Claude Opus 5 vs Gemini 3.6 Flash
Price, context and benchmark scores side by side — every number from the live model catalogue.
| Claude Opus 5anthropic | Gemini 3.6 Flashgoogle | |
|---|---|---|
| Input / 1M tokens | $5.00 | $1.50 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $25.00 | $7.50 |
| 1M in + 300K out | $12.50 | $3.75 |
| Context window | 1M | 1.0M |
| Intelligence index | 60.7 | 50.1 |
| Coding index | 78.0 | 69.2 |
| Agentic index | 55.3 | 38.7 |
| Cheapest provider | Claude Platform on AWS | |
| Providers serving it | 5 | 2 |
| Weights | Closed | Closed |
| Image input | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning mode | Yes | Yes |
| Released | Jul 24, 2026 | Jul 21, 2026 |
Which one to pick
Pick Claude Opus 5 if…
- You want the higher general-intelligence score (60.7).
- Code quality is the priority — it leads on the coding index (78.0).
- You are running agent loops — higher agentic index (55.3).
- You want provider redundancy: 5 providers serve it.
Pick Gemini 3.6 Flash if…
- Token cost matters: $7.50 per 1M output vs $25.00.
- You need the bigger context window (1.0M).
FAQ
Is Claude Opus 5 better than Gemini 3.6 Flash?
Claude Opus 5 scores higher on general intelligence (60.7 vs 50.1), while Gemini 3.6 Flash is 3.3× cheaper per output token ($7.50 vs $25.00). For code, Claude Opus 5 leads (78.0 coding index). Gemini 3.6 Flash takes the larger context at 1.0M.
Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 5 or Gemini 3.6 Flash?
Gemini 3.6 Flash, at $7.50 per 1M output tokens versus $25.00. On a 1M input + 300K output workload that is $3.75 against $12.50.
Can I self-host Claude Opus 5 or Gemini 3.6 Flash?
Claude Opus 5: closed weights, API only. Gemini 3.6 Flash: closed weights, API only.