3.7 Flash or 3.6 Flash
Same intro price, different jump
Official Standard intro is $0.75 / $3.75 on both through 31 Dec 2026. 3.7 sells a coding/agent jump, not a discount. QCode lists gemini-3.7-flash and gemini-3.6-flash.
Head to head
Standard intro
Both $0.75 / $3.75, then $1.50 / $7.50 on 1 Jan 2027.
DeepSWE v1.1
Google launch post. FrontierCode 1.1 Main 43.6% vs 34.4%. Vendor numbers.
WebDev Arena Elo
Cited by Google. AutomationBench 30.4% vs 17.0%.
Gap
3.7 is the next Flash about three weeks after 3.6.
What we are comparing
Two adjacent Flash SKUs. Context in the same 1,048,576 / 65,536 class. 3.7 is pitched at first-pass coding, long-horizon agents, documents and automation. 3.6 is still a live workhorse, not a retired id.
Do not shop the discount
On launch day Google moved 3.6 onto 3.7’s intro rate. “3.7 is the cheap upgrade” is stale. Independent reruns are thin — treat the table as vendor claims.
Timeline
3.6 Flash ships.
3.7 GA; 3.6 moves to the same intro.
Both Standard lists return to $1.50 / $7.50.
Confirmed vs careful
Confirmed
Both ids are in Google’s docs and on QCode /models. Intro Standard price matches. Coding/automation rows are from the 3.7 launch post.
Treat carefully
Aggregator “fastest” lines are not Google’s words. 3.6 is not announced as EOL on the pricing table.
Pick
Stay on 3.6
The workflow is only validated on 3.6.
Move to 3.7
You want the coding/horizon jump and can live with vendor benches.
Same key
Swap model=gemini-3.6-flash or gemini-3.7-flash. Do not send thinking=minimal on 3.7 (official: error).
On QCode
Both ids are on /models. Category is comparison: same endpoint. Live list wins.
3.7 vs 3.6 FAQ
Which is cheaper?
Official Standard intro is the same.
Is 3.6 going away?
The pricing page still lists gemini-3.6-flash. No EOL date on that table.
Are the benches independent?
They are from Google’s 13 Aug 2026 post. Vendor claims.
Same context?
3.7 docs: 1,048,576 / 65,536. 3.6 is the same Flash class.
Both on QCode?
Yes. Both ids are listed.
Default which?
New work: try 3.7. Locked 3.6 pipelines: regress first.
Sources
Google Keyword 13 Aug 2026; pricing tables; 3.7 model page.
List both, route by job
Same endpoint, swap the id. Intro list matches.
Related
Not affiliated with Google. Benches from Google’s launch post.