Claude Opus 4.6 vs Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
Claude Opus 4.6 by Anthropic wins on 9 of 14 benchmarks against Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite by Google, which leads on 5. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from the AI Value Index.
Category-by-Category Breakdown
General Intelligence: In general intelligence, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 1496 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 1230, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 82.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 63.0%.
Coding: In coding, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 93.5% on HumanEval+ compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 70.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 80.8% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 22.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 72.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 28.0%.
Math: In math, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 92.0% on MATH compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 62.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 97.0% on GSM8K compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 83.0%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 91.3% on GPQA Diamond compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 32.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 60.0% on ARC-AGI compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 14.0%.
Context: In context, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 200K.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Opus 4.6 costs $5.0/1M input tokens and $25.0/1M output tokens, while Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite costs $0.10/1M input and $0.40/1M output. Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is the more affordable option for API usage.
Speed Comparison
Claude Opus 4.6 generates output at 68 tok/s compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 240 tok/s, and the time to first token is 1680 ms for Claude Opus 4.6 versus 70 ms for Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite. Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite delivers faster throughput.
Verdict
For developers prioritizing coding and general intelligence and math, Claude Opus 4.6 has the edge. For those who value affordability and speed, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is the stronger choice.
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Claude Opus 4.6 vs Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Opus 4.6 or Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite?
Claude Opus 4.6 wins on more benchmarks overall (9 vs 5). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.
How does Claude Opus 4.6 compare to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite for coding?
Claude Opus 4.6 is better for coding, scoring 80.8% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 22.0%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Claude Opus 4.6 cheaper than Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite?
Yes, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is cheaper. Claude Opus 4.6 costs $5.0/1M input and $25.0/1M output tokens. Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite costs $0.10/1M input and $0.40/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Claude Opus 4.6 or Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite?
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is faster, generating output at 240 tok/s compared to 68 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.
What benchmarks does the Claude Opus 4.6 vs Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite comparison cover?
This comparison covers 14 benchmarks including Chatbot Arena ELO, MMLU-Pro, HumanEval+, MATH, SWE-bench Verified, GPQA Diamond, Output Speed, Time to First Token, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.