Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite vs o3
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
o3 by OpenAI wins on 9 of 15 benchmarks against Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite by Google, which leads on 6. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from our benchmark data.
Category-by-Category Breakdown
General Intelligence: In general intelligence, o3 scores 1380 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 1230, while o3 scores 84.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 63.0%.
Coding: In coding, o3 scores 90.0% on HumanEval+ compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 70.0%, while o3 scores 69.1% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 22.0%, while o3 scores 70.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 28.0%.
Math: In math, o3 scores 96.0% on MATH compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 62.0%, while o3 scores 98.5% on GSM8K compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 83.0%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, o3 scores 83.3% on GPQA Diamond compared to Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite's 32.0%, while o3 scores 75.7% 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 o3's 200K.
Pricing Comparison
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite costs $0.10/1M input tokens and $0.40/1M output tokens, while o3 costs $2.0/1M input and $8.0/1M output. Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is the more affordable option for API usage.
Speed Comparison
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite generates output at 240 tok/s compared to o3's 40 tok/s, and the time to first token is 70 ms for Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite versus 800 ms for o3. Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite delivers faster throughput.
Verdict
For developers prioritizing affordability and speed, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite has the edge. For those who value coding and general intelligence and math, o3 is the stronger choice.
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Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite vs o3 — FAQ
Which is better, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite or o3?
o3 wins on more benchmarks overall (9 vs 6). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.
How does Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite compare to o3 for coding?
o3 is better for coding, scoring 69.1% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 22.0%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite cheaper than o3?
Yes, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is cheaper. Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite costs $0.10/1M input and $0.40/1M output tokens. o3 costs $2.0/1M input and $8.0/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite or o3?
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite is faster, generating output at 240 tok/s compared to 40 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.
What benchmarks does the Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite vs o3 comparison cover?
This comparison covers 15 benchmarks including Chatbot Arena ELO, MMLU-Pro, HumanEval+, MATH, GPQA Diamond, SWE-bench Verified, Output Speed, LiveCodeBench, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.