Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite alternatives
Quick answer · Updated July 2026
The closest alternative to Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is GPT-5.1 — comparable intelligence (36.9 vs 36.5); for a cheaper option, Hy3 runs $0.140/M vs $0.300/M; for more speed, GPT-5.6 Luna hits 174 t/s; and the best open-weight substitute is GLM 5.2.
Closest match
Cheaper alternatives
hy3
$0.140/M input · 41.2 intel
nex-n2-pro
$0.250/M input · 41.0 intel
deepseek-v4-flash
$0.094/M input · 40.3 intel
gpt-5.4-nano
$0.200/M input · 38.2 intel
minimax-m2.7
$0.250/M input · 38.1 intel
mimo-v2.5
$0.140/M input · 37.2 intel
Faster alternatives
Smarter alternatives
Open-source alternatives
glm-5.2
51.1 intel · open weights · 1.0M ctx
minimax-m3
44.4 intel · open weights · 1.0M ctx
deepseek-v4-pro
44.3 intel · open weights · 1.0M ctx
kimi-k2.6
44.2 intel · open weights · 262K ctx
mimo-v2.5-pro
42.2 intel · open weights · 1.1M ctx
kimi-k2.7-code
41.9 intel · open weights · 262K ctx
Frequently asked
What is the best alternative to Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
GPT-5.1 is the closest alternative to Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, with an Intelligence Index of 36.9 (Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scores 36.5) at $1.25 per million input tokens.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
Yes — Hy3 costs $0.140 per million input tokens versus $0.300 for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, while staying within ~8 points of its Intelligence Index.
Is there an open-source alternative to Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
GLM 5.2 is the strongest open-weight alternative to Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite — downloadable from Hugging Face and self-hostable, scoring 51.1 on intelligence.