GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Gemini 1.5 Flash

Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026

GPT-3.5 Turbo

OpenAI

Budget model for simple tasks. Being phased out but still widely used.

Input$0.500/M
Output$1.50/M
Context16K tokens
Best ForSimple chatbots, basic text generation
Benchmark40/100

Gemini 1.5 Flash

Google

Cheapest Gemini model. Good for high-volume, simple tasks.

Input$0.075/M
Output$0.300/M
Context1M tokens
Best ForHigh-volume simple tasks, cost optimization

Cost Comparison by Scenario

Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.

ScenarioGPT-3.5 TurboGemini 1.5 FlashSavings
Small Script (1K lines) $0.06 $0.01 Gemini 1.5 Flash saves $0.05 (81%)
Medium Feature (10K lines) $0.48 $0.09 Gemini 1.5 Flash saves $0.39 (82%)
Large Project (50K lines) $2.38 $0.43 Gemini 1.5 Flash saves $1.94 (82%)
Code Review (5K lines) $0.13 $0.02 Gemini 1.5 Flash saves $0.10 (84%)

Verdict

Gemini 1.5 Flash wins on both price and performance — $0.075/M input with a benchmark score of N/A/100.

For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.

Compare with Other Models