Perceptron Mk1 is $0.35 cheaper per 1M input tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
🔥Gemini 3 Flash Preview vs NewPerceptron Mk1
Pick Perceptron Mk1 for lower cost; pick Gemini 3 Flash Preview only if the larger context window matters more.
Budget verdict
Pick Perceptron Mk1 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, Perceptron Mk1 is estimated at $0.9 vs $2 for Gemini 3 Flash Preview, saving $1.1 (55% lower).
Gemini 3 Flash Preview has more context, but Perceptron Mk1 saves $1.1 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $11. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Perceptron Mk1 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Gemini 3 Flash Preview | Perceptron Mk1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Perceptron Mk1 | $4 | $1.5 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Perceptron Mk1 | $3.5 | $1.65 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Perceptron Mk1 | $15.5 | $7.65 |
Perceptron Mk1 is $1.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
Gemini 3 Flash Preview has 1.02M more context (32x larger).
Perceptron Mk1 is $1.1 cheaper on the standard workload (55% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
Perceptron Mk1 has the lower input price; Perceptron Mk1 has the lower output price; Gemini 3 Flash Preview offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Perceptron Mk1 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 $0.9 for Perceptron Mk1.
Choose Gemini 3 Flash Preview when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Perceptron Mk1 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Perceptron Mk1 is estimated at $0.9 vs $2 for Gemini 3 Flash Preview, saving $1.1 (55% lower).
- Perceptron Mk1 is $1.1 cheaper on the standard workload (55% lower).
- Perceptron Mk1 is $0.35 cheaper per 1M input tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).
- Perceptron Mk1 is $1.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
- Gemini 3 Flash Preview has 1.02M more context (32x larger).
| Feature | 🔥Gemini 3 Flash Preview (Google) | NewPerceptron Mk1 (Perceptron) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.5 | $0.15 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $3 | $1.5 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $2 | $0.9 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 32.77K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #7 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Perceptron Mk1 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Perceptron Mk1 is estimated at $0.9 vs $2 for Gemini 3 Flash Preview, saving $1.1 (55% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Perceptron Mk1 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Perceptron Mk1 | 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
- Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Gemini 3 Flash Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Gemma 4 31B (free) 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.
- Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Gemini 3 Flash Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- 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.
- 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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