Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite vs GPT-5.4

Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite and GPT-5.4 are both current production-tier models. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is meaningfully cheaper at $0.25 / $1.5 per 1M. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite has a 1M context window — about 3× the 400k of GPT-5.4. GPT-5.4 leads on coding, reasoning, general knowledge.

Specs side by side

Metric
Google
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
OpenAI
GPT-5.4
Input price (per 1M)$0.25$2.5
Output price (per 1M)$1.5$15
Context window1M tokens400k tokens
Speed tierultrabalanced
Open weightsNoNo
EU regionYesYes
Free tierGoogle AI StudioNo
Prompt cachingNoYes
Vision inputYesYes
Extended thinkingNoYes

When to choose each

Google Free tier

Choose Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite if…

  • Cost is a priority ($0.25 / $1.5 per 1M vs $2.5 / $15 per 1M)
  • You need 1M context (3× more than GPT-5.4)
  • Low latency matters (ultra vs balanced)
  • You want a free tier for prototyping
OpenAI

Choose GPT-5.4 if…

  • HIPAA eligibility is required
  • Coding is central to your workload
  • Reasoning is central to your workload

Benchmark delta

Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite leads on

Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite has no meaningful benchmark lead in this pair.

GPT-5.4 leads on

  • Coding
  • Reasoning
  • General knowledge
  • Instruction following
  • Multilingual
  • Vision
  • Tool use

FAQ — Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite vs GPT-5.4

Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite vs GPT-5.4 — which is better?

Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite and GPT-5.4 are both current production-tier models. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is meaningfully cheaper at $0.25 / $1.5 per 1M. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite has a 1M context window — about 3× the 400k of GPT-5.4. GPT-5.4 leads on coding, reasoning, general knowledge. The right pick depends on your use case — see "When to choose each" above for a data-driven decision.

How does Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite pricing compare to GPT-5.4?

Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite costs $0.25 / $1.5 per 1M vs GPT-5.4 at $2.5 / $15 per 1M. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is cheaper on output tokens by roughly 900%. Both support prompt caching, which reduces effective cost by 80-90% on repeat system prompts.

Does Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite or GPT-5.4 have the bigger context window?

Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite has a 1M-token context window — 3× the 400k context of GPT-5.4. Enough for entire codebases, books, or multi-document RAG.

Is there a free tier for Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite or GPT-5.4?

Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: yes — Reduced daily quota; most generous free tier of any frontier lab. GPT-5.4: no — Free $5 credit for new accounts; paid thereafter.

Which is better for coding — Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite or GPT-5.4?

GPT-5.4 leads on coding benchmarks (Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: 72/100, GPT-5.4: 93/100). For production coding agents also weigh tool-use performance — Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite scores 76, GPT-5.4 scores 93.