Claude Haiku 5.5 vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite
Anthropic · US | Google · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Claude Haiku 5.5 for 5x the context window of haiku 4.5 (1m vs 200k tokens) and double the max output (128k vs 64k) or first haiku-class model with an adjustable 'effort' setting to trade off cost, latency, and intelligence. Pick Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite for ultra-low-latency, high-volume production workloads or most cost-efficient gemini 3 model — half the price of gemini 3 flash ($0.25/$1.50 vs $0.50/$3.00 per 1m tokens). On a tight budget at scale, Claude Haiku 5.5 is the value pick.
Claude Haiku 5.5 (Anthropic) and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite (Google) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Claude Haiku 5.5 is anthropic's October 7, 2026 small-model refresh — a 1M-token context window (up from 200K) at roughly 75% lower average cost than Haiku 4.5, priced at $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens. Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is google's fastest and most cost-efficient Gemini 3 series model, built for ultra-low-latency, high-volume production workloads at half the price of Gemini 3 Flash. Their biggest split is price, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: Claude Haiku 5.5 is about 2.5× cheaper on input ($0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens vs $0.25/$1.5 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
- ▸Context window: both advertise 1M tokens (~1,500 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
- ▸Recency: Claude Haiku 5.5 is the newer model by about 7 months (released October 7, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Claude Haiku 5.5 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic (US) | Google (US) |
| Released | October 7, 2026 | March 3, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) | 1M (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens | $0.25/$1.5 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, image, code | text, image, audio, video |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | 12.3% |
Who wins what
5x the context window of Haiku 4.5 (1M vs 200K tokens) and double the max output (128K vs 64K)
Claude Haiku 5.5
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is comparatively weak here — sharp long-context degradation — MRCR v2 (8-needle) retrieval falls to ~12% at the full 1M-token window
First Haiku-class model with an adjustable 'effort' setting to trade off cost, latency, and intelligence
Claude Haiku 5.5
At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite ($0.25/$1.5 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Anthropic's cheapest small model yet — runs about 75% cheaper on average than Haiku 4.5
Claude Haiku 5.5
Anthropic's October 7, 2026 small-model refresh — a 1M-token context window (up from 200K) at roughly 75% lower average cost than Haiku 4.5, priced at $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens — and it runs cheaper at $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens.
Ultra-low-latency, high-volume production workloads
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite lists ultra-low-latency, high-volume production workloads among its strengths; Claude Haiku 5.5 does not.
Most cost-efficient Gemini 3 model — half the price of Gemini 3 Flash ($0.25/$1.50 vs $0.50/$3.00 per 1M tokens)
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite lists most cost-efficient Gemini 3 model — half the price of Gemini 3 Flash ($0.25/$1.50 vs $0.50/$3.00 per 1M tokens) among its strengths; Claude Haiku 5.5 does not.
High-volume agentic and tool-calling loops where cost per call matters
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite lists high-volume agentic and tool-calling loops where cost per call matters among its strengths; Claude Haiku 5.5 does not.
Lowest cost at scale
Claude Haiku 5.5
At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Claude Haiku 5.5
At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Anyone whose priority is 5x the context window of haiku 4.5 (1m vs 200k tokens) and double the max output (128k vs 64k)
→ Claude Haiku 5.5
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is ultra-low-latency, high-volume production workloads
→ Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite
That is its strongest area.
Claude Haiku 5.5: where it fits
Anthropic's October 7, 2026 small-model refresh — a 1M-token context window (up from 200K) at roughly 75% lower average cost than Haiku 4.5, priced at $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens. Released October 7, 2026 by Anthropic, it is built for 5x the context window of Haiku 4.5 (1M vs 200K tokens) and double the max output (128K vs 64K), first Haiku-class model with an adjustable 'effort' setting to trade off cost, latency, and intelligence, anthropic's cheapest small model yet — runs about 75% cheaper on average than Haiku 4.5, and over-refuses benign requests only 0.17% of the time on the API, down from Haiku 4.5's 0.44%.
Its trade-offs are real: pricing jumps roughly 5x beyond 100K-token prompts ($0.50/$2.50 per million vs the headline $0.10/$0.50), extended thinking can no longer be fully disabled — only dialed between low, medium, and high effort, and as the smallest tier, trails both Sonnet 5.5 and Opus 5.5 on hard reasoning and open-ended work. At $0.1 in / $0.5 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: where it fits
Google's fastest and most cost-efficient Gemini 3 series model, built for ultra-low-latency, high-volume production workloads at half the price of Gemini 3 Flash. Released March 3, 2026 by Google, it is built for ultra-low-latency, high-volume production workloads, most cost-efficient Gemini 3 model — half the price of Gemini 3 Flash ($0.25/$1.50 vs $0.50/$3.00 per 1M tokens), high-volume agentic and tool-calling loops where cost per call matters, and multimodal input across text, image, video, audio, and PDF.
Its trade-offs: lower reasoning and quality ceiling than Gemini 3.1 Pro and the full Gemini 3 Flash tier, sharp long-context degradation — MRCR v2 (8-needle) retrieval falls to ~12% at the full 1M-token window, and closed weights — not downloadable or self-hostable. At $0.25 in / $1.5 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Claude Haiku 5.5 and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Claude Haiku 5.5 costs less per token; and each leads in its own area — Claude Haiku 5.5 for 5x the context window of haiku 4.5 (1m vs 200k tokens) and double the max output (128k vs 64k), Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite for ultra-low-latency, high-volume production workloads. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Claude Haiku 5.5 and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is Claude Haiku 5.5 or Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Claude Haiku 5.5 leans toward 5x the context window of haiku 4.5 (1m vs 200k tokens) and double the max output (128k vs 64k) while Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite leans toward ultra-low-latency, high-volume production workloads, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Claude Haiku 5.5 or Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite?
Claude Haiku 5.5 is cheaper — $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens vs $0.25/$1.5 per 1M tokens, roughly 2.5× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Both advertise 1M tokens (~1,500 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both Claude Haiku 5.5 and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Claude Haiku 5.5, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Claude Haiku 5.5 or Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite?
Claude Haiku 5.5 — released October 7, 2026, about 7 months after Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.