Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Grok 4.3
Gemini 3.5 Flash and Grok 4.3 are both current production-tier models. Grok 4.3 is meaningfully cheaper at $1.25 / $2.5 per 1M. Gemini 3.5 Flash leads on long-context retrieval, multilingual, vision.
Specs side by side
| Metric | Google Gemini 3.5 Flash | xAI Grok 4.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price (per 1M) | $1.5 | $1.25 |
| Output price (per 1M) | $9 | $2.5 |
| Context window | 1.0M tokens | 1M tokens |
| Speed tier | fast | balanced |
| Open weights | No | No |
| EU region | Yes | No |
| Free tier | Google AI Studio | No |
| Prompt caching | Yes | Yes |
| Vision input | Yes | Yes |
| Extended thinking | Yes | Yes |
When to choose each
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash if…
- EU data residency is required
- HIPAA eligibility is required
- You want a free tier for prototyping
- Long-context retrieval is central to your workload
- Multilingual is central to your workload
Choose Grok 4.3 if…
- Cost is a priority ($1.25 / $2.5 per 1M vs $1.5 / $9 per 1M)
Benchmark delta
Gemini 3.5 Flash leads on
- Long-context retrieval
- Multilingual
- Vision
Grok 4.3 leads on
Grok 4.3 has no meaningful benchmark lead in this pair.
FAQ — Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Grok 4.3
Gemini 3.5 Flash vs Grok 4.3 — which is better?
Gemini 3.5 Flash and Grok 4.3 are both current production-tier models. Grok 4.3 is meaningfully cheaper at $1.25 / $2.5 per 1M. Gemini 3.5 Flash leads on long-context retrieval, multilingual, vision. The right pick depends on your use case — see "When to choose each" above for a data-driven decision.
How does Gemini 3.5 Flash pricing compare to Grok 4.3?
Gemini 3.5 Flash costs $1.5 / $9 per 1M vs Grok 4.3 at $1.25 / $2.5 per 1M. Grok 4.3 is cheaper on output tokens by roughly 260%. Both support prompt caching, which reduces effective cost by 80-90% on repeat system prompts.
Does Gemini 3.5 Flash or Grok 4.3 have the bigger context window?
Gemini 3.5 Flash has a 1.0M-token context window — 1× the 1M context of Grok 4.3. Enough for entire codebases, books, or multi-document RAG.
Is there a free tier for Gemini 3.5 Flash or Grok 4.3?
Gemini 3.5 Flash: yes — Reduced daily quota via AI Studio for prototyping. Grok 4.3: no — X Premium / SuperGrok includes Grok web chat; API is paid.
Which is better for coding — Gemini 3.5 Flash or Grok 4.3?
Both leads on coding benchmarks (Gemini 3.5 Flash: 91/100, Grok 4.3: 91/100). For production coding agents also weigh tool-use performance — Gemini 3.5 Flash scores 90, Grok 4.3 scores 90.