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Gemini 3 Flash Preview	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Gemma 4 31B (free) can replace Gemini 3 Flash Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Gemini 3 Flash Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Gemini 3 Flash Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Gemini 3 Flash Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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Google catalog

Review all tracked Google models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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DeepSeek catalog

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Gemini 3 Flash Preview

Gemini 3 Flash Preview is a high speed, high value thinking model designed for agentic workflows, multi turn chat, and coding assistance. It delivers near Pro level reasoning and tool...

R1 0528

May 28th update to the [original DeepSeek R1](/deepseek/deepseek-r1) Performance on par with [OpenAI o1](/openai/o1), but open-sourced and with fully open reasoning tokens. It's 671B parameters in size, with 37B active...