Gemini 4 Carbon vs Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Gemini 4 Carbon scores higher on the Models at Work leaderboard (75 vs 57 out of 100). On independent tests alone, Gemini 4 Carbon is ahead (92 vs 44). Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is cheaper: 1,000 support replies cost about $1.90 at list price, against $10 on Gemini 4 Carbon, which is 5.3 times as much. On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, one of the independent tests, Gemini 4 Carbon leads 60 to 12.
| Gemini 4 Carbon · Google | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite · Google | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaderboard rank | #1 | #23 |
| Score (0–100) | 75 | 57 |
| Kind of work | Hardest problems | High-volume work |
| Price per 1M tokens | $2 to read · $10 to write | $0.30 to read · $2.50 to write |
| Reads at once | 1M tokens (about 750,000 words) | 1M tokens (about 750,000 words) |
| Where you can get it | Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform (Google Cloud), Google AI Studio, Gemini for business, Gemini app (Google AI Ultra) | Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform (Google Cloud), Gemini app |
| Can a company host it itself | No | No |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index | 60 | 12 |
| Arena Text score | Not measured | 1455 (rank 70) |
| Best for | Reading and comparing large sets of dense documents, Legal and finance analysis, Multi-step research | Sorting and routing tickets, Pulling fields out of documents, Tagging records at volume |
Cost of 1,000 jobs
| 1,000 of these | Gemini 4 Carbon | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Support repliesthe customer message, the account notes and two help articles read; a 300-word reply written | $10 | $1.90 |
| Documents processeda two-page invoice or form read; the fields pulled out | $7 | $1.35 |
| Calls summariseda 40-minute call transcript read; a summary and next steps written | $26 | $4.50 |
| Contracts revieweda 40-page contract read against a checklist; a memo of issues written | $75 | $13 |
| Drafts writtena brief and one example read; a 600-word email or proposal section written | $11 | $2.45 |
Worked out from each vendor’s list price and a fixed size for each job. A product built on a model charges its own price on top. See what every model costs for the same jobs.
Choose Gemini 4 Carbon for
- Reading and comparing large sets of dense documents
- Legal and finance analysis
- Multi-step research
Second on Artificial Analysis's index (60 against the leader's 65) at a quarter of the leader's list price, but only until 30 November, when Google doubles it.
Caveats: The $2 in / $10 out per million tokens (the unit vendors bill by) is introductory; Google says $4 / $20 applies after 30 November 2026, which will lower its score here. Google says it uses more text per task than Gemini 4 Argon, so the bill can run higher at the same list price. One independent test so far. The rankings quoted in Google's launch post are relayed by Google and not counted. In the Gemini app it is for Google AI Ultra subscribers only, per Google; commenters on lower plans and one enterprise account report they cannot select it yet.
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite for
- Sorting and routing tickets
- Pulling fields out of documents
- Tagging records at volume
Google's model for sorting and extraction at volume: the fastest measured on the board at about 430 tokens (word-pieces) a second, but 12 on Artificial Analysis's index means no judgement calls.
Caveats: Its output price ($2.50 per million tokens) is five times that of GPT-6 Luna or Claude Haiku 5.5: you are paying for speed. Google has shipped three Flash-Lite generations in 2026: plan for versions being retired and re-tested. In the Gemini app it is offered to everyone, with no paid plan named, per Google's model page for it and the 21 July launch post. Google names no Workspace plan for this model.
What people running them say
Gemini 4 Carbon: On the Hacker News (a developer forum) thread about Google's launch, several commenters on the Pro and Plus plans say Carbon shows in the app as Ultra-only, one says their company's enterprise account cannot use it yet, and another says their workplace already finds Argon too expensive. None of this is verified, and it is too little to score.
Questions people ask
Which is better, Gemini 4 Carbon or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
Gemini 4 Carbon scores higher on the Models at Work leaderboard (75 vs 57 out of 100). On independent tests alone, Gemini 4 Carbon is ahead (92 vs 44). Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is cheaper: 1,000 support replies cost about $1.90 at list price, against $10 on Gemini 4 Carbon, which is 5.3 times as much. On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, one of the independent tests, Gemini 4 Carbon leads 60 to 12.
When should I choose Gemini 4 Carbon over Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
Choose Gemini 4 Carbon for reading and comparing large sets of dense documents, legal and finance analysis, multi-step research. Second on Artificial Analysis's index (60 against the leader's 65) at a quarter of the leader's list price, but only until 30 November, when Google doubles it.
When should I choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite over Gemini 4 Carbon?
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite for sorting and routing tickets, pulling fields out of documents, tagging records at volume. Google's model for sorting and extraction at volume: the fastest measured on the board at about 430 tokens (word-pieces) a second, but 12 on Artificial Analysis's index means no judgement calls.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 4 Carbon or Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
Gemini 4 Carbon costs $2 per million tokens it reads (input) and $10 per million tokens it writes (output) on Google's list price (Google: Gemini 4 Carbon is now available, read Nov 12, 2026). A token is about three-quarters of a word. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.30 per million tokens it reads (input) and $2.50 per million tokens it writes (output) on Google's list price (Gemini API Pricing, read Nov 12, 2026). A token is about three-quarters of a word.
What do 1,000 jobs cost on Gemini 4 Carbon and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?
At list price: 1,000 support replies cost $10 on Gemini 4 Carbon and $1.90 on Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite; 1,000 documents processed cost $7 on Gemini 4 Carbon and $1.35 on Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite; 1,000 calls summarised cost $26 on Gemini 4 Carbon and $4.50 on Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite; 1,000 contracts reviewed cost $75 on Gemini 4 Carbon and $13 on Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite; 1,000 drafts written cost $11 on Gemini 4 Carbon and $2.45 on Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite. A product built on either model charges its own price on top.
Scores come from the Models at Work leaderboard: Score is 0 to 100 and computed, not typed. 40% is independent testing (Artificial Analysis, Arena, Scale, Epoch, Vals and others; each test is scaled against the best score on this board, and tests of real work, such as finished freelance projects or professional tasks, count double the exams). 30% is price: the vendor's list price for a typical mix of reading and writing, on a fixed scale from $0.05 to $60 per million tokens, so a model that costs a fifth as much gains real ground. 15% is what people report after running it, from Signals and linked threads. 15% is fit: how much text it can take in at once and where a business can get it (the products and clouds that carry it), with a small credit for open weights. A missing component drops out and the rest are reweighted. A model with no independent test yet is provisional and ranks below every measured one. Within three points is a tie. Vendor-published figures are labelled and never counted. Prices are vendor list prices where published; a typical mix assumes three parts reading to one part writing.