Model comparison

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Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Gemini 4 Argon

Two Google AI models, compared on listed price, real workload cost, context and capabilities.

The short answer

  • On DeepSWE v1.1, as each maker reports it, Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 73.7% and Gemini 4 Argon 77.9%.
  • Gemini 3.8 Flash lists lower input and output prices.
  • Gemini 3.8 Flash reads cached input for less ($0.075/M against Gemini 4 Argon's $0.1/M), which decides the bill for agents that resend long context.

Side-by-side specs

SpecGemini 3.8 FlashGemini 4 Argon
ProviderGoogle AIGoogle AI
Input price$0.75/M$2/M
Output price$3.75/M$10/M
Cached input$0.075/M$0.1/M
Blended price (3:1)$1.5/M$4/M
Context window1M tokens1M tokens
Max output65.536k tokens65.536k tokens
InputText, Images, Video, Audio, PDFText, Images, Video, Audio, PDF
Structured outputYesYes
WeightsClosedClosed
ReleasedSeptember 2, 2026October 2026
DeepSWE v1.1 (maker-reported)73.7%77.9%
Terminal-bench 4.0 (maker-reported)19.1%57.4%

Same work, both models

WorkloadGemini 3.8 FlashGemini 4 Argon
One chat reply3,000 tokens in, 500 outGemini 4 Argon costs 2.7× as much as Gemini 3.8 Flash$0.0041$0.01
Summarise a 100-page report50,000 tokens in, 1,500 out, one request$0.04$0.12
1,000 classification calls500 tokens in, 20 out, per call$0.45$1.20
Coding-agent session2M tokens in across ~60 turns, 60,000 out, no cache$1.73$4.60
Same session, cached85% of input read from the prompt cache, the rest written to itGemini 4 Argon costs 2.4× as much as Gemini 3.8 Flash$0.58$1.37

At listed rates. Token counts are typical sizes, not measurements.

Gemini 3.8 Flash pricing notes

  • Introductory rate through 2026-12-31; Google's price doubles to $1.50 / $7.50 per 1M tokens from 2027-01-01.
  • Cache hits bill at $0.075 per 1M tokens through 2026 and $0.15 from 2027.
  • Thinking tokens bill as output; thinking runs at low, medium or high, and the minimal level is rejected.

Gemini 4 Argon pricing notes

  • Introductory price through 2026-11-30; standard rate $4 / $20 per 1M tokens (cached input $0.20) from 2026-12-01.
  • Implicit caching only: repeated prompt prefixes bill at the cached rate automatically; explicit cache creation is not supported.
  • One flat rate at every context length, with no surcharge past 200K input tokens.

When to pick which

Gemini 3.8 Flash

Google's Flash-tier Gemini model, built for long-horizon software engineering, autonomous agents and enterprise workflows. Google replaced Gemini 3.7 Flash with it at the same introductory rate; it costs less than Gemini 4 Argon and Gemini 3.1 Pro.

Pick it if

  • you want agentic coding at under half of Gemini 4 Argon's price
  • you send images, video, audio or PDFs alongside text
  • you resend long prompts; cache hits bill at 10% of input

Skip it if

  • the cheaper Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite already covers your workload
  • your budget assumes today's rate holds past 2026-12-31

Gemini 4 Argon

Gemini 4 Argon is Google's flagship reasoning model, built for complex software engineering, with a 1M-token context shared by input and output. Its introductory $2 / $10 rate undercuts Gemini 3.1 Pro on output until it doubles to $4 / $20 on 2026-12-01.

Pick it if

  • want Google's flagship reasoning model with low, medium or high thinking
  • need video, audio or PDF input alongside images in one context
  • send long prompts: no long-context surcharge and $0.10 cached input

Skip it if

  • you plan heavy volume after 2026-12-01, when rates double to $4 / $20
  • Gemini 3.8 Flash at $0.75 / $3.75 already covers your workload

FAQ

Which is better, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Gemini 4 Argon?

On DeepSWE v1.1, as each maker reports it, Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 73.7% and Gemini 4 Argon 77.9%. These are each maker's own numbers, not a controlled head-to-head; the spec table lists every benchmark both publish.

Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Gemini 4 Argon?

Gemini 3.8 Flash lists lower input and output prices. On a coding-agent session (2M tokens in, 60,000 out) Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $1.73 and Gemini 4 Argon $4.60.

Can I switch between Gemini 3.8 Flash and Gemini 4 Argon mid-task?

Yes. In an Octomind session, /model octohub:gemini-3.8-flash and /model octohub:gemini-4-argon switch models without losing the conversation, so you can draft on one and review on the other.

Try either model

Switch between models inside the same Octomind session.

Open the panel All models

Prices from the catalog of 2026-10-31