API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewExtract vs Gemini 3.6 Flash

Pick Extract for lower cost; pick Gemini 3.6 Flash only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-10-13T13:12:15Z Data confirmed: 2026-10-15T01:07:46Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Extract for lower cost; pick Gemini 3.6 Flash only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Extract is estimated at $0.04 vs $2.62 for Gemini 3.6 Flash, saving $2.58 (98.5% lower).

Cost-first pickExtract

Context-first pickGemini 3.6 Flash

Sample savings$2.5898.5%

10x traffic gap$25.85

Gemini 3.6 Flash has more context, but Extract saves $2.58 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $25.85. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

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

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Extract	Gemini 3.6 Flash
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Extract	$0.2	$5.62
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Extract	$0.04	$4.5
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Extract	$0.04	$19.5

Cheaper input Extract $0.04 vs $0.75 / 1M

Extract is $0.71 cheaper per 1M input tokens (94.7% lower; 18.8x difference).

Cheaper output Extract $0 vs $3.75 / 1M

Extract is free for output tokens while Gemini 3.6 Flash costs $3.75 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Gemini 3.6 Flash 1M vs 1.05M

Gemini 3.6 Flash has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).

Sample workload Extract $0.04 vs $2.62

Extract is $2.58 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

Extract Calculating… Estimated API cost

Gemini 3.6 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

Extract has the lower input price; Extract has the lower output price; Gemini 3.6 Flash offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Extract is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.04 for Extract and $2.62 for Gemini 3.6 Flash.

Best Fit

Choose Extract when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose Gemini 3.6 Flash when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Extract is estimated at $0.04 vs $2.62 for Gemini 3.6 Flash, saving $2.58 (98.5% lower).
Extract is $2.58 cheaper on the standard workload (98.5% lower).
Extract is $0.71 cheaper per 1M input tokens (94.7% lower; 18.8x difference).
Extract is free for output tokens while Gemini 3.6 Flash costs $3.75 per 1M tokens.
Gemini 3.6 Flash has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewExtract (ScaleDown)	Gemini 3.6 Flash (Google)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.04	$0.75
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0	$3.75
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.04	$2.62
Context Window	1M	1.05M
Release Date	2026-10-13	2026-07-21

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Extract	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Extract is estimated at $0.04 vs $2.62 for Gemini 3.6 Flash, saving $2.58 (98.5% lower).
High-volume input processing	Extract	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Extract	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Gemini 3.6 Flash	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Gemini 3.6 Flash when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Gemma 4 31B (free) can replace Gemini 3.6 Flash when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Gemini 3.6 Flash when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Gemini 3.6 Flash when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.

Larger context near this budget

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.47 sample workload cost.
MiMo-V2.6-Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Step 5 Preview · StepFun · #2
GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #3
MiMo-V2.6-Flash · Xiaomi · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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ScaleDown catalog

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Google catalog

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